Skip to main content
12221
Back to International Paralympic Committee homepage Go to Official website of World Para Swimming
Contrast:
High Contrast
Normal Contrast
Enlargement:
Larger Font Size
Default Font Size
Smaller Font Size
Official website of World Para Swimming
    • Home
    • News
    • Events
    • Athletes
    • Results, Rankings & Records
    • Videos
    • Classification
    • Anti Doping
    • Education
    • About
    • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • News
    • Blogs
    • Videos

    Unified Korean Team pave path for peace

    06.04.2019

    Meeting the history-making swimmers from Indonesia 2018

    three male Para swimmers celebrate at the edge of the pool The Unified Korean Team celebrated more than just history as they took bronze in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay 34 points © • INAPGOC
    By EJ Monica Kim | For the IPC
    Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker

    There is no denying the divide between North and South Korea. But through the power of sport at the 2018 Asian Para Games, athletes from both sides realised that, yes, they can work together to achieve a common goal. On the sixth International Day of Development Sport for Peace, we meet the Korean swimmers who broke down barriers in the name of Para sport.

    Jakarta, Indonesia, saw history made when North and South Korea competed together for the first time as the Unified Korean Team. As if participation itself was not enough, the team won an unprecedented medal in Para swimming, claiming bronze in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay.

    “When we greeted each other in the same language, I felt quite familiar with them like old friends. We had to wear a uniform and swimming cap with the Unified Korean flag for the first time. And finally, I realised that regardless of a medal, it was more memorable that we made it together to the end.”

    The team worked together to make it through the heats and into the final. The medal ceremony saw four South Korean swimmers (Sae-Hun Kim, Dong-Gu Lee, Hyun Kwon, Yong-Hwa Kwon); and two North Korean swimmers, Song Hyok Sim and Kuk Song stand on the podium together.

    It was a rare scene, and one that could not have been possible without Para sports.

    “After we finished our final race, all North Korea’s coaching staff and swimmers told us that ‘thank you for your hard work’,” said South Korean Hyun Kwon.

    First meeting of North and South

    Kwon confessed that he did not know what to expect after being told of the plan to create the Unified Korean Team two months before Indonesia 2018.

    “We took a lesson not only about their language and culture, but also about how to behave and speak in front of the North Korean team, before heading to Indonesia,” he said.

    “That’s why I thought that it will be very awkward [to train with them].”

    But he was to be surprised when the two sets of swimmers trained together for the first time a day before the Opening Ceremony.

    “When we greeted each other in the same language, I felt quite familiar with them like old friends,” Kwon said.

    Fellow South Korean Dong-Gu Lee also has fond memories of that day.

    “We focused on practising starts. When we stepped onto the starting platform, Sim and Jong helped me, and vice versa. We got close quickly, so I felt like we are one nation.”

    Historic tensions

    When South Korea hosted the Incheon 2014 Asian Para Games, the country had a strained relationship with North Korea.

    “At that time, the two Koreas’ delegations tried to avoid any eye contact,” Kwon explained.

    “I remembered that I couldn’t even say hello to a North Korean swimmer in the waiting area at the competition venue back in 2014,” Lee continued.

    “Therefore, I anxiously awaited to meet them again at the 2018 Games,” the veteran who made his fourth Asian Para Games appearance, following Busan 2002, Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014 said.

    Under one flag

    The Unified Korean team also competed in the men’s 4 x 100m medley relay that they finished fifth.

    “Personally, the medley relay was more meaningful for me,” Kwon said.

    “In the final, Jong swam the freestyle leg followed by Yong-Hwa Kwon, Woo-Geun Lim and me. After my race, I wanted to watch his performance and wait for him, because it was our last match,” the-27-year-old said emotionally.

    “Everything happened all of sudden. We had to wear a uniform and swimming cap with the Unified Korean flag for the first time,” he continued.

    “And finally, I realised that regardless of a medal, it was more memorable that we made it together to the end.”

    Looking to the future

    Lee and Kwon stressed the need of improvement for the Unified Team’s long-term future.

    “As the first Unified Korean Team, it was very symbolic. But the next team should be more than that. We should be competitive.”

    “For a win-win strategy, we definitely need to train jointly more often in order to strengthen not only our teamwork but also performance level, particularly North Korea’s techniques,” said Kwon.

    Lee hopes the Korean Paralympic Committee will help pave the way for more exchanges with North Korean Para athletes.

    “I wish that that many young talented athletes from North and South Korea become healthy rivals as well as good friends.” he said.

    “It will bring an amazing synergy like a symbiotic relationship. Furthermore, it will show a great expectation to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula.”

    Related News
    Indonesia 2018: North and South Korea to march together
    Para sport review: October 2018
    2018 in Review: Asia makes a splash
    Top 10 Moments of 2018: No. 8
    Indonesia 2018: World records and world firsts
    Indonesia 2018: Historic night for Unified Korean Team
    Indonesia 2018: Power performance from China
    Indonesia 2018: Golden tie thriller in the pool
    Indonesia 2018: Six memorable moments
    • Tweet
      • print
      • send
    LATEST NEWS
    Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation 05.08.2019 Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation
    Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude 05.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude
    Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day 04.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day
    Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way 03.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way
    Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month 02.08.2019 Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month
    More news...following the link
    Worldwide Paralympic Partners
    Go to Atos partner page
    Go to Bridgestone partner page
    Go to OttoBock partner page
    Go to Panasonic partner page
    Go to Samsung partner page
    Go to Toyota partner page
    Go to Visa partner page
    International Partners
    Go to Allianz partner page
    Go to BP partner page
    Go to Citi partner page
    • FAQ
    • Privacy
    • Imprint
    • Jobs
    Powered by Go to Atos. Worldwide IPC partner page
    The Paralympic Games
    Summer Games
    Winter Games
    Sochi 2014
    Rio 2016
    All the results & medallist since 1960
    Games video archive
    About the IPC
    Who we are
    Anti-Doping
    Medical
    Partners
    IPC Strategic Plan 2015-2018
    IPC Handbook
    Publications and Documents
    Media Centre
    News
    Features & Interviews
    The Paralympian
    Videos
    Athlete of the Month
    Media Office
    Sports
    Summer Sports
    Winter Sports
    Biographies
    NPCS
    Africa
    America
    Asia
    Europe
    Oceania
    Go to International Paralympic Committee homepage
    Official Website of the Paralympic Movement • IPC
    Homepage
    Paralympic Games
    The IPC
    Results, Ranking & Records
    Media Centre
    Videos
    Sports
    International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
    Adenauerallee 212-214, 53113 Bonn, Germany
    Telephone: +49-228-2097-200 • Fax: +49-228-2097-209 • E-mail: info@paralympic.org
    02:42:34