hankyoreh

Japan.

By Kim Kyu-won, staff writer

An inter-Korean table tennis reunion, the first encounter in 19 years, has been scratched due to government objections.

The South Korean cancelled just before the reunion of Hyun Jung-hwa and Lee Boon-hee, the unified Korean team who won the women’s team gold at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships. The event was scheduled to coincide with the recent premiere of “Korea,” a film depicting the conflicts and emotions of the victory. Two table tennis stars from the two Koreas have not met since the 1993 World Championships.

Lee Su-nam, president of Tower Pictures, which produced “Korea,” said Monday that Hyun, the current executive director of the Korean Table Tennis Association, had been scheduled to visit Lee Boon-hee, now the secretary-general of the Korea Disabled Athletes Association, on Tuesday in Beijing where she is training with disabled North Korean athletes.

“Ms. Hyun decided not to go ahead with the meeting after the Unification Ministry, which had initially been positive, made a last-minute request to postpone it,” Lee Su-nam explained.

Lee added that he planned to go himself to present Lee Boon-hee with the gold ring, hand-written letter, and video letter that Hyun had prepared as gifts.

“If possible, I’d like to film a video letter with Ms. Lee and give it to Ms. Hyun,” he said.

Lee Su-nam left for China on Monday afternoon.

The gold ring sent to Lee Boon-hee by Hyun has their first names inscribed on the inside. Hyun also gave Lee one of her rings 21 years ago.

As the letter’s contents, Hyun wrote, “I’d really like to meet you again. We should be able to. I look forward to meeting you soon. I’m going to try my best to see you.”

The efforts to stage the encounter came in March, after Lee suggested it as a way of helping both inter-Korean relations and the film’s commercial performance. Hyun agreed to it. She had previously met with Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik in February to ask about staging an inter-Korean table tennis exchange and 21st anniversary effort for the unified team, and received a positive response. On Mar. 29, the Unification Ministry approved a North Korean contact request by Lee Su-nam to organize the reunion between Hyun and Lee Boon-hee.

Lee is working with Purun Namu, an international exchange organization through which overseas Koreans are helping disabled North Korean athletes to play at this year‘s London Olympics. Hyun had planned to visit Lee and the other athletes, who are training in Beijing with the group.

Purun Namu visited Pyongyang in late April to convey the idea to Lee and North Korean authorities.

But on May 1, the day a screening of “Korea” was held for the Unification Minister and the officials from the Ministry of Unification, the director in charge of inter-Korean exchange suddenly asked Hyun to “postpone” her visit. That day, Hyun asked Yu for his assistance in going ahead with her plan to meet Lee, but he declined to give a definitive answer, leaving her with no recourse.

The director called Hyun after the meeting and repeated the request to “put the meeting off until the next opportunity.”

Finally, on May 3 the ministry rejected Purun Namu’s North Korean contact request for Hyun and Lee‘s encounter. Individuals who go ahead with a contact that has been denied approval may be fined up to one million won (about US$900) according to the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act.

After giving the matter much thought, Hyun decided to call off the encounter.

“I didn’t just want to meet Ms. Lee,” said Hyun. “As executive director of the KTTA, I wanted to engage in athletic exchanges with North Korea and help North Korean athletes who are working under difficult conditions.

"It’s the reality for inter-Korean relations right now," she lamented. "You have to accept it."

The Unification Ministry director said, "With North Korea conducting its missile launch after the first request was approved, we are currently unable to approve even private requests."

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]