THE BIG DEBATE: CAN THE OLYMPIC GAMES HELP RESOLVE THE KOREAN CONFLICT?

Transcription

1 THE BIG DEBATE: CAN THE OLYMPIC GAMES HELP RESOLVE THE KOREAN CONFLICT? OPINIONS The Olympic spirit is about respect, dialogue and understanding. The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 are hopefully opening the door to a brighter future on the Korean peninsula, and inviting the world to join in a celebration of hope. The Olympic games show us what the world could look like, if we were all guided by the Olympic spirit of respect and understanding. This is the Olympic message that will go from PyeongChang to the world. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Right now, we are facing a very precious opportunity to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. It is entirely due to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games that allowed the South and the North to sit face to face. Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea DILEMMA The 2018 Winter Olympics begin on 9 February in PyeongChang, South Korea. The biggest winter sports festival in the world is taking place in one of the most volatile regions on the planet. North Korea and South Korea have been bitter enemies since a brutal threeyear war in the 1950s. Recently, North Korea has tested nuclear weapons, angering South Korea, Japan and the USA, and there are real fears that a conflict could break out. But there was some relief when it was recently announced that, following negotiations between politicians and the IOC, North and South Korea will field a joint women s ice hockey team for the first time ever, and will march together under a unified Korea flag at the opening ceremony of the games. It has raised hopes that peace may come to the region. But not everybody is happy about the decision. In South Korea especially, there has been a lot of criticism of President Moon Jae-in s drive to improve relations with North Korea. A recent survey found 73% of South Koreans were against fielding a combined hockey team. Politicians opposed to Mr Moon have been critical. The leader of the opposition Liberty Korea The North and South Party, Hong Jun-Pyo, Korea joint women s ice said that the Olympics hockey team in training for had now become the PyeongChang 2018 Pyongyang Olympics, (Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea). But Moon Jae-in was elected last year on a pledge to improve relations with North Korea. He has referred to the PyeongChang games as the Peace Olympics. Is he right? Can the Olympics create positive change or even peace between the two states? Or is this just a giant publicity stunt for the North? Can the Olympics and the Olympic spirit really help solve Korea s problems?

2 THE KOREAN CONFLICT What s going on between North and South Korea, and when did it all start? Here s a summary of the crisis in the Korean Peninsula: Korea is under control of the Japanese Empire Following the end of the Second World War, the Japanese are removed from Korea. Troops from the Soviet Union then occupy the northern region and US soldiers control the South The Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is created in the North with backing from the Soviet Union. Kim Il-sung, a communist, becomes the country s leader. The Soviet army leaves North Korean soldiers invade the South seeking a unified communist state. The Korean War starts. The North is supported by the Soviet Union and China, fellow communist nations. The South is supported by several anti-communist countries including the USA and UK. A US plane drops bombs during the Korean War Fighting in the Korean War reaches a stalemate. In spite of frequent conflicts, little territory is exchanged. Throughout this period the North and the South undergo peace negotiations in an attempt to end the war and move towards a unified Korea The fighting finally ends after peace negotiations achieve an armistice (an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time). At least two million Korean civilians, up to 1.5 million communist forces, and more than 30,000 US, 400,000 South Korean and 1,000 UK troops are thought to have died. In spite of all this loss and the lengthy peace negotiations, the two states were unable achieve more than an armistice. Consequently, the countries officially remain at war to this day. An injured North Korean troop North Korea joins an international deal that prevents the country from producing nuclear weapons North Korea test-fires a mediumrange missile into the Sea of Japan. North Korean missiles in North Korea sends thousands of troops into the demilitarised zone a stretch of territory between the two countries that is supposed to be neutral and contain no armed forces. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

