Issues over forming joint Korea teams in the upcoming Asian Games
- 6 years ago
Earlier this year, the two Koreas fielded a joint women's ice hockey team at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, competing under the Korean Unification Flag.
And just last week they competed together in the world championships of table tennis.
The issue joint teams involve more than diplomacy.
They can benefit a sport or a team, but sometimes they don't, so there's a degree of reluctance, as our Won Jung-hwan reports.
Rather than facing each other in the quarterfinals of the table tennis world championships in Sweden on Thursday,… South and North Korea formed a joint team for the first time in 27 years.
The last joint squad won the gold medal at the 1991 world championships.
In Friday's semifinals, they faced Japan but lost 3-0, sharing the bronze with Hong Kong.
This joint team could be the first of many. At the inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom last week, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to jointly participate in international sports competitions, including the 2018 Asian Games which will be held in Indonesia in August.
The push for joint Korean teams at the Asian Games is gaining momentum, and many people see it as another step towards closer ties between the two Koreas.
The Ministry of Sports recently asked 40 national sports federations whether they would be willing to form a unified team with North Korea at the 2018 Asian Games.
Seven federations have shown an interest in the proposal,... and one of the federations, canoeing, says teaming up with North Korea in Indonesia is highly likely.
"Currently, neither South nor North Korea have full time paddlers for the discipline of Dragon boat. That is why we think it is a perfect discipline for the two Koreas to form a joint team since it won't come at the expense of any athletes, unlike the women's ice hockey team at PyeongChang."
But some sports federations appear reluctant to form a joint team.
Some say forming a unified team would undermine the teamwork within the existing squad and it would require unwanted sacrifice on the part of players whose pro careers may be at stake.
And for male athletes, there is something more.
"In South Korea, male athletes who win gold at the Asian Games are exempt from the country's mandatory two-year military service. But if some athletes lose their opportunity to compete and possibly clear their military service due to the formation of a joint team,… it will trigger a huge backlash from both the athletes and the sport's governing body."
There are still further issues to tackle before the two Koreas compete under one flag in Indonesia, even if South Korean sports federations have expressed their interest.
But with the legacy of the women's joint ice-hockey team at PyeongChang 2018 still strong,… there's a hope that more joint Korean teams can build on that legacy at the Asian Games and other upcoming sporting events.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
And just last week they competed together in the world championships of table tennis.
The issue joint teams involve more than diplomacy.
They can benefit a sport or a team, but sometimes they don't, so there's a degree of reluctance, as our Won Jung-hwan reports.
Rather than facing each other in the quarterfinals of the table tennis world championships in Sweden on Thursday,… South and North Korea formed a joint team for the first time in 27 years.
The last joint squad won the gold medal at the 1991 world championships.
In Friday's semifinals, they faced Japan but lost 3-0, sharing the bronze with Hong Kong.
This joint team could be the first of many. At the inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom last week, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to jointly participate in international sports competitions, including the 2018 Asian Games which will be held in Indonesia in August.
The push for joint Korean teams at the Asian Games is gaining momentum, and many people see it as another step towards closer ties between the two Koreas.
The Ministry of Sports recently asked 40 national sports federations whether they would be willing to form a unified team with North Korea at the 2018 Asian Games.
Seven federations have shown an interest in the proposal,... and one of the federations, canoeing, says teaming up with North Korea in Indonesia is highly likely.
"Currently, neither South nor North Korea have full time paddlers for the discipline of Dragon boat. That is why we think it is a perfect discipline for the two Koreas to form a joint team since it won't come at the expense of any athletes, unlike the women's ice hockey team at PyeongChang."
But some sports federations appear reluctant to form a joint team.
Some say forming a unified team would undermine the teamwork within the existing squad and it would require unwanted sacrifice on the part of players whose pro careers may be at stake.
And for male athletes, there is something more.
"In South Korea, male athletes who win gold at the Asian Games are exempt from the country's mandatory two-year military service. But if some athletes lose their opportunity to compete and possibly clear their military service due to the formation of a joint team,… it will trigger a huge backlash from both the athletes and the sport's governing body."
There are still further issues to tackle before the two Koreas compete under one flag in Indonesia, even if South Korean sports federations have expressed their interest.
But with the legacy of the women's joint ice-hockey team at PyeongChang 2018 still strong,… there's a hope that more joint Korean teams can build on that legacy at the Asian Games and other upcoming sporting events.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.