Envisioning the Eastern Bloc: Nordpolitik, sport and the visual arts at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games

Abstract

This essay explores the presence of Eastern Bloc artists at the Olympiad of Art in Seoul (1988) at a time when there were no diplomatic relations between South Korea and the socialist/communist states in Europe. In the wider geopolitical context, the promotion of Eastern European arts was in line with Nordpolitik (Northern Policy): the South Korean government brought Eastern Europe to its side and isolated North Korea from its allies. The essay discusses the political uses of the 1988 Olympic Games and the Olympiad of Art as a groundbreaking event that contributed to the establishment of bilateral cultural relations between South Korea and the countries of the Eastern Bloc. Both the Olympic Games and the Olympiad of Art (1988) also contributed to a refreshing image of Eastern Europe in South Korea. Moreover, they foreshadowed a commencement of the new line of artistic exchanges when diplomatic relations between both regions in 1989–1991 were established.