Korea News 1988–1999: Seoul Olympics to the IMF Crisis

Spend enough time with Koreans who have lived in Seoul for decades and you’ll notice they rarely name a year. Instead you hear “back at the ‘88 Olympics” or “during the IMF.” The twelve years from 1988 to 1999 are when Korea threw its doors open to the world, fell hard, and got back on its feet. A surprising number of today’s Korean habits and turns of phrase were born in that stretch — and the traces are still scattered all over Seoul.

🗓️ Korea's headline news, 1988–1999, and what you can still see today

How did Korea open up to the world after the Seoul Olympics? (1988–1992)

1988 — The Seoul Olympics

The 24th Olympic Games ran in Seoul for 16 days, from September 17 to October 2, 1988. According to the National Archives of Korea, 9,417 athletes from 160 countries took part, and Korea finished fourth overall with 12 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze medals. The mascot was a tiger cub called Hodori, and Koreans still refer to the whole period as the Pal-pal Olympics — the ‘88 Olympics.

In Seoul today: The emblem of Olympic Park in Songpa-gu is the 24 m-tall World Peace Gate, designed by architect Kim Chung-up and completed around August 1988. The National Archives says the park’s Olympic Sculpture Park holds 201 works by 155 artists from 66 countries. According to Special Times, the SOMA Museum of Art inside the park is running “From Monument to Landscape,” an exhibition looking back on 40 years of the Sculpture Park, from October 17, 2026 to February 14, 2027. For places to eat nearby, see our Bangi-dong and Olympic Park neighborhood guide.

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1989 — Overseas travel opens up to everyone

From January 1, 1989, anyone could travel abroad simply as a tourist. Before that, under the rules from 1983, only people aged 50 or over could get a tourist passport — once a year, and only after depositing ₩2,000,000 for a full year. The National Archives records that right after liberalization, departures passed 1 million for the first time. Haeoe yeohaeng jayuhwa (overseas travel liberalization) is still treated as year zero for Korea’s travel industry.

In Seoul today: This is where it all began for a country whose news now runs stories about jammed airport departure halls every holiday. To see where Koreans head these days, read where Koreans travel abroad most.

1990 — Korea and the Soviet Union establish ties

On September 30, 1990, the foreign ministers of South Korea and the Soviet Union signed the documents establishing diplomatic relations at UN headquarters. It was the payoff of Bukbang oegyo (the Northern Policy), under which Korea had built ties with one Eastern European country after another since 1988. When the Soviet Union dissolved at the end of 1991, the relationship carried over to Russia.

In Seoul today: Once ties were in place, Russian traders flocked to Dongdaemun’s wholesale markets, and an alley of Cyrillic signboards sprang up in Gwanghui-dong. Today you’ll find more Uzbek and Mongolian restaurants there. The full story is in our Dongdaemun Central Asian street guide.

1991 — Both Koreas join the UN

On September 17, 1991, at the 46th UN General Assembly, North and South Korea became UN members at the same time. Following the alphabetical order of their country names, North Korea was the 160th member and South Korea the 161st — more than 40 years after South Korea first applied in 1949.

In Seoul today: The trace here is less a place than a reality: on the world stage, the two Koreas sit as separate member states. If you want to see the division up close, check our DMZ tours compared guide.

1992 — Korea and China establish ties

On August 24, 1992, the joint communiqué establishing diplomatic relations between Korea and China was signed in Beijing. The National Archives notes that China went on to become Korea’s largest trading partner.

In Seoul today: After ties opened, Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans from China) came looking for work, moving through Guro and Garibong before settling in Daerim-dong — which became today’s Yanbian food street. You can trace that journey in our Daerim-dong Yanbian food street guide.

What happened in Korea in the mid-1990s? (1993–1996)

1993 — The real-name financial system and the Daejeon Expo

On August 12, 1993, President Kim Young-sam issued Emergency Financial and Economic Order No. 16, and from 8 p.m. that evening, financial transactions under borrowed names or without a name were banned. This is the geumyung silmyeongje (real-name financial system). The same year, the Daejeon Expo ran for 93 days, from August 7 to November 7, with 108 countries and 33 international organizations taking part and 14.5 million visitors.

In Seoul today: Since then, showing ID to confirm your real name when you open a bank account has been a given — which is why foreigners need a passport or Alien Registration Card, too. The Expo’s symbol, Hanbit Tower, still stands not in Seoul but at Expo Science Park in Daejeon.

