By Park Moo-jong
The second Olympics on the Korean Peninsula are just around the corner as the Olympic Flame from Olympia, Greece, is crisscrossing South Korea before it lights the cauldron to mark the opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games on Feb. 9.
The relay of the torch, dubbed here, the "Sacred Flame," to herald the first-ever global ice and snow festival in Asia outside of Japan is taking place once again in this part of the world, just three decades after the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.
The word "Olympics" always reminds us Koreans of the 1988 Summer Games that definitely provided a momentum for positive changes in world history in the latter part of the 20th Century, as well as in our modern history.
Thirty years ago, a small divided country in the Far East, which was and is still technically at war with North Korea, surprised the world by making the Olympics at its capital only 40 kilometers away from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) one of the most successful global sports events ever.
The "unexpected" success of the Seoul Olympics owed much to national unity and the people's voluntary cooperation beyond regional and political confrontations. A symbolic "cooperation" came from the pickpockets, who voluntarily "stopped work" during the sporting extravaganza.
How about nature, namely the weather? Annual typhoons that used to hit the peninsula in September, the month of the Games, didn't visit 30 years ago, helping make the global sports event a tremendous success.
The rivals of the then Cold War got together in the land of the first victim of the ideological conflict. "Beyond Barriers" as the Seoul Olympic slogan put it, heralded the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the fragmentation of the Soviet Union in the following years.
In short, we made it 30 years ago. We showed our full potential, getting people across the planet to enviously admire our "can do spirit."
And now, signs appear to be optimistic amid the hectic relay of 7,500 participants ― a 10,000th of the total South and North Korean populations ― and various events to boost the Olympic atmosphere across the country.
First of all, North Korea ― armed with nuclear missiles― in a suspected change of its hitherto hostile position, though, promised to participate in the PyeongChang Olympics after a round of talks with the South.
It is still vivid in our memory that North Korea boycotted the Seoul Olympics with five other countries, including Cuba and Somalia, even if the then Soviet Union participated, contributing to making it a success.
Pyongyang's presence in PyeongChang may offer momentum to help ease tension in this part of the globe, while the Kim Jong-un regime is still threatening the whole world, not to speak of South Korea, with its continued development of nuclear-tipped missiles.
One consolation is ― at least ― that the North will not provoke during the Games period from Feb.9 to 25.
But a worrisome sign is that the North is apparently seeking to use the Olympics for propaganda, taking advantage of the South's "low-key" posture to have Pyongyang come to the Games.
Baron Coubertin (1863-1937), the founder of the International Olympic Committee, said, "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part." The North will send a dozen athletes at most, of whom, only two paired figure skaters have actually qualified for the contest.
Indeed, it should be significant for the North simply to participate in the Olympics. Yet, Pyongyang will send hundreds of non-sports delegates such as cheerleaders and members of an orchestra who have nothing whatever to do with winter sports under an agreement with the South.
It is obviously suspected that the North is putting on a show just to buy time to complete its nuclear weapons development. Nobody expected this to happen when PyeongChang was chosen seven years ago to host the Olympics.
Nonetheless, the North's participation in the Games can break the deadlock to help bring peace, though just for a moment, if it shows sincerity, integrity and courage to overcome the temptations of depraved desires as Coubertin clarified, in light of the international community's concerns about security questions on the Korean Peninsula.
The slogan of PyeongChang 2018 is "Passion. Connected." "Passion" represents PyeongChang as the stage for a global festival where people will find inspiration, share the warmth and unique hospitality of Koreans, and experience the excitement of the Olympic spirit.
"Connected" signifies the openness of PyeongChang where all generations can participate anytime and anywhere through Korea's cutting-edge technology and cultural convergence.
The host city also has its own slogan: "Happy 700" ― a nod to the area's average elevation of 700 meters (765 yards) above sea level, which is believed by many South Koreans to be the perfect location for people to live in unison with nature and culture.
What a great coincidence! All the related words of the upcoming global winter sports party share "P" in the first letter: PyeongChang, Pyongyang, Peace, Passion and Party. We can make this party a success as we did 30 years ago in Seoul.
