N. Korean reports on Asian Games This photo, captured from North Korea’s state-run Central TV on Sept. 26, 2023, shows highlights from the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The broadcaster made these reports for the first time on the same day, three days after the opening of the games. (Yonhap)
I am sure it was sweet to beat Japan in the Asian Cup Finals, but the fact they don’t have to do their mandatory military service is probably the most satisfying part of this win for the players:
South Korea defeated Japan 2-1 to defend the men’s football title at the Asian Games in Indonesia.
In the final match at Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong on Saturday, the men’s football team finished the 90-minute main game in a scoreless draw.
During extra time, Lee Seung-woo scored the first goal and Hwang Hee-chan added another minutes later.
South Korea successfully defended its Asiad title following their victory at Incheon 2014 and came to hold the most Asiad titles in men’s football with five.
The victory also gave the 20 Taegeuk Warriors, including captain Son Heung-min, exemption from mandatory military service that usually takes about two years. [KBS World Radio]
A gold medal at the Asian Games will be extra memorable if the South Korean soccer team wins because they can avoid mandatory military service:
South Korea’s Lee Seung-woo, left, celebrates with Son Heung-min after scoring in the semifinal football match against Vietnam at the 18th Asian Games in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday. Korea won 3-1. Yonhap
South Korea’s soccer team is just 90 minutes away from gold at the 2018 Asian Games and that all-important military exemption thanks to a 3-1 win over Vietnam in the semifinal Wednesday.
On Saturday, Son Heung-min and his colleagues will meet either Japan or the United Arab Emirates in the final in Cibinong, south of Jakarta. If the young Taegeuk Warriors win that then the 20-man roster will not have to perform 21 months of military service. [Korea Times]
North Korean members of the unified Korean canoeing team celebrate after the team grabbed its first-ever gold in women’s 500-meter dragon boat racing at the 18th Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games on Aug. 26, 2018. (Yonhap)
I would be surprised if much comes out of this unless there is more going on within North Korea that we do not know about since Kim Jong-un has dropped out of sight the last month:
North Korea’s presumptive No. 2 led members of Pyongyang’s inner circle in a rare trip Saturday to South Korea for the close of the Asian Games, with the rivals holding their highest level face-to-face talks in five years.
After months of tensions, including a steady stream of insults between the divided neighbors and an unusual number of North Korean missile and rocket test firings, expectations for any breakthrough weren’t high, but even the visit itself was significant, allowing valuable contact between confidants of North Korea’s authoritarian leader and Seoul’s senior official for North Korean affairs.
The North Korean delegation to the games in Incheon was led by Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer for the Korean People’s Army and considered by outside analysts to be the country’s second most important official after supreme leader Kim Jong Un. Hwang is also a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission led by Kim and a vice marshal of the army.
The visit comes as rumors swirl in the South about the health of Kim, who has made no public appearances since Sept. 3 and skipped a high-profile recent event he usually attends. A recent official documentary showed footage from August of him limping and overweight and mentioned his ”discomfort.” [Associated Press]
South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae performs with the ribbon during the 2014 Asian Games at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon on Oct. 1, 2014. (Yonhap)
But while touting their own victories, North Korea’s coverage of the games has made virtually no mention of the other 44 countries participating, the fact that South Korea trails only China in medals won, and has far more than the North, or, more politically tricky, the setting of the games south of the Demilitarized Zone.
In sharp contrast, the South’s media, while duly reporting the results of each event and heralding their own team’s achievements, have been quick to find fault with the Incheon organizers, and to lament how the games have failed to generate much interest, let alone inspire their nation.
In particular, they have pointed out that empty seats — never a problem at major televised events in the North — have been visible in almost every games venue.
But they have also noted another reason why Pyongyang might want to dance with joy — South Korea’s taxpayers may well end up footing the bill for the North’s propaganda coup.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news, Seoul is prepared to pay as much as 1 billion won ($940,000) to cover the North’s rental of satellite broadcast equipment, worth around 400 million won, and the cost of their delegation’s stay at the athletes’ village. [Associated Press]
South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae performs with the ball during the 2014 Asian Games at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon on Oct. 1, 2014. (Yonhap)
Via a reader tip comes news that many nations are unhappy with what they believe is cheating that is going on at the Asian Games in favor of host South Korea:
The 2014 Asian Games ends Oct. 4, Saturday in Incheon, South Korea and it appears to close on a low as rampant cheating allegations have been levied against hosts. Fans of different athletes and teams from other Asian nations are up in arms online and elsewhere for questionable and controversial results in the quadrennial event with most outcomes favouring South Korea.
The most blatant alleged cheating happened in the sport of boxing involving women fighters from India (Sarita Devi) and South Korea (Park Jina).
The South Korean won the semifinal match in the lightweight division despite the Indian boxer dominating the fight. Devi made his stand during the medal awarding ceremony refusing to receive the bronze medal and even giving it to the Korean.
“It was a protest for all the sportsmen and women of the world against injustice in sport. There should be fair play in sport,” the Indian boxer Devi said to the press about her actions at the podium.
Aside from the India vs. South Korea controversy, other countries like Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and a few other countries felt slighted by the results in some other matches although there were no formal protests filed. [International Business Times]
You can read more at the link, but it seems hosts being able to cheat during international competitions has become standard practice now a days.