3 CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE 2003 North Korea withdraws from the 1985 nuclear deal North Korea admits for the first time that it has produced nuclear weapons North Korea conducts its first nuclear weapons test. In response, the UN imposes sanctions prohibiting the export of some military supplies and luxury goods to North Korea North Korea sinks a South Korean warship. The damaged South Korean warship 2012 North Korea says it has missiles that can hit the USA A long-range missile is fired into the Sea of Japan by North Korea. The UN imposes more sanctions banning all exports of coal, iron, lead, seafood and rare earth metals. A long-range missile is fired into the Sea of Japan by North Korea 2017 Donald Trump becomes US President, and starts exchanging provocative and aggressive language with North Korean leader Kim Jongun. Trump says his nuclear button is bigger than Kim s. President Trump likes to mock Kim Jong-un DEFINITIONS Soviet Union A communist country that existed between 1922 and It was a union of 15 states, led by Russia. Communist A communist individual or country follows the ideas of communism, a political and economic theory created by two Germans in the 19th century. In theory, within a communist society there are no different social classes and all methods of production are owned and controlled by all members of the community. Communism became very popular in the 20th century, but many communist nations were unable to achieve the ideal of communism; in practice, inequality still existed in nations like the Soviet Union and North Korea. Cold War The spread of communism across the globe lead to fears in the USA that it would threaten American values such as free trade, democracy and individual property ownership. As a result, the USA and Soviet Union engaged in a Cold War : this was a war where the two countries rarely engaged in direct conflict. This led to many wars in countries like Korea where the Soviet Union and the USA would back different sides but not become directly involved in fighting.

4 THE LOWDOWN ON PYEONGCHANG 2018 A total of 102 medals will be awarded to athletes in 15 disciplines across 17 days in 13 venues at the Winter Olympics. The Paralympics begin in PyeongChang on 9 March. PyeongChang 2018 isn t the first time North and South Korea have put on a united front. The two Koreas sent joint teams to major international sports events twice, both in 1991: the world table tennis championships in Japan and football s World Youth Championships in Portugal. In the 2000s, their athletes marched together during the opening and closing ceremonies of nine international sporting events, including the Olympics and Asian Games, but they didn t field a joint team. Hosting an Olympics is not cheap: the Sochi winter games in 2014 were the most expensive Olympics ever. They cost more than $50 billion ( 35 billion). PyeongChang is expected to cost $10 billion ( 7 billion). PyeongChang The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic medals The North Korean flag (above) and South Korean flag (below)

5 THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT: PEACE THROUGH SPORT An Olympic dove of peace is released The IOC was founded in 1894 on the belief that sport can contribute to peace and to the harmonious development of humankind. The Olympic Movement continues to work on a daily basis to use sport to promote peace and the Olympic principles around the world. Statement on the website of the Olympic games. An initiative called the Olympic Truce Foundation encourages peace worldwide and the Olympic authorities like to talk about how sport can promote peace. The IOC says that sport has the power to bring people together and that it builds friendships and draws lines of respect across borders. The IOC also wants to help the search for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the conflicts around the world. When the athletes from North and South Korea march together during the opening ceremony at PyeongChang 2018, it will demonstrate to the world that peaceful collaboration is possible between the two states. This may help the two nations to stop perceiving one another as enemies, promoting peace and encouraging further understanding in Korea. All of this would not be possible without the global stage provided by the Olympic Games. THE HUMAN ELEMENT Thanks to televised coverage of the Olympics, viewers are able to see how similar all the athletes are, in spite of their nationalities. Everyone can recognise the athletes emotions the joy of winning, the frustration of losing and the pride of competing. Sharing in the athletes sacrifices and successes allows us to celebrate the things all people have in common. This makes it more difficult to maintain negative stereotypes about people from different races and nationalities, as we see that we are not so different after all. Also, athletes have used the platform that the Olympics provides to address important issues in the world. Most famously, in the 1968 Olympics, after winning gold and bronze medals in the 200-metre sprint, African- American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised a black-gloved fist during the US national anthem. This action, associated with the black power movement in the USA, helped to draw the world s attention towards the issues of racism and oppression that black people face in America. Now, Smith and Carlos are celebrated as heroes of the civil rights movement, with murals and tributes across the United States. At PyeongChang 2018, the Korean people and the rest of the world will be able to see that whether the athletes are from the North or South of the peninsula, they are all fundamentally human. This will help to foster understanding and empathy. The athletes may even be able to make their voices heard with symbolic acts, further aiding in improved relations between the two nations. Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium at the 1968 Olympics

