KIM JONG UN-ITED

Friday was the day of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyongchang, South Korea. It was, as most ceremonies are, utterly amazing and stunningly beautiful. The sense of pride, joy and comradeship was all there. Although, they drew the line at having the president of Korea, Moon Jae-in, drop from a helicopter, in the same way the UK did with a pretend queen, while doing a James Bond stunt in 2012. 

One of the highlights of the show was a team from North Korea (DPRK), the most isolated, closed country on Earth, walking into the ceremony, together as a team with its counterparts from South Korea. They were all smiling, all wearing the same uniform and all walking under a united banner which illustrated a picture of the whole of Korea.  

The united banner of "Korea"

The smiling Korean team

This looks and sounds wonderful. But is it? 

While we are watching this thrilling spectacle, we must also remember that Korea and the DPRK have never really got on. Between 25 June 1950 and 27 Jul 1953 the Peninsula was in a full scale war when the North, under the rule of the founder of the nation, Kim Il-Sung, invaded the South, with the intention of uniting the country. It didn't happen. The thing is, even though no-one is shooting anymore, there was no peace treaty signed in 1953 when everyone stopped fighting. They have the demilitarized zone (or as we Trek fans are fond of calling it, "The Dee-Em-Zee") and that's it. So technically, though no-one is killing each other war is still going on. 

Kim Jong-un (Supreme leader and grandson of the founder) is not a man to be trusted. Though I would trust him over Donald Trump any day of the week. He (Kim) has over 300 people in South Korea for the Olympic ceremony, including party leaders, his cousin, the Moranbong (a really odd, but really cool female military rock group), cheerleaders and of course the competitors themselves. He has also invited Moon Jae-in to visit the North which, even though it sounds good, also sounds really suss. Much as I would like to believe that this is all what it looks like at face value: two nations working happily together, I can't help but feel that, behind the smiles, and the friendship, there is some political motive. Either in regard to Kim's nuclear weapons programme, or because Kim still wants to fulfill his grandfather's idea of a unified country. Yes, I'm cynical, but going on the past history of the countries and their leaders, it's unlikely to be a surprise if it happened. 

There is one other thing about this that bothers me. I can't fix it, but I can be compassionate about it. The North Korean athletes have been playing their hearts out. But is it because they enjoy it, or because they are pressured to do well? At home, no-one is allowed to step out of line and they have to show utter perfection in everything they do (watch the cheerleaders. They are not doing this out of fun. Their routine is regimented and precise, the girls specifically chosen, presumably by Kim). The united Korean team played a lovely game of ice hockey against the Swiss. It was a lot of fun to watch and it was amazing to watch girls and guys from North and South Korea playing together. The only thing is the Swiss beat the Koreans to the bonkers score  of 8-0. OUCH. 

The question is: What happens to these wonderful athletes if they go home without any medals? In the eyes of the West, the North Koreans have plenty to be proud of: they have been just amazing and have played with just as much enthusiasm as any other country. And there's the fact that they managed to qualify for the Olympics in the first place. 

Unfortunately, I doubt that is how President Kim will see it. In the DPRK, stepping out of line and putting one foot wrong, is punished. I suspect failure is classed as an embarrassment and warrants the same fate. I hope I'm wrong, but I worry about what may happen to these wonderful athletes if they fail to win. They made an impact in the games, which is good, but if they win no medals, life may get hard for them when they go home. 

Right now, all we can do is watch and wait to see where this goes. Hopefully it will be exactly what it appears to be: a wonderful collaboration between two countries who are used to being on opposite sides, with North Korea spreading its arms open in friendship to the South. Which is pretty brilliant!!

I will leave you with the wonderful Moranbong:

"War may keep an enemy at bay, but only peace can make him a friend" ~ Kai Winn (Deep Space 9)