Park Moo-jong is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English newspaper founded in1951 from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter of the daily since 1974. He can be reached at moojong@ktimes.com or emjei29@gmail.com
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The relay of the torch, dubbed here, the "Sacred Flame," to herald the first-ever global ice and snow festival in Asia outside of Japan is taking place once again in this part of the world, just three decades after the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.
The word "Olympics" always reminds us Koreans of the 1988 Summer Games that definitely provided a momentum for positive changes in world history in the latter part of the 20th Century, as well as in our modern history.
Thirty years ago, a small divided country in the Far East, which was and is still technically at war with North Korea, surprised the world by making the Olympics at its capital only 40 kilometers away from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) one of the most successful global sports events ever.
The "unexpected" success of the Seoul Olympics owed much to national unity and the people's voluntary cooperation beyond regional and political confrontations. A symbolic "cooperation" came from the pickpockets, who voluntarily "stopped work" during the sporting extravaganza.
How about nature, namely the weather? Annual typhoons that used to hit the peninsula in September, the month of the Games, didn't visit 30 years ago, helping make the global sports event a tremendous success.
The rivals of the then Cold War got together in the land of the first victim of the ideological conflict. "Beyond Barriers" as the Seoul Olympic slogan put it, heralded the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the fragmentation of the Soviet Union in the following years.
In short, we made it 30 years ago. We showed our full potential, getting people across the planet to enviously admire our "can do spirit."
And now, signs appear to be optimistic amid the hectic relay of 7,500 participants ― a 10,000th of the total South and North Korean populations ― and various events to boost the Olympic atmosphere across the country.
First of all, North Korea ― armed with nuclear missiles― in a suspected change of its hitherto hostile position, though, promised to participate in the PyeongChang Olympics after a round of talks with the South.
It is still vivid in our memory that North Korea boycotted the Seoul Olympics with five other countries, including Cuba and Somalia, even if the then Soviet Union participated, contributing to making it a success.
Pyongyang's presence in PyeongChang may offer momentum to help ease tension in this part of the globe, while the Kim Jong-un regime is still threatening the whole world, not to speak of South Korea, with its continued development of nuclear-tipped missiles.
One consolation is ― at least ― that the North will not provoke during the Games period from Feb.9 to 25.
But a worrisome sign is that the North is apparently seeking to use the Olympics for propaganda, taking advantage of the South's "low-key" posture to have Pyongyang come to the Games.
Baron Coubertin (1863-1937), the founder of the International Olympic Committee, said, "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part." The North will send a dozen athletes at most, of whom, only two paired figure skaters have actually qualified for the contest.
Indeed, it should be significant for the North simply to participate in the Olympics. Yet, Pyongyang will send hundreds of non-sports delegates such as cheerleaders and members of an orchestra who have nothing whatever to do with winter sports under an agreement with the South.
It is obviously suspected that the North is putting on a show just to buy time to complete its nuclear weapons development. Nobody expected this to happen when PyeongChang was chosen seven years ago to host the Olympics.
Nonetheless, the North's participation in the Games can break the deadlock to help bring peace, though just for a moment, if it shows sincerity, integrity and courage to overcome the temptations of depraved desires as Coubertin clarified, in light of the international community's concerns about security questions on the Korean Peninsula.
The slogan of PyeongChang 2018 is "Passion. Connected." "Passion" represents PyeongChang as the stage for a global festival where people will find inspiration, share the warmth and unique hospitality of Koreans, and experience the excitement of the Olympic spirit.
"Connected" signifies the openness of PyeongChang where all generations can participate anytime and anywhere through Korea's cutting-edge technology and cultural convergence.
The host city also has its own slogan: "Happy 700" ― a nod to the area's average elevation of 700 meters (765 yards) above sea level, which is believed by many South Koreans to be the perfect location for people to live in unison with nature and culture.
What a great coincidence! All the related words of the upcoming global winter sports party share "P" in the first letter: PyeongChang, Pyongyang, Peace, Passion and Party. We can make this party a success as we did 30 years ago in Seoul.
Park Moo-jong is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English newspaper founded in1951 from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter of the daily since 1974. He can be reached at moojong@ktimes.com or emjei29@gmail.com
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