Sport cooperation in divided Korea: an overstated role of sport diplomacy in South Korea

Sport, widely believed to have a positive utility in the diplomatic arena, has been adopted by the North and South Korean governments from the early 1960s onwards. However, sport exchanges on the divided peninsula functioned as a social agent only when political reconciliation and cooperation prevailed already. Thus, the aim of this article is to understand the relationship between sport and international relations with particular reference to the cases of Korea and Germany. It seeks to critically explore the role of sport as a diplomatic vehicle in inter-Korean relations from a historical and political context, while focusing on the integration theories. This article also uses the German case to highlight how sport has played a role in the process of German reunification. Then this paper argues that sport has not been a crucial factor in promoting either reconciliation or unification, and the utmost efforts to institutionalize sport exchanges are essential.