Asian Games at 75: Why they still matter

What does the Asian Games actually mean in an era like ours? In an age of dopamine overload, when we can watch the world’s best sports — from Major League Baseball in the United States to European football— every day on a device in the palm of our hand, it is a fair question. Yet the Asian Games cannot be judged solely by their standing today. They have carried considerable historical significance throughout the decades. Seoul is a city that once gave up the right to host the Asian Games. Seoul was originally selected to host the sixth edition in 1970, but at the time South Korea lacked the financial resources to handle a major international multisport event. Security concerns, including 1968 raid on the presidential compound by North Korean armed infiltrators, further complicated matters. In the end, South Korea returned the hosting rights, paying a $200,000 penalty in the process, and Bangkok stepped in to host the Games instead. But 16 years later, Seoul was a completely different city. It successfully hosted the 1986 Asian Games and just two years later, held the Olympics. Th