Between Ivanka and Kim Yo-jong, it's no draw

By Oh Young-jin

There were desperate attempts to compare Ivanka Trump and Kim Yo-jong during the PyeongChang Winter Games.

Perhaps it was the spirit of Olympic competition and the patriotic trappings that fed the media frenzy that asked, "Who is the better of the two?"

The former visited the closing ceremony of the Games, while the second was there for the opening.
Maybe the old Cold War sense of confrontation gave full play to the U.S.-North Korea standoff over the latter's nuclear and missile programs that threaten the former.

The Korea Times columnist Don Kirk, an American, called it a draw, while a New York Times columnist said it was no contest in Ivanka's favor because her opposite number was the sister of a notorious dictator.

But don't American liberals call Trump, Ivanka's father, the destroyer of democracy in a country that is often regarded as the cradle of modern democracy?

Then again, the Olympics are supposed to be more about participation than about winners.

Hypocrisy? Blame Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, for his decision about the Russians.

The Ivanka-Yo-jong comparison, if it comes to that, should start with the fact that they cannot be compared. If the PyeongChang metaphor is borrowed, it would be like comparing a skier to a skater or, more subtly, between a speed skater and a figure skater, and deciding who is the winner.

Even as some did, one may try to put the first daughter and first sister in the same category under the competition of "charm offensive" and it shouldn't pan out _ charm offensive is an oxymoron. (Yes, I know what it means).

Now that the Games are behind us, if the inability to compare is acknowledged and there still remains an interest in doing what cannot be done. Here is the result.

Yo-jong's biggest achievement was to put a human face on her brother known for treating people's lives like flies. He had his uncle killed by anti-aircraft gunfire; his elder brother killed by poison at an international airport; and purged his supposed close aides. He also holds millions of South Koreans hostage by brandishing his weapons of mass destruction.

Kim, in her early 30s smiled, pouted, grimaced and dared to show her freckles with light makeup by South Korean standards, all the time captivating the media and fascinating the world.

Her visit gave a rare glimpse into the cloistered society and an even rarer one into the North's murderous dynasty. If Kim Jong-un, her dictator brother, had foreseen the effect, it was nothing less than a master PR move.

Of course, it is also likely that sending the first sister to Seoul also showed the level of desperation to prevent what the U.S. might do to the North after the Games.

Pyongyang also gave her an appropriate entourage _ cheerleaders and performing troupes many times bigger than their sporting contingent that became part of a South Korean-led joint team.

Her brother put on a big military parade to ensure that Yo-jong got no rough reception in the South. Some observers say, with some justification, that the North hijacked the PyeongChang Games and gained free publicity of Olympic proportions before the world.

In contrast, Ivanka did not have the baggage Yo-jong had. The first daughter is a well-groomed daughter of the richest-ever U.S. president. The former model's mission was to cheer her country's delegation and have dinner with President Moon Jae-in.

She played the role of goodwill ambassador well and projected a sense of American optimism to the world.

In that sense, she polished her father's image a bit, but not as much as Kim did with her brother because Trump is a public figure under constant scrutiny. So there were few elements of voyeurism.

Ivanka had poor support from an ungentlemanly Vice President Mike Pence, who did not acknowledge Yo-jong during the opening ceremony and stood her up at a possible Cheong Wa Dae meeting. Trump, perhaps as a concerned father, made sure Ivanka was not ignored when he announced major sanctions against the North.

With a bit of hyperbole, Ivanka is as apolitical as Yo-jong is political.

Yo-jong is an alternate member of the North's Politburo and director of the Department of Propaganda and Agitation, while Ivanka is her father's adviser at the White House.

The proximity to power is similar, but Kim is a ranking member of the North's hierarchy with a specific job title and work cut out for her. Ivanka is a family member who has her father's trust.

Yo-jong visited Korea as her brother's special envoy, carried his personal letter and delivered a verbal invitation for Moon to visit Pyongyang. Ivanka came to cheer her national squad and talked about the U.S. policy of "maximum pressure" on the North, but few paid any attention to this.

Ivanka kept a lower public profile than Yo-jong did. Her trip here was part of Trump's promise to send a family member to the Games to reassure South Korea of America's commitment to its peace and security.

If one still wants to know who was better, the answer would be the same _ Ivanka and Yo-jong played their different roles and both did a good job. If they were judged in terms of the effectiveness of the oxymoronic "charm offensive," let's say that the winner is in the eye of the beholder. But it was no draw.

Oh Young-jin (foolsdie5@ktimes.com, foolsdie@gmail.com) is the digital managing editor of The Korea Times. This column was previewed online this week.