Unified Olympics team for the two Koreas proposed
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA— President Moon Jae-in of South Korea proposed on Saturday that his country and North Korea form a unified team to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics, to be held in Pyeongchang in the South.
Moon made the overture during a speech at the opening ceremony of a World Taekwondo championship in Muju, South Korea. The North does not compete in the championship but sent a demonstration team, led by Jang Woong, its delegate to the International Olympic Committee.
It was the first sports exchange since Moon took office.
The South Korean pres- ident, who advocates dia- logue and reconciliation with North Korea, recalled past instances where the two Koreas fielded joint teams in international sports competitions and their national teams marched together in Olympic Games.
“I want to see the same glory again,” he said, asking Jang for cooperation. “I want to feel the same Olympic sensation.”
If they form a unified team for the Pyeongchang Olym- pics, it would be a major milestone in inter-Korean relations. South Korean offi- cials hope such a feat would help create a thaw on the Korean Peninsula after years of tensions spurred by the North’s nuclear and missile tests.
North Korea has yet to announce whether it wants to attend the Pyeongchang Olympics. The North and South remain bitter politi- cal and sports rivals.
When the South hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics, in Seoul, the North boycotted. But strong ethnic nationalism also compels people in one Korea to cheer for the other Korea when it com- petes with any other coun- try, especially Japan, which once ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony.
Efforts by both sides to seek reconciliation through sports exchanges have some- times led to breakthroughs. In 1991, the two Koreas fielded a joint team to an international table-tennis championship and inter- national youth soccer tournament.
In 2000, the year the two countries held their historic first summit meeting, their delegations marched together at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olym- pics. They again marched together at the 2004 Athens Olympics, using the single name “Korea” and carrying a “Korea is one” flag. But they competed separately.
The potential implications of millions of Koreans cheering together for their unified team could be huge. But past efforts to form a unified Olympic team have all faltered over politically delicate details such as whether a joint team should have an equal number of players from each side, which side should choose the head coach and where the team would train.
Such efforts also provide a testing ground for overcoming obstacles to reunification. For instance, in South Korea, broadcasts of soccer matches are interspersed with English terms like “goal post,” “penalty kick” and “midfield.” In the North, athletes use Korean translations not readily understandable to South Korean players.
The two Koreas have even developed different versions of taekwondo, their traditional martial art.