Despite its significance as the first time Korean athletes had participated in the Olympic Games, the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics has attracted little scholarly attention. In this paper, I examine the 1932 Olympic Games’ multifaceted impact on colonial Korea beyond the typical nationalistic historiography that focuses on Japanese discrimination vs. Korean resistance. The Olympics, at that time a Western-dominated mega-sports events, provided a golden opportunity for Koreans to boast of the power of the Korean nation, a nation that had been largely absent from the world stage since its annexation by Japan in 1910. Three Korean athletes (Kim Ŭnbae, Kwŏn Taeha, and HwangŬlsu) were acclaimed as national heroes, being the first Koreans in the nation’s history to compete in the Olympic Games. Colonial Korea was swept up in Olympic fever in the summer of 1932. However, even the Olympics could not hold all Koreans together or make them proud of their fatherland. During the 1932 Olympics, a significant number of Koreans living in Los Angeles were not hesitant to dismiss the Korean athletes, viewing them not only as members of the Japanese national team but even as national traitors. For some Korean intellectuals focusing on the popularization of sports, propagating calisthenics was a much more urgent issue than sending a handful of elite athletes to the Olympics, especially given the fact that most Koreans were suffering in poverty and lacked access to medical facilities. Even the three Korean Olympians were not happy with their Olympic debut because of their disappointing results. In sum, the wide array of Koreans—athletes, fans, national leaders, Korean residents in America—observed, participated, and consumed this mega-sports event one way or the other. If the Olympic Games as a whole was a convoluted social phenomenon, so too were Korean reactions to it.

中文翻译：

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殖民地朝鲜首次参加奥运会（1932年）

尽管作为韩国运动员第一次参加奥运会具有重要意义，但 1932 年洛杉矶夏季奥运会几乎没有引起学术界的关注。在这篇论文中，我除了关注日本歧视与韩国抵抗的典型民族主义史学之外，还考察了 1932 年奥运会对殖民朝鲜的多方面影响。奥运会在当时是西方主导的大型体育赛事，为韩国人提供了一个大好机会来吹嘘朝鲜民族的力量，朝鲜民族自 1910 年被日本吞并以来基本上没有出现在世界舞台上。三位韩国运动员（金赞培、Kwŏn Taeha 和 HwangŬlsu）被誉为民族英雄，是韩国历史上第一位参加奥运会的韩国人。1932年夏天，殖民地朝鲜在奥运热中席卷而来。然而，即使是奥运会也无法让所有韩国人团结起来，也无法让他们为自己的祖国感到自豪。在 1932 年奥运会期间，居住在洛杉矶的大量韩国人毫不犹豫地解雇了韩国运动员，不仅将他们视为日本国家队的一员，甚至将他们视为国家叛徒。对于一些关注体育普及的韩国知识分子来说，宣传健美操比派遣少数精英运动员参加奥运会更为紧迫，尤其是考虑到大多数韩国人生活在贫困之中，无法获得医疗设施。由于成绩令人失望，就连三位韩国奥运选手也对他们的奥运首秀不满意。总之，各种各样的韩国人——运动员、球迷、国家领导人，在美国的韩国居民——以一种或另一种方式观察、参与和消费这个大型体育赛事。如果说奥运会作为一个整体是一个复杂的社会现象，那么韩国人对它的反应也是如此。