Ironies of Olympic Proportions

By Jason Lim

Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympics Committee, said the following: ``May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure."

In short, the Olympic ideals places sports as a tool for international goodwill and peace, hoping that such cultural interactions and sharing will pave the way towards the creation of a common bond of mutual understanding and respect that will strengthen the constructive network of humanity among different people and nations.

I guess that no one told the Russians.

As the Olympics Opening Ceremony was unfolding in all its incredible splendor, with incredible fireworks, flying scrolls, and exquisite choreography, Russia was busy invading Georgia ― with incredible firepower, flying bombers, and exquisitely choreographed invasion routes.

The irony is three-fold.

First and most obviously, the Russians started a war during the Olympics opening ceremony, engaging in a callously calculated act of military over-reaction just as the Olympics, the chief symbol of international fellowship and peace, began.

Second, the Russians also epitomized the grim realities of realpolitik in international affairs, in which the powerful imposes its will on the weak. The irony is that the Russians were merely reenacting what the Athenians, in whose city the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, did more than 2,000 years ago during the Peloponnesian War, when its powerful fleet mercilessly crushed the tiny island nation of Melos.

In a famous exchange, the Melians appealed to the ideals of fair play and honor to convince the Athenians from conquering them, and the Athenians responded: ``The strong do as they will and the weak suffer as they must."

Well, the Russians certainly did as they will and the Georgians are surely suffering as they must. And there is nothing anyone can, or will, do to make Russia accountable because Russia is too powerful and important to the world while Georgia is, simply, not.

And here is where the third irony of these Olympic Games comes in. The Olympics, which originally sought to bring people together, have become an ugly proxy war that heightens nationalism and drives people apart. And this is especially true in East Asia where traditional national rivalries and resentments have never been dealt with openly and transparently.

For example, almost all newspaper articles in Korea on the Olympics solidly places every Korean triumph against its seeming contempt for anything Japanese or disdain for all things Chinese. A brief survey of major story headlines will tell you all there is to know about how the Olympics is being used to fan the flames of destructive sense of ``us vs. them."

``Overthrow Japan!" screams one headline. ``Special 8.15 Order: crush Japan at all costs," shouts another. ``China cheated!" trumpets yet another. By the way, China also lip-synched and used fake fireworks during the opening ceremonies! Yup, we always knew that the Chinese were sneaky and untrustworthy. And, by Golly, those gymnasts can't be more than 8-years old. And if they are 16 years old, then they must be abnormal.

I am sure that this is not just a Korean phenomenon. Headlines in Japan and China are probably engaging in similar hyperventilation of commercial jingoism, thrusting and parrying with a nationalistic fervor that puts wartime propaganda to shame.

And all this is supposed to make the Korean people feel a brotherly kinship with the Japanese and Chinese afterwards, and vice versa?

We see from these Olympic Games that athletes are no longer mere athletes. They are warriors defending Korea's honor against all real and imagined enemies of the Great State of Korea, as befit a country blessed with five-thousand years of proud history and guaranteeing her superior place in the Parthenon of Asian nations. When Jang Mi-ran won the gold medal in weightlifting, she didn't lift just metal weights; she lifted the Korean nation's collective shield against the Japanese or Chinese incursion.

The confluence of deadly ironies created by Russian actions in the past week effectively throws cold water on the hopes of international liberalists and constructivists, who predict that economic and cultural sharing across borders will lead to the development of inter-state cooperation and a common identity among the various peoples of the world. We may enjoy your movies and play beach volleyball together, but we won't hesitate to take what we want by force if you are too weak to defend yourself.

But even more worrisome is the fact that the Olympics could be creating bad blood among nations rather than fostering fellowship, especially in Asia where historical fault lines are beginning to emit a dangerous rumble that could predict a geopolitical earthquake in the near future. Never forget that East Asia is the most heavily armed region in the world. It's enough to make Coubertin turn over in his grave.

Jason Lim is a 2007-2008 fellow at Harvard Korea Institute. He can be reached at jasonlim@post.harvard.edu.