Sour inter-Korean relations thwart athletes’ friendship

Posted on : 2012-05-09 10:14 KST Modified on : 2012-05-09 10:14 KST
South Korean government prevents gift between former unified Korea teammates

By Kim Ryu-won, staff writer
Korean Table Tennis Association executive director Hyun Jung-hwa attempted unsuccessfully a friendship ring to Lee Boon-hee, secretary-general of North Korea’s Korean Disabled Athletes Association, to celebrate the 21st anniversary of their unified Korean women’s team victory at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships. Hyun and Lee were teammates on that championship team. Lee nonetheless said she had “received the ring with my heart.”
Tower Pictures president Lee Su-nam said Tuesday that Hyun had attempted to send the ring to Lee Boon-hee by way of Shin Yeong-sun, a missionary working with Purun Namu, an international exchange organization led by overseas Koreans. However, the gift was not delivered after Shin determined that the timing was not appropriate, Lee said.
But he did add, “Ms. Hyun’s wish to see Lee Boon-hee again was definitely passed along to her.”
Korean-American Shin is currently living alongside Lee Boon-hee in Beijing’s Paralympic Village, where she is working as an overseas Korean to support disabled North Korean athletes.
Speaking in a telephone interview Tuesday with the Hankyoreh, Shin quoted Lee as saying, “I miss Hyun Jung-hwa and look forward to seeing her again someday. I received her ring with my heart.”
Regarding the inability to deliver Hyun’s ring, Shin said, “She wasn’t even able to come here because the South Korean government has effectively barred any meeting between the two of them.
"I made the decision that with inter-Korean relations in such a bad state, both Ms. Hyun and Ms. Lee could find themselves in trouble if I delivered it," she explained.
Twelve athletes, coaches, and officials from the North Korean Paralympic team are currently visiting the Paralympic Village in Beijing for a month-long off-season training period.
North Korea’s first Paralympic team was formed last August, and the country was registered in December as an associate member of the International Paralympic Committee. The team is currently training for this year’s Paralympic Games in London.
Shin added that she plans to deliver the ring to Lee "at a suitable time" in the future if things improve between North and South.
 
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