The introduction chapter provides a brief overview of the four mega-events discussed in this book—the Summer Olympics (1988), the World Expo (1993), the FIFA World Cup (2002), and the Winter Olympics (2018). We highlight that the four mega-events were used as a political tool serving personal, national and international motives that reflect South Korea’s evolving politics and economic development stages. We contextualize the four mega-events in the context of South Korea’s state-led modern economic development, taking place at the precise moments when the country was making a leap from authoritarian developmental rule to democratic economic powerhouse. We follow the extent to which the mega-events have achieved their goals, including fostering international relationships, promoting national and urban development , and supporting decentralization development aims.