Korea, As One!

The crowd waited with bated breath. It was the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships, and the first place medal for the women’s team event was about to be announced. Over the loudspeakers, a booming voice proclaimed, “Korea!” The entire audience rose as one, roaring and cheering as two young women, from the North and South, stepped onto the podium together, tearfully lifting their clasped hands as a plain flag with the Korean peninsula outlined in blue unfurled behind them. There was no trace of the hostility that existed between the two Koreas as the other team members piled joyously onto their champions. Fans in the stands and watching from home were one in spirit as they sobbed with pride for their country, Korea. Several hours later, the tears were falling even more heavily, tinged with shock and anguish, as teammates were torn from each other’s embrace to return to their respective countries. Despite the victory they had won for Korea as one country, the strictly-enforced division between the nations was still present, and the athletes never saw each other again.

As One, based on the true story of a united North & South Korean table tennis team, and their 1991 Championship.

The real Korean table tennis team at the 1991 games in Chiba, Japan.

Though this is only a scene from the truth-based movie, As One (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2328503/), the real tragedy of Korean separation has been a shadow in the heart of every Korean for the past 70 years. Only last month, the same sudden euphoria and pain were mirrored in the reactions of South Korean seniors, who were able to meet their family members in the North for a few minutes, in the first of such reunions since 2010. Korean leaders from both states have expressed the priority of reunification as one of the main goals of their administration, but unless this process is carried out soon, such scenes can only continue to prey at Koreans’ peace of mind.

Today, the two Koreas have grown so far from one another both socially and economically, that a reunification at any time would result in costs vastly outweighing the German model. Due to its serious impact on the US and other neighboring countries, the process is not one that can be carried out with cooperation between the two Koreas alone. Recognizing their role in the two Koreas’ future, world leaders converged in Seoul last Monday for the 5^th annual Asian Leadership Conference. From former-president George W Bush, to the last prime minister of East Germany, and English professor, Adam Johnson, 63 innovators spoke on the theme “One Korea, New Asia,” and why reunification needs both international attention and support. In his keynote address, Mr. Bush opened the discussion with an appeal to the international community on the necessity of a union, and its likelihood of occurring with support from the US, China, and other global superpowers. This need and how it could be carried out was further undermined from the different perspectives of former prime ministers of Australia and East Germany (Ms. Julia Gillard and Mr. Lothar de Maiziere, respectively), who through their own experiences in national relations with the two Koreas, spoke on key obstacles to the task. Participants could register for a special lecture by local Stanford professor Adam Johnson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, The Orphan Master’s Son, a story of an orphan boy’s struggles in North Korea. After numerous visits to the closed regime in the North, Mr. Johnson highlighted the need to focus on the voiceless North Korean population, for whom “it’s illegal… to interact with a foreigner visiting the country.” Whether it was through debates between the foreign ministers of Korea, Japan, and China, insight provided by the former ASEAN secretary-general (Surin Pitsuwan), or investment advice from American business mogul Jim Rogers, participants were exposed to a new future for the Korean peninsula,

In the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships, Koreans embraced their shared heritage to enter the world arena under a single flag, emblazoned with a map of the Korean peninsula. Though this was only a single step in the obstacle-strewn path toward reunification, the future of union has never been brighter. No matter the difficulties of an uncompliant North, the US must set a foundation of support and promotion for union. Then who knows? Four years from now, we may be facing the re-introduction of a united Korean flag, this time waving from the host podium at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.