" I Would Like to Go Back to Our Great Leader As Soon As Possible"

Two hundred and six North Korean cheerleaders who participated in the Summer Universiade Games in Daegu said, before they returned to the North, at the fare-well ceremony held at the court of Daegu bank training institution in the south Gyeongsang Province at noon on Sep. 1, in which around 120 people participated including the North Korean cheerleaders.

The North Korean cheerleading squad expressed their gratitude to the catering service team staffs of Samsung Everland, who provide them food for 13 days at their lodging in the training institution. Some of them even shed tears.

The large scratch paper that the Daegu city posted on the entrance to the dining hall was full of people`s aspiration for the national unification.

The cheerleading squad wrote words such as `let`s unite our homeland through cooperation between the North and the South`, `We are one nation with same race, same language and same blood`, `even though we part, let`s meet again through unification` and `We are of one nation. Can not live apart from each other.` Lee Il-nam, the head rooter of the North wrote `Let`s live in a unite country without any dishonor.`

Yet, to the question on “Would you like to stay longer”, most of them replied, “I would like to go back to our great leader as soon as possible.”

Park, Roh-duk (42), the head rooter of the North Korean supporters who cheered for the North Korean athletes, said, “I felt more affection toward the North Korean players as my late mother`s hometown is near the Mount Geumgang.” He also said, “I already feel sad to bid farewell to the North Korean cheerleaders.”

One official who stayed with the North Korean cheerleaders said, “the cheerleaders look as free as ourselves, but I got the impression that they have narrow way of thinking and certain uniformity,” and he added, “I had too much to pay attention during the North Korean cheerleaders stayed in Korea, so now I feel relieved.”

The chairman of the organizing committee, Cho, Hae-nyoung (mayor of Daegu), said in his farewell speech, “those who meet are destine to part and those who part are destine to meet again,” and added, “Please, do not forget Daegu and let`s meet again in the near future.”

Lee Il-nam, the head rooter of the North said, “even the commotion caused by some conservatives could not stop the tude towards our unity.” He also said “I felt that we are one nation while cheering together, and so long as there are desires for the national unification, we will meet again.”

boriam@donga.com