S. Korea, Japan celebrate skaters’ bonhomie

gangneung — A photo of rival skaters from South Korea and Japan hugging each other after a tense race has touched many hearts in the two neighbours with a bitter history, with many including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe applauding their friendship.

Japanese skater Nao Kodaira stormed to gold in the women’s 500m race on Sunday night, beating champion and hometown favourite Lee Sang-hwa.

But a picture of Kodaira hugging and comforting her rival, who was in tears holding a South Korean flag, has melted hearts in both nations. Bilateral relations remain strained due to the shared past in which Japan colonised South Korea from 1910-1945.

“The sight of two of you embracing each other after the race and congratulating each other was really wonderful,” Abe told her on Monday during a phone call to congratulate Kodaira on her first Olympic win.

Japanese viewers tweeted that the scene brought them to tears, while one wrote: “The scene of the two embracing is something all humanity has been waiting for.”

Newspapers in Japan also lauded the gesture, saying “Embrace for Rival Lee” and commenting on their bond. In South Korea, photos of the two were prominently carried in major newspapers with headlines such as “A borderless friendship” and “Lee’s tears and Kodaira’s consolation — The rivals’ beautiful finale.”

Thousands took to the Internet and social media to praise their gesture as a true friendship. “I was sobbing while watching Kodaira and Lee strolling around the ice rink after the race. That scene really grasped the core Olympic value,” wrote a commentator on Naver, South Korea’s biggest Internet portal. —