More than two decades after Seoul hosted the Summer Olympics from Sept. 17 to Oct. 2, 1988, the venues used by Games, including parks, hotels and stadiums, have remained intact and have helped boost the country's tourism and entertainment industries.

The Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, held under the theme, " Harmony and Progress," was reportedly the biggest in scale in Olympic history up to that time. It brought together more than 13, 000 athletes and officials from 160 countries.

South Korea's successful hosting of the Olympic Games presented its people a summer filled with unforgettable memories of national pride, and what was physically built and what was left behind not only vividly evoke such memories, but also generate profits.

Partly as a result of the Seoul Olympics, South Korea now boasts many world-class sports facilities, concentrated in Seoul and the southeastern port city of Busan where most of the Olympic events took place.

The main stage of the sporting extravaganza in Seoul was a huge sports complex alongside the Han River which flows through the center of the city.

The Jamsil Sports Complex, which spans an area of 545,000 square meters, includes the 100,000-capacity Olympic main stadium, a baseball stadium, two swimming centers, an indoor sports facility and a supplementary track field.

The Olympic Stadium, located at the center of the complex, hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the Seoul Games. It has not been used to stage a major world event since the Olympics, but remains profitable by hosting sports events, concerts or cultural shows.

The use of the stadium as a venue for large concerts by local K- pop stars or visiting foreign artists makes the structure profitable.

Song Doo-suk, director general of Seoul Sports Facilities Management Center, which operates the Jamsil Sports Complex, said staging concerts in the stadium has helped raise profits.

"Many large-scale K-pop related shows take place on weekends. Thanks to them, our earnings now exceed annual maintenance fees," Song said.

The baseball stadium, which hosted the baseball events during the 1988 Olympics, can hold over 30,000 people and is now the home of two professional South Korean baseball teams.

It is another great source of income for the sports complex given the overwhelming popularity of baseball in South Korea.

The baseball stadium is opened for baseball matches every day of the week except on Mondays during the sport's competitive season, and each game draws about 25,000 baseball fans.

About 5 kilometers east of the complex sits the Olympic Park, which covers an area of some 1.5 million square meters and features a velodrome, three gymnasiums, an indoor swimming pool, a tennis court and the Olympic Hall.

The park, built to house the facilities for the 1988 Seoul Games, remains as a venue of civic sports, culture, and leisure, while preserving the spirit of the Olympics.

The facilities inside the park, including the Olympic Hall and the Gymnastics Hall, are also being rented out mostly for concerts. Venue rental is the primary source of revenue for the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO), which manages the Olympic Park.

It also generates revenue by operating a number of facilities throughout the park, including cafeterias, restaurants, and parking lots. In 2011, about eight million people visited the park.

Selling gym memberships at fitness facilities and a swimming pool in the park proves profitable as public demand for sports, social and cultural activities are on the rise.

Hwang Jae-gug, general manager of KSPO&Co., said the management of the Olympic Park focuses on meeting public demand for sports development through pastime activities.

"In South Korea, public demand for culture and health services is increasing every day. We are organizing various contests to satisfy the government's policy to promote sports awareness among the people," Hwang said.

Besides the Jamsil Sports Complex and Olympic Park, the 88 Olympic Expressway, Olympic Bridge, Olympic Village, and other such structures remain major landmarks of the city long after the Seoul Games and happy reminders of that glorious time.