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Sports organization to host int'l academic conference to celebrate 1988 Seoul Olympics

Published: 19 Aug. 2025, 14:22

This image, provided by the Korean Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (KAHPERD) on Aug. 19, shows the poster for the 37th International Sport Science Congress hosted by KAHPERD. [YONHAP]

The Korean Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (Kahperd) announced Tuesday it will hold an academic conference this week in commemoration of the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

The 37th International Sport Science Congress will begin its three-day run on Thursday at Seoul Olympic Parktel, with Korea National Sport University set to host presentations on Friday and Saturday.

Under the title "Olympic Legacy and the Horizon Beyond: From 1988 to 2036," this year's conference will explore legacies of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the first Olympic Games to take place in South Korea, while also looking ahead to the country's bid to host the 2036 Summer Games.

"The Seoul Olympic Games were more than just a sporting event. They were a historic milestone that allowed South Korea to leave an imprint on the world through sports," Kahperd President Choi Kwan-yong said. "By inheriting the spirit of the 1988 Olympics, this conference will be an opportunity to develop a new sports ecosystem that combines academics with policies, and technologies with practice."

The first day of the conference will feature a keynote address by University of Edinburgh professor Jung-Woo Lee on the topic of "The Olympics and the Dynamics of World Politics: 2022, 2024 and 2036."

Lee will be followed by presentations from Gangyan Si of the Hong Kong Sport Institute ("Olympics and Zeitgeist: Reflections from 1988 Seoul to 2025 Seoul"), Yuji Ishizaka of Nara Women's University in Japan ("Lesson from the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020") and Koh Koon Teck of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore ("Olympic Legacy and Education in Singapore"). They will discuss various topics, including technological convergence, sports governance, the social value of youth sports and urban sports strategies.

The final two days will see over 100 presentations given on sports' response to climate change, building a sustainable Olympic operations mode and creating an inclusive sports environment, among other topics.

According to the Kahperd, more than 800 sports scholars, sports science experts, policymakers and international sports organization officials from Korea and abroad will participate in the conference.

The event will be sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.

Yonhap