Seoul 1988: Games, cameras and democracy

When Seoul hosted the Games in September 1988, South Korea was enjoying impressive economic growth and taking the route of democracy. The imminence of the competitions forced the government to take the mass demonstrations of 1987 into account. A success for Olympism. However, despite intense negotiations led by the IOC, North Korea boycotted the Games. To meet the growing needs of the electronic media, public TV channel KBS built an ultra-modern complex with nine storeys and of almost 64,000 m2, which hosted four TV studios, 14 radio studios and a 2,000-seat auditorium. Enough to do justice to the performances of these Games, including those of Steffi Graf (tennis) and Matt Biondi (swimming). Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who tested positive for steroids, lost his gold medal in the 100 metres. He was the first famous athlete to be disqualified for doping.