Winter Olympics 2018: South Korea

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• Post Date: 02/09/2018
• Author: Jessica Followell
• Reading Time: 2 minute read

The 2018 Winter Olympics takes place February 9–25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. 92 nations will be participating in 102 events covering 15 sports. In celebration of the opening ceremony this Friday, we’re taking a closer look at South Korean Olympic objects within the collection.

This year’s Olympic Games will not be the first for South Korea; 30 years ago, the country hosted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul. Spurlock Museum has a small selection of 1988 Seoul memorabilia as part of its larger Olympics collections. This Commemorative Olympic Poster (1901.14.0027) is from those games. Originally designed by graphic artist Cho Young Jae, the poster represented the Summer Games motto of “Harmony and Progress.” Lines in shades of blue, orange, and purple radiate from the Olympic rings in the center. The colors were meant to symbolize Korea as “The Land of the Morning Calm.” A man is below the rings, running and holding the Olympic torch, symbolizing mankind’s progress towards happiness and prosperity.

The mascot for the 1988 Games was Hodori, designed by Kim Hyun. Hodori was a tiger, a frequent figure in Korean legends and folk art. The tiger is often associated with humor, bravery, and nobility. As seen in this Commemorative Olympic Pin (2003.09.0005), Hodori’s attire included a sangmo hat commonly worn by dancers during pungmul, a Korean folk tradition. Hodori’s hat ribbon was often stylized to form an “S” shape to stand for the city of Seoul.

You can take a closer look at the Seoul 1988 Olympic poster in the Invention, Exchange, Endurance exhibit. The same case also contains memorabilia from the 1964 Summer and 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan.