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South and North Korean athletes make a joint entrance under the Unification Flag at the Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 9. (Photo Pool)
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Fantastic opening ceremony ushers in the “Peace Olympics”
It was a rousing standing ovation. Waves of lights from candle-shaped lanterns swept through the stands as the strains of the traditional song "Arirang" played. It was an expression of the desire for peace and of mutual respect. The more than 180 members of the unified group of athletes from South Korea and North Korea were the last to enter Pyeongchang's Olympic Stadium in the Parade of Nations on Feb. 9, and as they marched in, all 35,000 spectators who filled the stands rose to their feet, welcoming them with applause and cheers. Entering behind the Unified Peninsula Flag, carried by South Korea's bobsledder Won Yun-jong and North Korean hockey player Hwang Chung-gum, the joint team of athletes responded by waving their hands at the crowds in the stands. Everyone looked happy as the excitement surged. The squad leaders from both South and North marched in front, with athletes from both sides alternating in the rows behind them. All Korean athletes wore the same white winter sport outfits, like brothers and sisters sharing their look and their language. They were sending out a powerful message that this was to be the Peace Olympics. President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook also stood, smiling and raising their hands to greet the high ranking delegation from the North, including President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong-nam and Kim Yo-jong, who is the younger sister of Kim Jong-un and serves as first vice director of the Workers' Party Central Committee, They both responded in kind, with Kim Yong-nam smiling and applauding with childlike ebullience. A South Korean source who was involved in the preparations for the joint entry says, "The athletes from both sides got along well right from the time we were waiting outside the stadium, showing no hesitation to line up together." The North Korean squad consists of 36 athletes, which is only one-third the size of the South's team, but this made little difference as the two teams came together, mutually filling in for deficiencies and sharing as needed. This is the tenth time the South and North have participated jointly in an international sports event since the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but it has been 11 years since the last such joint effort, which took place in 2007 at the Changchun Winter Asian Games. Political differences have caused such joint participation to be an on-and-off affair. This time, IOC Chairman Thomas Bach's strong push was instrumental in making the joint entrance happen. In his welcoming address, Bach said, "They have opened the door for a peaceful dialogue between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Olympic spirit has brought two sides together that for too long were divided by mistrust and animosity," Perhaps the four years of effort put into getting North Korea to come to the games had something to do with it, but the Pyeongchang games have achieved the greatest participation ever, with nearly 3,000 athletes from 92 countries taking part.
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Kim Yu-na takes the Olympic torch from hockey players Jong Su-hyon (left, North Korea) and Park Jong-ah (center, South Korea) of the unified Korean hockey team during the Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 9. (Photo Pool)
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