ABSTRACT
The evolutionary flow of culture is not unilateral. In the late nineteenth century, amid the imperialist trend, the sport culture introduced from the West was able to germinate on Korean soil owing to the self-awareness exhibited by Koreans during the Enlightenment period, which accommodated an evolutionary worldview. At that time, modern sport culture served as a medium for the spread of Christianity, using the YMCA as a spearhead, and was recognised as a source of national self-discipline; thus, it began to take root. The Japanese occupation began in 1910 and became a catalyst for the evolution of modern sporting culture in Korea. Modern sporting competition venues became focal points that unified the national consciousness as an expression of the anti-Japanese movement, thus securing momentum for the spread of modern sport culture. In Korean society, the Olympic Movement, which began in the early twentieth century, was also sparked by national attention characterised by nationalism; it was evident that Koreans perceived Sohn Kee-chung’s marathon win at the Berlin Olympics as a national victory. In Korean society, the evolution of modern sport culture and the Olympic Movement, beginning in the late nineteenth century and continuing until the early twentieth century, can be seen as the result of a combination of Western and Japanese cultural imperialism along with Korea’s commitment to national identity and its independence as a colonial state.
