With the 17th Asian Games kicking off next Friday at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium, South Korea is seeking to make a good impression on the flock of international visitors set to arrive in the country’s gateway city.

Organizers are also hoping that the biggest gathering of athletes in Asia will offer South Korean sports circles a chance to rebound from recent failures, while potentially acting as catalyst to mend corroding ties with North Korea.

The event, taking place from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4, will draw 9,700 athletes, over 3,000 officials and about 10,000 members of the media from 45 countries. According to the organizers, some 200,000 foreigners are expected to visit South Korea’s third-largest city to watch the athletes compete to prove themselves as the top dogs in the region.

“We (Incheon officials) are determined to make the upcoming Asian Games a successful event, because it is a chance for us to promote Incheon to the world,” Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said. “By mixing sports, culture and tourism, the Asian Games will be a chance for Incheon and South Korea to improve their image.”

Incheon officials say the impact of the event will reach beyond just sports. With various events to promote Korean culture, officials say they want to secure Incheon’s position as the hub for the Korean Wave.

Prior to the opening ceremony, the 2014 Incheon K-pop Concert will be held at Songdo in the Incheon Free Economic Zone on Wednesday. It will feature leading hallyu stars including Secret, MBLAQ, KARA and 4Minute.

Outstanding participants from the cover-dance competition at the K-pop Festival in Incheon 2014 will have a chance to perform at the concert.

Songdo will also host The K Festival on Oct. 3 and 4, which will offer visitors a chance to experience not only Korean music, but also food, fashion, cosmetics and IT products as well as drama-related content.

Incheon officials hope the city will step up as an international tourism hub. According to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, the Asian Games is expected to bring up to 12.9 trillion won ($12.7 billion) to the city while creating 268,500 jobs.

“The construction of infrastructure and tourism, and the increased spending by visitors to the city will be enormous. Some of these projects ― such as subway construction ― will affect all of Incheon’s industries even after the Asian Games,” the report said.

In addition, experts say the Asian Games will contribute to improving the relationship between the two Koreas.

Last month’s survey by the Hyundai Research Institute showed that 45.3 percent of experts on security, unification and diplomacy said the Incheon Games would be a turning point in the establishment of an amicable relationship between the countries.

“North Korea’s participation will be a huge factor in the popularity of the games, and will act as a foundation for the Koreas’ move toward peace and reconciliation,” Mayor Yoo said.

The cultural and diplomatic significance of the Asian Games is huge, but the main stage still belongs to the athletes. Spearheading the group of Korea’s finest is swimmer Park Tae-hwan, one of biggest sports figures in the country.

He will look to add yet another gold medal to his already-large collection, consisting of six Asian Games gold medals, one Olympic gold medal and two Olympic silver medals.

Park set a personal best this year in the men’s 400-meter freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships in Australia last month, winning the event. His main competition will be China’s Sun Yang, who dethroned Park in the men’s 400 freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics.

Another athlete out to prove himself is badminton player Lee Yong-dae, a gold medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics who has yet to acquire an Asian Games gold medal. Lee’s participation was in doubt until recently after the Badminton World Federation slapped him with a one-year ban for missing doping tests.

In April, he was cleared to enter after the Badminton Korea Association admitted that the mix-up was due to administrative errors.

“The Incheon Games means a lot to me. Partly because I’ve personally gone through an unpleasant experience, but also because it’s my last chance to win a gold medal in the Asian Games,” he said.

South Korea’s goal is to finish in second place, behind China, for the fifth consecutive Games, which would offer the grief-stricken country a certain degree of comfort.

Recent events in South Korea have left its reputation and morale in shambles. The fatal sinking of the ferry Sewol in April left over 300 dead or missing and revealed a network of corruption between government officials and large corporations, while the confrontation with the hostile North Korea persists.

To make matters worse, South Korea’s lackluster performance in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil left athletes and the coaching staff humiliated, fans frustrated and outsiders in doubt about its competence in sports.

An outstanding performance on its home turf would provide redemption, and could help Korea wrap up the accident-laden year on a high note.

“The Sewol tragedy lingers within (our society), and we will devote ourselves to maintaining second place,” said Lee Won-hee, a former gold medalist and a coach for the South Korean judo team.

Star archer Oh Jin-hyek said that Korea has “gone through rough times recently” and vowed to perform well in order to give hope to the people.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)