6 NO PEACE WITHOUT HUMAN RIGHTS Critics of the Olympics point out that, although the IOC talks about respect, friendships and peace through sport, some of the host countries Protests against Beijing 2008 of the games have dreadful human rights records. This means the governments in those countries deny their citizens the freedom to express themselves, and they imprison, torture or even kill opponents. Beijing, the capital of China, hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was pointed out at the time that China has no real democracy, very limited freedom of expression and that the Chinese had invaded and occupied neighbouring Tibet. There were many protests about China hosting the games. But, in just four years time, in spite of China s very poor human rights record, Beijing is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Human rights in North Korea are severely limited. In 2014, the UN published a detailed 400-page account documenting unspeakable atrocities that occurred in the country, including torture, forced labour and human experimentation. Does allowing North Korea to participate in PyeongChang under a unified Korean flag legitimise a government responsible for terrible atrocities? Is the IOC overlooking these human rights abuses to include North Korea, and, if it is, can we really say that the games are working to promote peace and respect through sport? OLYMPIC COSTS Even if the Olympics can produce positive change in the minds of politicians and people, are they worth the cost? The Sydney games in 2000 lost over $2 billion ( 1.7 billion). The Athens games in 2004 are believed to have lost the country over 11 billion, and it took the Canadian city of Montreal 30 years to pay off its debts after hosting the 1976 Olympics. PyeonChang 2018 will cost $10 billion ( 7 billion). Could this money be better spent pursuing peace with North Korea through other methods, such as diplomacy and aid? OLYMPIC HOSTILITY Although organisers of the Olympics say that the games can bring people together and encourage countries to put their differences to one side, the Olympic games have been the scene of hostility in the past Moscow Olympics In 1980, the American President Jimmy Carter protested the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by refusing to send a United States team to the 1980 Olympics in the Russian capital, Moscow. This action is called a boycott. More than 60 countries, including Japan, West Germany and Canada joined in the boycott. An abandoned swimming pool from Athens Los Angeles Olympics Four years later, the Soviets retaliated by boycotting the Olympic games in Los Angeles, USA. The official reason was that they were worried about their athletes safety, but it s widely believed the Soviet authorities were gaining revenge for the 1980 boycott by the Americans. Soviet allies, including Bulgaria, East Germany, Poland and Cuba also withdrew their teams. As these examples show, in some instances the games can lead to hostility between nations instead of peace. The decision to field a unified Korean side is very unpopular with the South Korean public could this end up alienating the two nations populations instead of encouraging peace as intended?

7 YES, THE OLYMPIC GAMES CAN HELP RESOLVE THE KOREAN CONFLICT NO, THE OLYMPIC GAMES CAN T HELP RESOLVE THE KOREAN CONFLICT 1. SPORT RISES ABOVE POLITICS AND CONFLICT As the unified Korean team shows, sport especially Olympic sport can be a great opportunity for countries to put their differences behind them and unite. 2. THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT INSPIRES PEOPLE Nobody is saying the Olympic games or the IOC are perfect, but the Olympic spirit and peace through sport initiative are inspiring values that many people look up to. Surely this will help to foster peace and understanding between the Korean people. 3. ATHLETES CAN LEAD THE WAY Politicians are not the only ones who influence public opinion. If Korean athletes can march together under the same flag, perhaps citizens and politicians worldwide will see peace in the region is possible. 1. THE COST OUTWEIGHS THE BENEFITS The Olympics have become too expensive. There are far better things a government or city can invest in to solve the world s problems. For a start, money would be better spent pursuing peace through diplomacy and aid. 2. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES STILL GO ON Not only has the IOC awarded two Olympic games to China in the space of 14 years, but it is also giving North Korea a platform in spite of the fact it continues to violate human rights. This shows that the Olympic Committee are not committed to protecting human rights and encouraging peace through sport. 3. BOYCOTTS SHOW THE OLYMPICS ARE A BATTLEGROUND Far from solving the world s problems, the Olympics have seen great hostility between nations. Most obviously this took place in 1980 and Many people think North and South Korea will put on a united front for a few weeks at PyeongChang, then get back to their rivalry.

8 Do you watch the Olympics? What good do the Olympics do? Does sport generally bring people together or tear them apart? Do you think the Olympic ideals, such as peace through sport, are a positive thing? Should the Olympics continue if it can t achieve its ideals of peace and respect? Do you think it s good that Korean athletes will come together at PyeongChang, or is it just a publicity stunt? Do the Olympic games cost too much to put on? Can athletes influence people s opinions about serious things such as war?