Geopolitics has its place at the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games, a possible link between the two Koreas?

photo_camera AP/JAE C. HONG - Olympic rings in front of the New National Stadium in Tokyo

Despite continuous efforts to separate sport from politics, it seems that these two spheres are condemned to remain united. The sporting spirit pervades the competitions on most occasions. On the other hand, throughout history we have seen repeated cases of boycott, suspension and withdrawal of different countries from international competitions. 

The hosting of the Olympics has inevitably been interfered with by international conflicts and disputes over the years until the Rio Olympics in 2016. However, during the Tokyo Games we saw Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine refusing to face his Israeli opponent Tohar Butbul, adding that he would not get his hands dirty, and supporting the Palestinian cause, which he considers more important. As a result, the International Judo Federation and the Algerian Olympic Committee announced that he would be sanctioned accordingly.

1988 Seoul Olympics boosted South Korea's international recognition

The 1988 Seoul Games were particularly important in bringing positive international attention to South Korea. By 1988, thirty-five years after the end of the Korean War, the South had become a major economic power, which the Olympics highlighted.  Since both the North and the South claim to be the legitimate government and both claim to be the government of all Korea, the attention and authority to host the Games gave Seoul a clear advantage in the race for international recognition.

El presidente surcoreano Moon Jae-in (derecha) y el líder de Corea del Norte, Kim Jong-un

North Korea proposed in 1985 that the two Koreas should jointly host the Games. The North Koreans insisted on three conditions to be met in order to participate with dignity: the Olympic Games should be jointly organised, the events should be shared equally by the two countries, and the official name of the Games would be changed to the "Pyongyang Seoul Korean Olympic Games". However, following the refusal of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), North Korea sought help from the Soviet Union and China to try to boycott the games if its demands were not met.

The Soviet Union, which had already boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, was unwilling to repeat these actions in support of the North. After two years of negotiations with the IOC without progress, North Korea's position became more intransigent, to the point of sending secret agents to plant a bomb on a South Korean commercial passenger flight from Baghdad to Seoul. The plane was destroyed over the Andaman Sea off the coast of Myanmar, and all 115 passengers and crew were killed. 

Despite the attack, the 1988 Olympics were a great success, extending South Korea's international influence and prestige and precipitating its diplomatic recognition by several socialist governments: the Soviet Union in 1990, and China two years later. North Korea, by contrast, remained isolated and humiliated.

Similarly, a joint North-South Olympic Games in 2032 could reshape the vision of the Korean peninsula, but North Korea's continued intransigence and decision to withdraw from the Tokyo 2020 Games demonstrates the remoteness of these developments.

El presidente del Comité Olímpico Internacional (COI), Thomas Bach
Possible "two Koreas" cooperation at the 2032 Olympics

Since taking office in May 2017, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has sought to improve North-South relations, using the Tokyo Games as a venue to restart talks with Pyongyang. During the Pyeongchang Winter Games, athletes from the North and South marched together under one flag at the opening ceremony of the Games, as at other international sporting occasions in the past.  In 2018, for the first time, the two countries also fielded a joint team for the women's hockey competition.

IOC President Thomas Bach commented positively on the proposed joint organisation: "The IOC has warmly welcomed this initiative because it reflects the mission of the Olympic Games and demonstrates the unifying power of sport. However, the condition of North-South relations raises questions about the status of the joint proposal.

It is significant that, just as efforts were underway for the last Olympics, Thomas Bach, received the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize in 2020, shortly after the successful 1988 Olympics, recognising his contribution to international peace and humanitarian causes. 

There is surely hope that Bach will play a positive role in the joint proposal for the Seoul-Pyongyang Olympics, although there are still many questions about the joint Games.

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