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The South and North Korean women’s teams at the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad

The South and North Korean women’s table tennis teams that are currently competing in the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships have unexpectedly formed a unified team. This was the first time in 27 years that there has been an inter-Korean team in the sport, since the 1991 championships in Chiba, Japan.

On May 3, the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) announced that the South and North Korean women’s table tennis teams in the tournament, which is taking place in Halmstad, Sweden, had suddenly decided to form a unified team. While South and North Korea had been scheduled to compete in the quarterfinals, their combination advances them into the semifinals without a match.

Sweden

The formation of the unified team was reportedly arranged by Thomas Weikert, president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The ITTF is currently trying to arrange a unified inter-Korean team for the Jakarta Palembang Asian Games, which kick off in August, and has asked the KTTA for its cooperation in forming a unified team. When Korean table tennis players formed the first unified team in 1991, they put on a good showing, with South Korean Hyun Jung-hwa and North Korean Li Pun-hui beating China to win the gold in the women’s team event.

On May 2, players representing South and North Korea put on a surprise combined exhibition match during a ceremony honoring the ITTF’s establishment, which was held in Hotel Tylösand in Halmstad.

After the phrase “one Korea, one table” appeared on a screen at the ceremony, Then Seo Hyo-won (sponsored by LetsRun [sic]) and Yang Ha-eun (sponsored by Korean Air) from South Korea and Choi Hyeon-hwa and Kim Nam-hae from North Korea appeared for the match, in which Seo and Kim paired up against Yang and Choi. Rather than using a regulation table, they played on a plastic miniature using plastic rackets. The game lasted for just over three minutes, with the score ending in a tie of three to three.

After the game, a reporter asked North Korean player Kim Nam-hae what she thinks about the idea of going to the Asian Games as a unified inter-Korean team, to which Kim said, “I hope we can unite our efforts and get first place.” Seo Hyo-won, from South Korea, said “It felt comfortable since we speak the same language [as the North Korean players].”

At 6 pm on May 4, the unified team will be facing Korea’s longstanding rival Japan, which defeated Ukraine by a score of three to zero in the semifinals on the afternoon of May 3.

By Kim Kyung-moo, senior staff writer

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