1997 East Asian Games

II East Asian Games

Host city	Busan, South Korea
Nations participating	10
Athletes participating	1283
Events	13 sports
Opening ceremony	May 10, 1997
Closing ceremony	May 19, 1997
Officially opened by	President Kim Young-sam
Main venue	Busan Gudeok Stadium

The 2nd East Asian Games were held in Busan, South Korea from May 10 to May 19, 1997.

Originally the 2nd edition of East Asian Games was to be held in Pyongyang, North Korea in September, 1995. However, North Korea dropped the 2nd Games due to the unstable policial situation in the Korean Peninsula.

The 2001 edition featured nine nations competing in events in 13 sports.^[1] North Korea was the only East Asian member nation which did not field a team. The Busan Gudeok Stadium was the main venue for the Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics and football competitions.^[2]

Rowing featured as a demonstration sport for the first time and it was later taken up at the 2005 and 2009.^[3]

Sports

Aquatics () Swimming Athletics (43) () Badminton () Basketball () † Bowling ()

Boxing () Football () Gymnastics () Artistic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics Judo ()

†† Rowing () Soft tennis () Taekwondo () Weightlifting () Wrestling () Wushu ()

† – Exhibition sport

†† – Demonstration sport

Medal table

  Host nation (South Korea)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China (CHN)	62	59	64	185
2	Japan (JPN)	47	53	53	153
3	South Korea (KOR)	45	38	51	134
4	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	24	12	22	58
5	Chinese Taipei (TPE)	8	22	19	49
6	Mongolia (MGL)	3	2	19	24
7	Hong Kong (HKG)	1	2	2	5
8	Guam (GUM)	0	0	1	1
8	Macau (MAC)	0	0	1	1
Total		190	188	232	610

References

1. 2nd EAG Busan 1997 . Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved on 2010-03-11.
2. Bell, Daniel (2003). Encyclopedia of International Games. McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 0-7864-1026-4.
3. East Asian Games in retrospect. People's Daily (2005-10-27). Retrieved on 2010-03-11.