hankyoreh

Participants of a forum to discuss the Seoul-Pyongyang joint bid to co-host the Olympics

“If the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang were a starting point toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, then the 2032 Summer Olympics in Seoul and Pyongyang will represent the final destination of peace.” – Park Won-soon, mayor of Seoul

“As a professional in the sports community, I would venture to proclaim the 2032 Olympics as the ‘Unification Olympics.’” – Cho Jae-gi, president, National Sports Promotion Corporation

How likely is a joint Seoul-Pyongyang Summer Olympics in 2032, and what role should the media play toward achieving it? A variety of opinions were shared on these questions at a forum titled “The Significance of Seoul and Pyongyang Bidding to Share the 2013 Olympics and the Role of the Media” held on the afternoon of June 19 at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club on the 18th floor of the Korea Press Center in Seoul’s Jung (Central) district. The forum was organized by the Korea Journalist Club (KJC, Chairman Lee Byeong-dae), the Korean Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. (KAHPERD, Chairman Cha Gwang-seok), and the Korea Society for Journalism and Communication Studies (KSJCS, Chairman Lee Jae-jin).

During a briefing that day, Park In-gyu, director of the international headquarters of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), said, “Currently, Olympics host cities are selected seven years before the event, but the IOC enables flexible adjustments.”

“In the case of the 2032 Olympics, a competition appears unavoidable, with Australia, Germany, Indonesia, and China having announced their intent to bid,” he added.

“The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) general meeting taking place in Seoul in November 2020 will be an excellent opportunity to explain the appropriateness of South and North Korea co-hosting,” he predicted.

During the forum, which was chaired by Yu Ja-hyo, director of the KJC editorial committee, Lee Jae-ho, professor at Far East University, delivered a presentation that referenced recent difficulties experienced by the Olympics and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“Conversely, a Seoul-Pyongyang Olympics could mark a turning point toward an Olympic renaissance. No other city can match the symbolism of the Olympics being co-hosted by a divided people for the first time ever,” Lee suggested.

Jeong Ui-chul, a professor of media and advertising at Sangji University, said the media “need to let go of factionalism and approach a unified team and inter-Korean sports exchanges as opportunities for peace and reunification, seeking out an alternative from a standpoint of mutual interchange and establishing peace rather than generating conflict.”

Yu Sang-geon, a professor in the sports-ICT convergence development of Sangmyung University, said that sports journalism “needs to move beyond factionalism and commercialism and perform its assigned role toward the goal of South and North Korea co-hosting the Olympics.” In particular, he called for the media to work on developing different agendas and attempting to persuade the rest of the world.

Other participants in the forum that day included Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Roh Tae-gang, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, and National Sports Promotion Corporation President Cho Jae-gi. Attendees pledged to offer their cooperation and support toward South and North Korea co-hosting the Olympics in 2032.

By Kim Kyung-moo, senior staff writer

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