Koreans Will March Together at the Olympics

WORLD

North Korea and South Korea will march together at the opening ceremony under a unification flag. (NPR)

Who will not be marching at the Olympics?

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Discussion Ideas

In a historic move, North Korea and South Korea will march together in next month’s Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Why are there two Koreas?
- The division of Korea is a result of the Cold War, not the Korean War. The Koreas have been in a state of conflict since 1945.
  - 1945: After World War II, Japan is forced to withdraw from Korea after 35 years of controlling the country. The Soviet Union occupies the northern part of the country, while the United States occupies the southern part.
  - 1948: The Republic of Korea (ROC, or South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) are established. Only the ROC is recognized by the United Nations.
  - 1948-1950: The new Korean nations are wracked by a lethal series of border conflicts.
  - 1950-1953: Korean War. North Korea invades South Korea, in an attempt to unify the country under its communist regime. A UN force led by the United States and more than a dozen Western allies intervenes to protect the South. North Korea’s communist allies the Soviet Union and China intervene to support the North.
  - 1953: The Korean War ends with both the DPRK invasion of the South and the UN-led invasion of the North as failures.
  - 1953: The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is established. A Joint Security Area within the DMZ is administered by both nations.
  - 2000: The first inter-Korea summit is held in Pyongyang, North Korea.
  - 2007: The second inter-Korea summit is held in Pyongyang, North Korea.

How are North Korea and South Korea collaborating at the 2018 Winter Olympics?
- In the popular “parade of nations” opening ceremony, athletes from both Koreas will march under a single flag of unification. (The flag will show an undivided Korean Peninsula, and probably look a lot like this.)
  - Right now, only two North Korean athletes (a pairs figure skating team) have qualified for the Olympics, although that may change this weekend when the International Olympic Committee reviews wild-card entries from the DPRK. Take a look at the North Korean Olympians in action at the 2017 World Championships here.
- The Korean women’s hockey team will include athletes from both nations.
- North Korea will send a “cheering squad” of 230 people to support all Korean athletes.
- Both skiing teams will train together at a ski resort in North Korea.

Have the Koreas collaborated at athletic ceremonies before?
- Yes, but never to this extent.
  - Korean athletes marched together during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece; the 2004 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia; the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy; and the 2007 Asian Winter Games in Changchun, China.
  - The Koreas have never before competed together at the Olympics, although they did field two joint teams (male and female) for the world table-tennis championship in 1991. The female team won gold.

What might be the possible outcomes of this symbolic “sports diplomacy”? Read through this terrific Atlantic article for some help.
- First, it could be purely symbolic, a propaganda effort by the North to buy goodwill in South Korea and the international community, where there is intense distrust of Pyongyang’s intentions because of its past record of cheating on its international obligations regarding nuclear weapons and missiles. (See here, here, or here for more on that.)
- Second, the announcement could help build confidence between the two Korean governments, as well as public confidence in the South over the North’s intentions. “The thing to be watching for at this moment is the South Korean response to the joint processional,” says one expert. So far, the South Korean response has been mixed: diplomatically positive, but anger over the perceived displacement of South Korean athletes for the hockey team.
- Third, it’s possible the move could help repair relations between the two Koreas. This seems to depend on the politics of South Korean leaders—more liberal governments favor increased cooperation and negotiation, while more conservative governments do not.
- In this related Atlantic essay, the author makes a good point that sports diplomacy doesn’t have a strong track record to begin with. Even “ping-pong diplomacy” didn’t really have a lot to do with ping pong.