Margaret Walker Dilling, an ethnomusicologist, began her research with an interest in the ceremonial music played on the occasion of the Seoul Olympics held in 1988 during her research on Nongak. She interviewed various people including cultural members of the organizing committee as well as other relevant persons involved in such tasks as the preparation of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Seoul Olympics Event, as well as collecting articles, etc. In particular, she meticulously recorded all processes including which music was used for the background at each of the different stages of the event, interviewed various persons and collected related music sheets. The research of Marnie Dilling on the Seoul Olympics was published in 2007 under the title Stories Inside Stories: Music in the Making of Korean Olympic Ceremonies. The materials acquired from fieldwork quoted in the book of Marnie Dilling are included and stored in “Margaret [Marnie] Walker Dilling collection,” which is possessed UC Berkeley College. This data shows well how the processes and the results of accommodating elements of the traditional arts of the Seoul Olympics are interpreted from the perspective of an outsider in a socio-cultural context. Therefore, the objective of this article is to interpret the opening and closing music reflected in contemporary music culture by integrating the viewpoint of an insider who which sees the same phenomenon through new articles, critiques, etc. around the year 1988. The opening and closing events of the 1988 Seoul Olympics were organized based on traditional culture and traditional art to demonstrate the cultural identity of the host country, Korea. The three bases of heaven, earth and men were used as the philosophical background and the whole framework of the opening and closing ceremonies was also planned in the symbolic framework of the sunrise and enjoyment of the moon. The music of the opening and closing ceremonies was chosen so that it would reflect both Korean and global elements at the same time, which may be called “Koreanize,” and the composers participating in the composition and arrangement of the music played on these occasions were able to compose music suitable for each part through their musical knowledge and experience. After hosting the Seoul Olympics, criticisms about the music of the opening and closing events were made by different music communities or schools. However, in conclusion, it is worth noting the fact that the music played at the Seoul Olympics had a positive effect on removing negative perceptions about traditional culture that had prevailed up until the 1980s. In other words, the hosting of the Seoul Olympics was an important occasion that helped change social consciousness towards traditional culture and helped raise interest in traditional music. The music played at the opening and closing events of the Seoul Olympics and the various arguments about the compositional direction and the application of music composed for special occasions is judged to be an important part in demonstrating one aspect of Korean music society in the late 1980s. The book of Marnie Dilling about the Seoul Olympics and her data about on-site surveys were significant in that together they conveyed various thoughts and voices of musicians and intellectuals living at the time and so it is significant and meaningful data with regard to the study of Korean music history in the 20th century.