S.Korean gymnast ‘awed’ by selfie fame

Pose with athlete from North goes viral

South Korean gymnast Lee Eun-ju, who found herself in the international spotlight after taking a selfie with a North Korean competitor in Rio, said Friday she was surprised by the extraordinary response to such a simple act.

A snapshot of Lee and North Korea’s Hong Un-jong posing for the selfie on Lee’s phone swiftly went viral on Twitter, with many hailing the image as a perfect illustration of the Olympic spirit.

The photo has been tweeted and shared hundreds of thousands of times, with the likes of Thomas Bach, president of International Olympic Committee, describing it as a “great gesture.”

In a radio interview with South Ko- rean broadcaster KBS on Friday, the e 17-year-old said the decision to grab a selfie with Hong had been totally spontaneous.

“I saw her and asked to take a pic-cture together as a souvenir,” Lee said. “I didn’t expect such a huge reaction so I’m still awed by that.”

Lee was only 9 when Hong – 10 years her senior – became the first female North Korean gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008.

The two had never met before Rio, but Lee said she had been impressed watching Hong compete on TV.

The photo of the two athletes resonated at a time of growing tension between North and South Korea who technically remain at war since the 1950-531 Korean War concluded withoutw a formal peace treaty.

Civilian communication betweentwe the two countries is almost non-existent and both Koreas forbid citizens traveling to the North without prior permission.

The international sporting arena offers one of the rare opportunities for some North-South bonding, although the level of interaction is usually dictated by the prevailing state of relations.

In the past, the two nations have fielded joint teams for some sporting events and they marched together under one flag at the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics.

That initiative ended in Beijing due to heightened tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula.

“I don’t really know about politics, but I don’t think we have a terrible relationship with North Korea,” Lee said in another interview with local media.

“We mingle and say hello with athletes from other countries, so why can’t we [North and South Koreans] do that?” she asked.

Lee was eliminated in the preliminary rounds of the gymnastics competition in Rio and said she hadn’t spoken to Hong since.