South Korea and the Games

If there is a near-universal feeling of pride among the 42 million people of South Korea as the Summer Olympic Games get under way in Seoul, there must surely be gratitude as well for the political change that this event has helped bring to their country. For if Seoul had not been designated as the host city for the XXIV Olympiad, then almost certainly South Koreans today would still be living under the kind of authoritarian and repressive rule that has been the hallmark of their modern as well as their ancient history. If the Olympics do nothing else for Korea--and in fact they will probably do a lot--they have finally and for the first time made possible a national government whose legitimacy is indeed based on free popular choice.

None of this was predictable in the spring of last year when President Chun Doo Hwan, preparing to fulfill his promise to step down in early 1988 in the first peaceful transfer of power in Korean history, announced that he was suspending further talks on constitutional reform, clearing the way for the election of his hand-picked successor by a rigged electoral college. With that, the frustrations and the anger that had long been building up in the politically aware population found explosive outlet. Students, human-rights activists and soon and decisively a large representation from South Korea’s growing middle class took to the streets to express disgust, defiance and rejection for what Chun was maneuvering to do. In other times the government would have unhesitatingly used brute force to quash these protests. This time it was left with no choice but to respond with concessions that ultimately included a more liberal constitution and open presidential and parliamentary elections.

The paramount reason was the Olympics, an event that South Korea has spent billions of dollars and taken meticulous care to prepare for. When all was said and done, Chun--but most particularly his chosen and in time freely elected successor, Roh Tae Woo--decided that an event that Koreans regard as their international coming of age could not be tarnished by mass political protests and heavy-handed repression. At the moment of decision, South Korea opted for more representative government, honest elections and greater regard for human rights. Without the Olympic Games it seems extremely unlikely that this choice would have been made.

So the South Korea that the world will have a chance to tune in on beginning tonight is a country not only experiencing remarkable economic growth, steadily spreading prosperity and a growing international presence--witness its developing ties with China and the East European Communist countries--but one also beginning to ascend to a level of political maturity that is more in keeping with its economic status and increasing Asian and world importance. Certainly the South Koreans have earned congratulations for all that they have already done. Certainly they deserve best wishes for all that they still must accomplish.