Kim Is Avid Synchronized Swimming Fan

It is a well-known fact that Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, is a synchronized swimming enthusiast.

At the Asian Games 2006, free routine finals of synchronized swimming team event were held at the Hamad Aquatic Centre on December 9. Before the competition began, a member of the event staff from Australia said, “I’ve heard that the North Korean synchronized swimming has improved greatly due to the patronage of Chairman Kim.”

The North Korean synchronized swimming team, consisting of seven members, won a bronze medal with a total of 86.500 points for the technical routine and free routine. They achieved a medal at their first try at the Asian Games.

It has been almost five years since North Korea first made its appearance in international synchronized swimming circles. North Korea is growing fiercely. Team ace Wang Ok Gyong (17) won two bronze medals at the Asian Swimming Championships held in Singapore in March this year.

Every year for Kim’s birthday (February 16), hundreds of synchronized swimming girls give an enormous demonstration. In North Korea, this is called “synchronized swimming model training.”

Now 180 female synchronized swimmers are said to be practicing rigorously for the “model training” this year for Kim’s 65th birthday. A high-ranking official of the North Korean sports world said, “Many children want to learn synchronized swimming since the general likes it.”

Currently, there are three adult synchronized swimming teams in North Korea, and 100 synchronized swim athletes. Considering the young athletes as well, the foundation is firm. After the day’s competition, coach Yoo Jong Ae of the North Korean synchronized swimming team gave her short opinion, saying, “We didn’t do as well as we did during practice.”

For the development of synchronized swimming, North Korea employed a Korean-Japanese agent of the pro-North Korean residents´ league in Japan (Jochongnyeon) and invited a coach from Russia, the world’s strongest synchronized swimming country. Meanwhile, the South Korean team, which experienced adversities such as the athlete desertion sensation last year, was not able to compete in the team competition, and the Kim Min-jeong, Cho Myeong-gyeong duet ranked fourth in the duet events on December 8.

uni@donga.com