USA TODAY International Edition
Hockey team unites Koreans
But residents of South torn about diplomatic thaw
GANGNEUNG, South Korea – When it comes to backing a unified North and South Korean women’s hockey team at the Olympics, Oh Seung Hyun is an enthusiastic supporter.
But on reuniting the two nations — which have technically remained at war for more than 70 years — he will readily admit he’s torn.
“It’s a very difficult situation,” said Oh, 23, as he waited in a long line to get into Kwandong Hockey Center to cheer the unified Korean women’s team in their loss to Switzerland. “For young
“It feels very much like we are in the same situation as East Germany and West Germany were in before they became one country.”
Oh Seung Hyun, 23 South Korean resident
people like me, there is the concern about the costs of a relationship where we become closer and more supportive of North Korea.”
On Saturday night, fans from the North and South were spirited in their support of a united Korea on the ice.
South Korean families waved unified Korea flags and held up signs celebrating the joint team. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un even shipped in more than 200 cheerleaders from Pyongyang to provide support.
For young people like Oh living in South Korea, the start of the Olympics — and the beginnings of a political rapprochement — has been both exhilarating and terrifying.
“It feels very much like we are in the same situation as East Germany and West Germany were in before they became one country,” Oh said. “I think this could be good for the future of my children’s generation, but for younger people of my generation, we worry it could be very complicated and costly.”
His attitude is reflective of a growing sentiment in South Korea in the months leading up to the Winter Olympics thaw.
A poll published in December by the government-run Korea Institute for National Unification showed a majority of South Koreans still support eventual reunification, but that backing is also diminishing.
Over the past four years, national backing for unification has dropped more than 10%, from 69.3% to 57.8%, according to the institute. The vast majority of young South Korean — 72% of those in their 20s — believe unification is unnecessary.
“We are one people and should be one nation,” said Choi Hyoun-jong, 44, an engineer from Seoul. “I am not sure it can happen if it does not happen soon.”
On the ice, all reports indicate the South and North Koreans have melded nicely, despite some criticism from South Korean fans about the fairness of creating spots at the last moment for less experienced North Korean players.
Park Jongah, a South Korean forward, said she was pleased the team had developed chemistry. And Jong Su Hyon, a North Korean forward, said her teammates played with “one heart and one mind,” and she would like to see them continue to compete together.
But Jong declined to comment when asked if she thought the joint squad could have any impact on relations between the two governments.
Some have dismissed the thaw as fleeting and said the North’s Kim will be back to his ways once the Games end.
On Saturday, Kim asked South Korean President Moon Jae-in to come to North Korea for talks — what would be the first face-to-face meeting between the nation’s top leaders in over a decade.
Skeptics like Hyeonseo Lee, a North Korean defector living in Seoul, say Kim has deftly shifted attention away from abuses by his regime.
“The media is currently focusing on North Korea’s participation in these Olympics, but what we should never forget is the millions of North Korean people who are struggling to survive in this extremely cold winter in the north,” she said.