Unified teams date back to 1991

2024-06-15 06:22:44      点击：929

Women's hockey team coaches and athletes from the two Koreas take time out for photographs at the national training center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, Jan. 25. Seoul and Pyongyang are fielding their first unified Olympic team for the PyeongChang Winter Games. / Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

The two Koreas' first unified Olympic team in women's hockey for the PyeongChang Winter Games is drawing attention to past cross-border cooperation in sports.

It dates back to 1991 when Seoul and Pyongyang fielded a joint team for the World Table Tennis Championships and the FIFA World Youth Championship.

The two Koreas expanded cooperation in the 2000s amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations, with athletes parading together under a unified flag at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the 2002 Asian Games in Busan and the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu.

North Korea also sent a cheering squad -- mostly women in their teens or 20s -- mainly to the Asian Games and the Universiade as well as the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon.

In 2011, the two sides teamed again at the Peace and Sport Cup, a table tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar, as part of efforts to encourage dialogue among hostile nations, including India and Pakistan.

South Korea's Hyun Jung-wha, right, and the North's Lee Boon-hee compete in a joint team for a women's doubles match at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan. / Korea Times file

2 Koreas win women's doubles

The two Koreas failed to form a combined team for the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing following rounds of talks.

But the attempt helped lay the groundwork for fundamental agreements, such as design of a unified flag, selection criteria for events and sharing expenses, according to sources.

"Seoul and Pyongyang could capitalize on what was discussed in the talks when they fielded a joint team for table tennis and youth football in 1991," a source said.

At the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan, the two Koreas jointly competed in the men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles in accordance with an agreement reached at Panmunjeom in February.

Eleven athletes from the North and 11 from the South participated in the championships from April to May. Among them was Hyun Jung-wha, a South Korean who won the women's doubles with the North's Lee Boon-hee.

The victory was partly attributed to joint training over 30 days, which gave the players time to get to know each other better.

Unified Korean team players compete for the ball against Argentina during a group stage match at the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship in Portugal. / Korea Times file

The FIFA World Youth Championship in June 1991 had nine players from each Korea.

The unified squad surprised many at the tournament in Portugal when it beat Argentina 1-0 in a group stage match and advanced to the round of eight with a 1-1-1 record.

The team lost to Brazil 5-1 in the round of eight, but its performance showed the potential of a unified Korean football team, according to sources.

"The players back then only trained together less than one month due to political and many other reasons and it's impressive that they played so well," a source said.

Chung Eun-sun, right, a South Korean basketball player, and Park Jung-chul, a North Korean judo coach, carry a flag showing a unified Korea to lead the joint delegation of the two Koreas at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. / Korea Times file

North Korean cheerleaders wave unified flags at the opening ceremony of the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu. / Korea Times file

Cross-border cooperation in sports increased in the 2000s after the first inter-Korean summit between President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in June 2000.

Although they competed as separate teams, athletes of the two Koreas marched together under one flag for the first time at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in September 2000.

Chung Eun-sun, a South Korean basketball player, and Park Jung-chul, a North Korean judo coach, carried a flag showing a unified Korea and led a joint delegation of 180 that received thunderous applause.

Athletes from the two Korea marched together again at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Asian Games and the 2003 Summer Asiade.

In addition, North Korea sent a group of young women to cheer for athletes from North and South countries in 2002 and 2003.

Dubbed the "army of beauties" in South Korea, they frequently wore identical outfits, sometimes sporty with ball caps, sometimes in school uniforms and military uniforms, and brought a unique and practiced blend of chants, dances and songs.

The squad at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was especially notable because it included Ri Sol-ju. She married Kim Jong-un in 2009, two years before he took control of the repressive state.

While the cheerleaders mainly drew attention for their appearance and performance, the squad members in 2003 are remembered for screaming hysterically and "rescuing" a rain-soaked banner featuring a picture of Kim Jong-il shaking hands with Kim Dae-jung.

In 2011, South Korea's Ryu Seung-min, a 2014 Olympic champion, teamed with the North's Kim Hyok-bong to win the men's doubles at the Peace and Sport Cup.

Other than this, cross-border ties fell to their lowest level under the conservative governments of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.

North Korea then surprised many people in 2014 when its three top officials -- Hwang Pyong-so, Choe Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon -- made a surprise visit to the South for the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games.

The decision to field a unified women's hockey team at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang this year followed rounds of talks between the two Koreas over the North's participation.

Twelve North Korean hockey players arrived at South Korea's national training center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province last week after the International Olympic Committee allowed them to join the South's 23-member team.

Hyun Jung-wha, now head coach for the Korea Racing Authority table tennis team, said "well-organized teamwork" would be crucial for the women's hockey team to succeed.

"There is not enough time until the Olympics begin," she said. "Each member of the unified team should be open-minded and work together to maximize their strength."