As they say, all legs lead to PyeongChang, South Korea; and all eyes and ears are glued to this county (population: about 45,000; elevation: 750 meters) in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region.
But other than being an ideal site for the Winter Olympics that began on February 9 and will run until February 25, PyeongChang has spurred conversations of international interest that may be of positive gain to unity and solidarity between North and South Korea, its peoples forcibly set apart from each other since 1953 by a politically-imposed 250-kilometer long and about four-kilometer wide land barrier infamously known as the demilitarized zone.
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“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. To spread these principles is to build up a strong and more valiant and, above all, more scrupulous and more generous humanity.”
Eloquent, precise and vivid – these words of Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (January 1, 1863 – September 2, 1937) embody the very intent and spirit of what we all know today as the Olympic Games.
Played every four years during the summer and winter, the first modern Games was conducted in Athens, Greece in the summer of 1896, two years after Baron Pierre founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The modern Games drew inspiration from the ancient Olympic Games played in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD.
Winter sports took equal attention from IOC officials, who declared the 1924 international week of winter sport in Chamonix, France as the first Olympic Winter Games.
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American author and sportswriter Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954), who became popular because of his elegant prose, had a slight twist to the Baron’s words.
In Alumnus Football published in the book The Tumult and the Shouting, Rice wrote: “For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes – not that you won or lost – but how you played the Game.”
Playing the game within the framework of civility, ethics and morality are as equally important as qualifying for and participating in the Games.
Rice might just as well be telling everyone that for names and numbers to be remembered and for glowing medals to be bit with pride, excellence in sports should always conform to the highest standards of friendly competition, goodwill and sportsmanship.
This may be the prime reason why most coaches tell players to have fun, while pursuing the fulfillment of a golden dream.
Yet still, having the most fun is for athletes to embrace the Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, which is Latin for “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, and make it a reality for all to see, emulate and replicate.
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“A better world could be brought about only by better individuals,” so added Baron Pierre.
PyeongChang proved the baron right.
Perhaps a first in Olympic history, bitter protagonists in a six-decade long Korean drama exchanged smiles, shook hands, sat with each other and cordially took the initiative to talk comfortably and peaceably with each other.
There were no back channels and third parties, as Kim Yo-jong, younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un invited South Korean president Moon Jae-in to a summit in Pyeongyang, the capital of North Korea, in the nearest future. President Moon accepted.
International media were abuzz with these recent developments, which most people regarded as very helpful to push efforts to re-establish inter-Korean peace and stability.
As expected, disagreement was the stance of critics, detractors, gadflies and those who harbor the thought that it is out of line to befriend what they say is a North Korean state ruled by an unwanted leader.
Who desires to give unity and peace in the Korean peninsula — and in the world — a chance? Are they the better individuals?
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Seeing and hearing Korean artists Ha Hyun-woo, Jeon In-kwon, Lee Eun Mi, and Ahn Ji Young cover John Lennon’s iconic Imagine – as against any popular KPop tune or even Psy’s Gangnam Style – during the opening program of PyeongChang 2018 did not really come as a big surprise.
I still strongly feel that selecting and singing Lennon’s Imagine, which reflected on world harmony and idealism, well suited the PyeongChang 2018 theme “Peace In Motion”.
Earlier, IOC president Thomas Bach emphasized the theme with remarks: “Dear athletes, now, it’s your turn! … This will be the competition of your life. Over the next days, the world will be looking to you for inspiration. You will inspire us all to live together in peace and harmony despite all our differences. You will inspire us by competing for the highest honor in the Olympic spirit of excellence, respect and fair play.”
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Journalist Sean Gregory wrote for Time: Some bridges still need building. But you have to start with a foundation. Why not, some South Koreans wondered on Saturday (February 10), an Olympic hockey game?
Despite the lingering pains of war between the two Koreas, Sekyung Lee, who works for a chemical company in Seoul, insists a new generation will embrace change.
“This is very amazing,” says Lee, 39, while looking down on the ice, his seven-year-old daughter sitting beside him. “I hope to see the unification of our country. Seeing this team makes me so, so happy.”
Lee was referring to a mix of North Korean and South Korean players who represented, for the first time in Olympics history, the women’s hockey team of a united Korea.
In another first, North Korean and South Korean athletes and officials joined, as one group, the parade of Olympians during opening night.
As they marched, they waved a white flag emblazoned in the middle with a pastel blue design depicting the whole Korean peninsula.
BTW, a Korean unification flag, an international affirmation of shared Korean kinship known as minjok, was similarly unfurled during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
President Moon Jae-in and Kim Yo-jong both watched that hockey game, one of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games openers, where a united Korean team played and lost 0-8 against Switzerland.
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Although Team Switzerland easily landed puck after puck into the net and making the unified Korean women’s hockey team look like confused and lost throughout the game at the Kwandong Hockey Center in Gangneung city, a group of more than 100 women in red jackets and white head gears went on cheering and rooting for the home team.
With all bravado, enthusiasm and excitement, the cheerleading squad from North Korea took all the time to loudly chant in Korean “Cheer up!” and encouraged the Korean team to do its best, as in score a goal, in the rink.
The cheerleaders also sang and danced to North Korean pop tunes.
“I feel really good and touched. I feel fortunate to see a historic game. This will contribute to inter-Korean peace,” said Jang Sung-ho, who came to watch the games with seven other family members, an international media report noted. “It is a historic game. This small step will pave the way for inter-Korean peace,” said office worker Oh Eun Seok, the media report added.
If “Cheer up!” was a portent of positive things to come for North Korea and South Korea, for Asia and for the world, I’d wear my best smile.
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Historic? Yes, the Games as it goes on in PyeongChang, will be etched on the pages of history.
However, everyone is waiting, with bated breath, for the outcome of ongoing overtures – perceived and real – for peace and the reunification of the long-separated Korean nations.
The Berlin Wall, a barbed wire and concrete barrier meant to keep East and West Berliners apart, was built starting on August 13, 1961. It stood only until November 9, 1989. Today, there is only one Berlin.
Whatever, there will always be the eternal hope that differences may be mended and a roadmap to peaceful co-existence and interdependence will be agreed on, for the good of the Korean people living in either side of the fence.
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On a different note, Maraming, Maraming Salamat Po: The members of the family of FLORINDA GALICIA-ORTUOSTE wish to express utmost appreciation and gratitude to all who condoled with them in their hour of sadness over a great loss.
Florinda has peacefully reunited with her Creator on February 2, 2018. She was 74 years old.
Husband Joselito Ortuoste thanks all those who joined him and sons Joseph Oliver and Matthew, daughter-in-law Jennifer David, and grandchildren Elijah and Aviana; and siblings Zenaida, Angelita, Florencia and Manolito for prayers for the eternal repose of Florinda’s soul in God’s heavenly abode.
Appreciation and gratitude also go to everyone who went to the viewing at the Paul O’ Connor Funeral Home on February 6.
Thank you too to all who attended the Funeral Mass for Florinda at the St. Dunstan Catholic Church and the interment of Florinda’s physical remains at the Resthaven Cemetery on February 8.
Let us join the family in celebrating Florinda’s life and honoring her memory. #####