By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Long bemoaned as one of the grimiest metropolises in the world, Seoul is now beginning to earn its stripes as a hip and happening city.
Granted, the cramped South Korean capital is certainly not the prettiest place for sightseers, still widely described by its concrete urbanity. However, the formerly gray streets are now sprinkled with new designs and edgy concepts driven by a generation of hyper-stylish consumers, who spend their time, money and energy to stay fashionable.
The obsession by Seoulites to stay ahead of the cultural curb ― as witnessed by the ubiquitous designer clothing and high-tech gadgets ― has made the city the ``capital of cool'' for a new generation of Asians, who religiously consume the latest products of South Korean pop music, films and television dramas.
So it may seem unusual that a 74-year-old retired army general gets a share of credit for Seoul's growing as a hub for the cutting edged.
However, Park Seh-jik, the chairman of the Korean Veterans Association who headed the organizing committee for the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, believes that the Games served as a ``coming out party'' for an emerging national entity that was merely defined previously by political struggles, cheap cars and children's shoes.
``Before the Olympics, South Korea suffered from a poor image,'' Park said in an interview with The Korea Times.
``When we hosted the National Olympics Committee (NOC) congress in 1985, a European member actually sent a letter to ask us about a rumor that in South Korea a person could get executed for wandering the streets without permission after midnight. Delivering a positive image of our country as a modern and developed nation was crucial for us, and I am proud to say that we have done a good job in doing that,'' he said.
Park was first involved in the Olympic processes after being named the country's minister of sports under former President Chun Du-hwan and doubled as the head of the organizing committee for the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, which served as the country's training camp for the Olympics.
Park, later elected as Seoul Mayor and named as the head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), also headed the organizing committee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan, from 1998 to 2000.
The successful managing of the 1988 Olympics remains as the proudest achievement for Park, who said his World Cup duty was a ``much easier job.''
``The World Cup is only about a single sport, football, with just 32 teams playing 64 matches,'' he said. ``The Olympics gives you much more of a headache, as the number of athletes, games and venues are unmatchable.''
The Olympics marked the country's arrival as an industrial power, providing a promotional stage for domestic companies eager to prove that their products were more than just a poor man's Honda or Sony.
There are also widespread views that the Olympics hastened South Korea's democratic transformation after almost three decades of military rule, with the public anticipation of the Games feeding demonstrations by students and workers that eventually forced political leaders to introduce a direct presidential election and constitutional reform in 1987.
It's debatable how much the Olympics contributed to the changes in South Korea, but its hard to deny that the new freedoms yielded a dynamic civil society that served as the foundation for the country's status today as a cultural exporter that now defines Asian tastes in fashion, music and television.
``Before the Olympics, Chinese people thought South Koreans lighted their houses with candles and only few had electricity. After the Games, it was suddenly cool to own a South Korean car and television,'' said Park, who was among the top China hands of former President Chun.
``South Korean youth has changed before and after the Olympics, too. Before the Olympics, students and young workers were more political, patriotic and had a warlike approach to what they did,'' he said.
``After the Olympics, young people began to think themselves as a member of a larger international society, and the advancing telecommunication technologies, such as the Internet, and the growing influx of Western culture have sped this trend in the past half decade.''
The historical significance of the Seoul Olympics, and what they meant to South Korea as a nation, is now getting further review with the Games moving to Beijing next year.
There are anticipations that China's hosting of the Olympics will lead to political acceleration in the country and create more official tolerance for dissent, as it did in South Korea.
``The Olympics in China will have a similar effect as they did in South Korea, although the changes would be more gradual,'' said Park.