All together now...kim’s unlikely charm offensive
‘Army of beauties’ earn a warm reception at Olympics despite warnings over lipstick diplomacy
DECKED out in scarlet tracksuits and woolly hats, North Korea’s chirpy cheerleaders made a vigorous debut over the weekend at the first game of the joint-korean women’s ice hockey team.
Nearing the end of her whirlwind round of inter-korean diplomacy, Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s younger sister – arguably the star attraction of the Winter Olympics so far – enjoyed the spectacle from the stands.
As she left Seoul last night, she left behind the regime’s so-called “army of beauties” to continue Pyongyang’s charm offensive in the South.
While Pyongyang’s last-minute decision to participate was a surprise, its demand to deploy more than 200 cheerleaders was not. For years, North Korea has deployed attractive female performers as a propaganda tool as it seeks to manipulate its image to the outside world.
To join the squad, women must be in their late teens or early 20s, and at least 5ft 3in. They are said to be picked from universities and loyal upper-class families and deemed attractive enough by the state. Their robotically synchronised performances, at times ludicrously outdated, often reflect patriotic themes and the regime’s messages.
Security analysts have warned, however, that the strategy to win the hearts of the South Korean public through cultural diplomacy is part of an attempt to drive a wedge between Seoul and its American ally.
The Korean team were crushed 8-0 by Switzerland on Saturday, but it was not for a lack of support from the swaying, clapping cheerleaders who chanted in unison “Let’s go team!” or “Go, fight, win!” from various stands above them.
Spectators were also treated to an uplifting rendition of Glad to Meet You, a North Korean song performed during meetings between North and South civilians, and My Home Town, a nostalgic folk melody evoking Korea’s fight for freedom from Japanese occupation.
Cheerleaders also let rip for Choe Un-song, the first solo North Korean athlete to take part in the Games but the 25-year-old was eliminated in the 1,500m short-track speedskating heats.
On the face of it, the performance was all good fun, met with a mixture of incredulity and bemusement. The modestly dressed North Koreans, with their antiquated Cold War routines, faced off good-naturedly against South Korean cheerleaders in black miniskirts dancing to K-pop.
Critics of the cheerleaders warn their smiles serve as a distraction to North Korea’s nuclear tests and the desperate plight of many of its imprisoned citizens.
Suki Kim, an American expert on North Korea, denounced Pyongyang’s “lipstick diplomacy” but also added: “What is more disturbing is the way the outside world, and particularly South Korea, embraces these displays of state-promulgated sexism.”
She said: “The South’s fascination with North Korea’s cheerleaders is an extension of its attitude toward North Korean women in general: it views them as exotic, enigmatic, charming in their naivete.”