ABSTRACT
This paper examines the political dimension of the Asian Games. More specifi cally, it focuses on the implications that hosting the Asian Games in South Korea had for its relationship with North Korea. The four editions of the Asian Games that this study looks at show that the fluctuated relations between North and South Korea tends to be mirrored through the sporting events. In that sense, it can be argued that the international sporting competitions function as a barometer to measure the relations between the two Koreas. However, this study also notes that the political value of sport must not be overestimated. More often than not it is wider political circumstances that determine the nature of the inter-Korean sporting relations. In this respect, sport is more likely to work as a dependent variable on broader political structure. Finally, while the Asian Games is a relatively smaller scale event in comparison with global sports mega event such as the Olympic Games, it by no means indicates that this continental competition is an event of less political signifi cance. Rather than scale and scope, it is the context within which a particular sporting event is staged that assigns political meaning to the competition.
