South Korea’s Yeo Seo-jeong (left) and North Korea’s An Chang-ok at the Paris Olympics gymnastics competition. (Yonhap via The Korean Herald)
During the women’s vault at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, South Korean artistic gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong approached North Korea’s An Chang-ok to congratulate her performance.
But as Yeo rose from her seat, An walked right past her to embrace her coach. An did not comment on this matter, and Yeo said she missed the timing to embrace An despite wanting to shake hands.
It was among the few encounters between the two Koreas at the Summer Games in the French capital, where both sides shared somewhat awkward moments of minimal cordiality in light of the recent tension in the peninsula.
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It is unclear whether An’s cold shoulder was intentional or not, as Yeo may simply not have not been within An’s peripheral vision. The incident, however, has sparked speculation and interest from South Koreans.
“It’s a matter of life (for An). This is … actually understandable,” one commenter said on the video posted to YouTube. “Haha … I don’t think it’s a matter of An’s personality,” another person added.
An was also seen avoiding the South Koreans during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, last year, where she won two gold medals. A South Korean reporter called her out and asked for a comment, to which she hesitated for a moment before walking away and saying, “I’m sorry.”
Complicated relations between the Koreas
Bronze medalists South Korea’s Lim Jonghoon (L) takes a selfie with : gold medalists China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, silver medalists North Korea’s Ri Jong Sil amd Kim Kum Yong (C) and South Korea’s Shin Yubin ) at the end of their mixed table tennis doubles competition at the Paris Olympics.. (Photo by JUNG Yeon-je / AFP)
South and North Koreans have had a complicated relationship, which can vary from being seen as sworn enemies to members of the same nation. Inter-Korea relations as of now are as icy as they have been in recent years, particularly with continued hard-line comments from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Kim recently said he no longer sees reunification between the Koreas as possible, and his country’s constitution should define South Korea as its principal enemy. The North has also been bombarding South Korea with trash-filled balloons since May.
The two Koreas remain technically at war with each other since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, and do not recognize one another as legitimate countries. On the practical level, relations have been in an on-again, off-again cycle, with levels varying from neighbors to sworn enemies.
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Sports exchanges between the two Koreas have only occurred within the strict control of the respective governments, and only during the times of relative peace on the peninsula. The most recent case was the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, during which the two Koreas marched together in the opening ceremony under a flag symbolizing a unified Korea.
Except on such rare occasions, North Koreans rarely issue personal comments to outsiders, with the country being under the totalitarian regime of the Kim family. Kim Jong-un is the third-generation dictator of the communist state, and the South Korea’s spy agency has said it believes Kim’s only daughter Ju-ae is likely to be his successor.
Such awkwardness was hinted at during the awards ceremony for the mixed doubles table tennis event held on Tuesday, where the South Korean pair of Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin won the bronze medal while the North Korean team of Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong won silver.
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When the North Koreans approached the podium, the South Koreans extended their hands, which barely touched as neither side firmly clenched. The two sides said “congratulations” to each other.
But the awardees participated in a meaningful gesture nonetheless, as all the medalists, including the gold-winning Chinese team, came together for a selfie after receiving their medals.
With the two Koreas partaking in international sporting events, their athletes continue to run into each other for their fair share of awkward or friendly moments. The Koreas formed a unified team for the women’s tournament at the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, Sweden, but met each other as rivals at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
The North Korean table tennis players did not address the South Korean media, but were seen smiling multiple times at South Korean players throughout the tournament. It marked a contrast to some athletes in other sports, such as the North Korean basketball team “deliberately avoiding” the South Koreans, according to South Korean guard Kang Lee-seul’s account.
Whatever the North Koreans feel toward their Southern neighbors, they are keeping it to themselves for the most part. Kim Kum-yong of the North Korean mixed table tennis team was asked if they felt rivalry toward the South Koreans, to which she shortly answered, “I don’t.”