From Development of Sport to Development through Sport: A Paradigm Shift for Sport Development in South Korea

Abstract

During the past several decades, South Korea has gained tremendous international recognition by achieving an excellent performance in a variety of international sport competitions and hosting numerous mega-sporting events. Although success in elite sport (i.e. Development of Sport approach) has contributed to making South Korea one of the sport powerhouses in the world, South Korea has paid very little attention to the role that sport can play as a tool for social and personal development (i.e. Development through Sport approach). Similarly, scholars also paid little attention to the development through sport' approach in South Korea while predominantly focusing their attention in taking the development of sport' approach. In recent years, however, the South Korean government has begun to show interest in the development through sport' approach to become a truly advanced sporting nation. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore how South Korea's paradigm in sport has historically shifted from development of sport' to development through sport' in its socio-political context.