Five Rings Over Korea: The Secret Negotiations Behind the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul

In 1981, when Seoul was chosen as the host of 1988 Olympics, beating out Nagoya, Japan, the decision was widely criticized as risky or foolhardy given the instability of South Korea's military regime and tensions with North Korea. Cuba and North Korea boycotted the games, but thanks to pressure from the Soviet Union and China, with the U.S. acting as a power broker, other possible boycotts were prevented and North Korea agreed not to disrupt the Seoul Olympics. Pound, a member of the International Olympic Committee, details the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of Reagan, Gorbachev, Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze and others. And he re-creates the 1985-87 negotiations between North and South Korea held in Switzerland, in which the North insisted on cohosting the games. This is an instructive case study in international consensus-building and the politics of sports. Photos. (Sept.)