1994 — Seongsu Bridge collapses, and Seoul turns 600

At around 7:40 a.m. on October 21, 1994, part of the Seongsu Bridge deck fell into the Han River, killing 32 people on their way to work and school and injuring 17. The bridge was rebuilt and reopened on July 3, 1997. Earlier that year, on July 8, North Korean leader Kim Il Sung died. According to a JoongAng Ilbo column, the first inter-Korean summit had been scheduled for 17 days later, but it never took place.

That same year, Seoul marked 600 years since the Joseon dynasty made Hanyang its capital. On November 29, 600 objects representing everyday life were sealed in a capsule shaped like the Bosingak bell and buried at Namsangol Hanok Village. This Seoul Millennium Time Capsule is due to be opened on November 29, 2394, the city’s 1,000th year as capital.

In Seoul today: According to Newsis, the Seongsu Bridge victims’ memorial was erected on October 21, 1997 at the interchange on the bridge’s north end; it sits between lanes of Gangbyeonbuk-ro and is hard to reach on foot. We cover the bridge’s story in stories of the Han River bridges. The time capsule is in the plaza south of Namsangol Hanok Village’s traditional garden. Admission is free and the garden is open 24 hours (the hanok houses close on Mondays).

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1995 — Sampoong collapses, and the old Government-General building starts coming down

At around 5:52 p.m. on June 29, 1995, the Sampoong Department Store in Seocho-dong collapsed. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, 502 people died, 6 went missing and 937 were injured. Building safety inspections were tightened afterward, and the 119 Central Rescue Team was created.

On August 15 that year, at the ceremony for the 50th anniversary of Liberation, work began on dismantling the central dome of the former Japanese Government-General building, which had long stood blocking the front of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Demolition of the above-ground structure was finished on November 13, 1996. The central dome and other salvaged pieces were moved to the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, where they have been on display in an exhibition park since August 8, 1998.

In Seoul today: Maeheon Citizens’ Forest is about 400 m from Exit 5 of Yangjae Citizens’ Forest Station on the Sinbundang Line. For how other disaster sites look now, see Seoul’s disaster sites, then and now.

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In 2001, Heungnyemun Gate at Gyeongbokgung was restored where the Government-General building used to stand. The courtyard you cross between Gwanghwamun and Heungnyemun is the old building’s footprint. For a route through the palace, see our half-day Gyeongbokgung course.

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1996 — Korea joins the OECD

On December 12, 1996, Korea became the OECD’s 29th member, about one year and nine months after submitting its application in March 1995.

In Seoul today: Whenever Korean news reports a figure like the fertility rate, working hours or the suicide rate, it measures it against the OECD pyeonggyun (OECD average) — a habit that started here. For Koreans, “OECD” works almost like shorthand for the benchmark of developed countries.

How did the IMF crisis change Korea? (1997–1999)

1997 — The IMF currency crisis

On November 21, 1997, the government announced it would ask the IMF for financial support, and on December 3 the IMF approved US$21 billion. According to the National Archives, the total package — including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and seven countries — came to US$55 billion. Korea paid it all back on August 23, 2001, ahead of the original deadline of May 2004.

1998 — Gold drives, Mount Kumgang tours and Japanese pop culture

The geum moeugi undong (gold-collection campaign), which took off in January 1998, drew about 3.51 million people and gathered 227 tons of gold in three months — worth US$1.8 billion at the time. On November 18, the cruise ship Kumgang sailed from Donghae Port and tours to Mount Kumgang began. They expanded to overland trips in September 2003, then were fully suspended in July 2008.

According to the Seoul Shinmun, the government finalized the first stage of opening up to Japanese pop culture on October 20. Film and video came first, and on December 5, Takeshi Kitano’s Hana-bi opened as the first Japanese film released under the new policy. In April of the same year, Korea’s first multiplex opened its doors, and the era of single-screen cinemas began to fade.

In Seoul today: The generation that grew up as Japanese anime and manga arrived through official channels went on to build Hongdae’s subculture scene. Walk Hongdae’s anime and subculture streets and you’ll see the result.

1999 — The word “Hallyu” appears

From around 1997, Korean TV dramas and dance music took off in China, and in 1999 a word appeared to describe it: Hallyu (韓流), the Korean Wave. Two origin stories circulate. According to Sports Kyunghyang, one says China Youth Daily used it first in 1999. In an interview with the Maeil Shinmun, the then-director in charge at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said the government used it first, around November 1999, when titling a promotional music album to be handed out in China and elsewhere.

In Seoul today: How far the word traveled after 2000 is where the next part of the series picks up.

How can you see the traces of 1988–1999 in Seoul in one day?

String the sites together and you get a one-day route like this. Each place has its own closing day, so check once more before you set out.

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