The Seoul Olympic Stadium (), also known as Jamsil Olympic Stadium (formerly romanised as ''Chamshil''), is a multi-purpose stadium in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, South Korea. It is the main stadium built for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

and the 10th Asian Games in 1986. It is the centrepiece of the

Seoul Sports Complex Seoul Sports Complex ( ko, 서울종합운동장), also known as Jamsil Sports Complex ( ko, 잠실종합운동장), is a group of sports facilities in Songpa-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Summer Olympi ...

in the

Songpa District Songpa-gu (Hangul: 송파구) is a ''district'' of Seoul, South Korea. Previously known as Wiryeseong, the first capital of the kingdom of Baekje, Songpa is located in the southeastern part of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. With roug ...

, in the southeast of the city south of the Han River. It is the largest stadium in South Korea.

Design and construction

This

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

was designed by Kim Swoo-geun. The lines of the stadium's profile imitate the elegant curves of a

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

vase. Spectator seats are distributed on two tiers, half covered. Initially built with a capacity of approximately 100,000, today it seats 69,950. Before its construction, Seoul's largest venues were

Dongdaemun Stadium Dongdaemun Stadium was a sports complex in Seoul, South Korea and included a multi-purpose stadium, a baseball park and other sports facilities. It was located near Dongdaemun or Great East Gate. The surrounding Dongdaemun market had many vendo ...

and

Hyochang Stadium Hyochang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Hyochang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 15,194 people. It was built in October 1960 for the 1960 AFC Asian Cup. ...

. Seating 30,000 and 20,000 respectively, they were too small to attract world-class sporting events. Construction on the new stadium began in 1977 with the aim of staging the Asian Games in 1986. When Seoul was awarded the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in September 1981, this stadium became the centrepiece.

Sports

Officially, the stadium opened on 29 September 1984 and served as the site for the 10th Asian Games two years later, then the Olympics in 1988. However, it has not been used to stage a major world sporting event since then. It currently has no occupant, although the Korea Football Association has expressed interest in using the stadium for national team matches. The events hosted by the stadium during the Olympics were the Opening and Closing Ceremonies,

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, the football finals, and the

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

jumping individual final.

Football

From the match against Japan on 30 September 1984 to the match against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

on 28 May 2000, the Olympic Stadium was the home ground of the Korea Republic national football team. The newly built

Seoul World Cup Stadium The Seoul World Cup Stadium (), also known as Sangam Stadium, is a stadium used mostly for association football matches. The venue is located in 240, World Cup-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opene ...

then became the center match venue for the Korean team. In an effort to revitalize football across the nation, Korea used the Olympic Stadium for the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup in a 1–2 losing match against Japan on 28 July 2013. The KFA has expressed interest in continuing to use the venue for future national team matches. Since 2015, newly formed professional football club

Seoul E-Land FC Seoul E-Land FC ( ko, 서울 이랜드 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul which plays in the K League 2. Seoul E-Land was announced as the league's second football club based in Seoul on 14 April 2014. The club is ow ...

is using this stadium.

Auto racing

The

Seoul ePrix The Seoul ePrix is an annual race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, to be held at the Seoul Street Circuit in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. It was first raced in the 2021–2022 season as the first ePrix ...

had the circuit run over into the Stadium and around the Seoul Sports Complex.

List of concerts

Notes

References

External links

Seoul Sports Facilities Management Center
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Songpa District

Athletics (track and field) venues in South Korea Sports venues in Seoul Football venues in South Korea Korea, South Venues of the 1986 Asian Games Asian Games athletics venues Asian Games football venues Venues of the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletics venues Olympic equestrian venues Olympic football venues Stadiums of the Asian Games Seoul E-Land FC Multi-purpose stadiums in South Korea Sports venues completed in 1984 1984 establishments in South Korea K League 2 stadiums