Seoul Olympic Stadium

Design and construction

This multi-purpose stadium was designed by Kim Swoo-geun. The lines of the stadium's profile imitate the elegant curves of a Joseon white porcelain. Spectator seats are distributed on two tiers, half-covered; seating capacity is 69,950.

Before its construction, Seoul's largest venues were Dongdaemun Stadium and Hyochang Stadium. Seating 30,000 and 20,000 respectively, they were too small to attract world-class sporting events. Construction on the new stadium began in 1977 with the aim of staging the Asian Games in 1986. When Seoul was awarded the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in September 1981, this stadium became the centrepiece.

Sports

Officially, the stadium opened on 29 September 1984 as the main work for the 10th Asian Games held two years later, then the Olympics in 1988. However, it has not been used to stage a major world sporting event since then. It currently has no occupant, although the Korea Football Association has expressed interest in renovating and modernizing the stadium, transforming it into a permanent ground for national team matches.

The events hosted by the stadium during the Olympics were the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, athletics, the football finals, and the equestrian jumping individual final. The stadium also performed the same functions during the 1988 Summer Paralympics.

Football

Between the match against Japan on 30 September 1984 to the match against Yugoslavia on 28 May 2000, the Olympic Stadium was the home ground of the Korea Republic national football team. The newly built Seoul World Cup Stadium then became the center match venue for the Korean team. In an effort to revitalize football across the nation, Korea used the Olympic Stadium for the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup in a 1–2 losing match against Japan on 28 July 2013. The KFA has expressed interest in continuing to use the venue for future national team matches.

Since 2015, newly formed professional football club Seoul E-Land FC is using this stadium.

Auto racing

The Seoul ePrix had the circuit run over into the Stadium and around the Seoul Sports Complex.

List of concerts

Notes

References

References

1. (1977-12-30). "Groundbreaking Ceremony". National News of Video History Museum.
2. link. [[The Dong-a Ilbo]]. (1988-09-19)
3. "Seoul Sports Facilities Management Center".
4. [http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/south_korea/seoul/seoul_olympic.shtml "Seoul Olympic Stadium"] {{webarchive. link. (3 February 2009 ''World Stadiums''. Retrieved 12 October 2011)
5. link. (12 June 2010 ''Seoul Tourism Organization''. Retrieved 12 October 2011)
6. Forgey, Benjamin. (September 16, 1988). "SEOUL'S OLYMPIC INSPIRATION". [[The Washington Post]].
7. [http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1988/1988v1p1.pdf "1988 Summer Olympics Official Report"] {{Webarchive. link. (18 November 2008 Volume 1. Part 1. pp. 162-3.)
8. (1 June 2019). "Revealed: 2020 Seoul E-Prix Circuit". FIA Formula E.
9. (27 April 2012). "Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball Kicks Off Amid Protests". MTV.
10. (3 September 2014). "g.o.d to Launch Encore Concert Next Month in Seoul Olympic Stadium". CJ E&M enewsWorld.
11. (3 February 2015). "Paul to get 'Out There' in Seoul".
12. (30 March 2017). "[엑's 이슈] "엑소 파워 시동"…잠실서 또 신기록 세울까". xportsnews.com.
13. Oh. Se-jin. (27 July 2022). link. X Sport News