ED Who silenced N. Korean boxer?

South Korean boxer Im Ae-ji, right, and North Korean boxer Pang Chol-mi, left, attend a news conference held on Aug. 9 (Seoul time) in Paris. Im and Pang are bronze medalists in women's 54kg boxing. Yonhap

The Paris Olympics concluded their 17-day run on Sunday with a spectacular closing ceremony, but not without controversy. Issues such as Seine water quality, an air conditioning failure, and gender disparities in sports have marred the event.

Like in other Olympics, there were glorious and regrettable moments for Team Korea. Fencing, archery, and shooting once again proved to be goldmines for South Korea. The country's dominance in these sports sparked a joke that it’s no surprise that the South, a nation technically still at war with the North, excels in disciplines involving swords, arrows, and guns.

One of the most regrettable parts of the Olympics is that South Korea’s swimming sensation Hwang Sun-woo was eliminated in the preliminary event of men’s 200-meter freestyle game.

During the Paris Olympics, a troubling issue for South Koreans was the apparent repression of North Korean athletes. It was known that these athletes were coerced into silence and restricted in their actions, with severe consequences awaiting them upon their return home if they violated these restrictions. This situation cast a shadow over the Olympic spirit.

The gag order reportedly silenced North Korea’s boxing hero, Pang Chol-mi. She appeared visibly uneasy and nervous during the press conference on Aug. 9 (Seoul time) following her bronze medal win in the women’s 54kg event. Pang, along with South Korean boxer Im Ae-ji, who also won bronze, attended the news conference together.

The ways they spoke of the Olympics were very different. Im was carefree and smiled a lot, whereas North Korean boxer Pang was grim-faced and gave short answers bluntly. Im spoke freely about her emotions, but Pang kept mum without revealing her emotions at all.

When asked if there were people she would like to show her Olympic medal to as a gesture of gratitude, Im said there are many people who supported her significantly during her preparation for the Games.

"I would like to give each of them a chance to touch and try my medal," she said.

However, the North Korean boxer downplayed her achievement, saying, "I don’t have anyone in mind to share this with because the bronze medal is not what I had aimed for."

A tense silence fell over the venue when a Japanese reporter asked the South Korean boxer if she had hugged the North Korean boxer as she had promised. After a long pause, Im replied, "I’d rather keep it private and not disclose what happened."

In a free society, the question would be a simple yes or no. However, the South Korean boxer hesitated, knowing her answer could impact her friend living under a repressive regime. Im chose to avoid a direct answer rather than lie about her actions.

Im and Pang are close friends, having competed against each other in the round of 16 at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games. Pang won that match, advanced to the quarterfinals, and ultimately secured a gold medal.

But during the news conference, Im and Pang pretended not to know each other. Im was cautious with her words, likely due to her unintended role in a gaffe that put Pang in a difficult position. Earlier this month, Im mentioned that she and Pang exchanged words of encouragement when they met by chance in the Olympic Village. She quoted Pang as using the word “fighting” to cheer her up, a term common in South Korean conversations, and this exchange was reported by several South Korean media outlets.

Pang being quoted as using the South Korean slang has raised a red flag.

Kang Cheol-won, a North Korean defector-turned-journalist, warned that media reports about Pang could put her life at risk. “I am almost certain she will be sent to a prison camp as soon as she returns to North Korea,” he said. He emphasized that South Korean slang and vocabulary are strictly banned in the North, and violators face severe penalties, including imprisonment or execution. Last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un enacted laws to limit foreign influence, including a ban on South Korean language, with harsh consequences for those who disobey, ranging from hard labor to the death penalty.

Olympics are about unity and harmony. It’s about reconciliation. But North Korea’s repression of its athlete and freedom of speech hurts the Olympic spirit. Through the Olympics, the world needs to put further pressure on North Korea’s human rights violations.