• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.454-475
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• 2013

In 2011, Daegu hosted the International Association of Athletics Federation Championships and attempted to use this event strengthen its global profile. Organizers hoped Daegu 2011 would strengthen knowledge about Daegu internationally and help the city overcome recent economic stagnation by bolstering tourism and investment on the global scale. Written from the perspective of a foreigner living in Korea, this interpretive article uses mixed-method cultural geographic analysis to evaluate the momentum Daegu 2011 produced in these directions. The article draws on a tripartite "territorialisation" approach to mega-event tourism's production of space, focusing on representational efforts during the approach to the championships and the event itself. Promotional materials receive particular attention. Interviews with international tourists during 2011 strengthen conclusions drawn from analysis of promotional materials. After reviewing relevant conceptual literature, Daegu's history, and the background of Daegu 2011, the article devotes three subsections to analysis. The first uses critical discourse analysis of a key promotional video to argue that Daegu's self-promotions betrayed insecurity about the city's place within the global tourism market. A second analysis subbsection finds that additional promotional materials did not fully overcome that problem. These materials also produced an overload of Daegu images and aspirations. The third subsection further develops these arguments, pointing to a partial mismatch between images emphasized by promotions and experiences available in the tourism landscape. This subsection also argues that while Daegu 2011 undoubtedly produced positive effects for the city, key challenges remain if Daegu will be placed on the map of globally acknowledged cities.