[AG/english]Just Like Seeing Old Friends Again

“So happy to see you again.” “It has been years. Did you get married?”

On their second day in Busan, the North Korean delegation participating the 14th Asian Games began training in nearby cities of Ulsan and Changwon as well as the hosting city where met with familiar faces of the South.

Korean athletes who will compete in table tennis, gymnastics, shooting and boat races met their compatriots during practice sessions and had friendly chats.

The North Korean women’s table tennis team arrived at Dongcheon Gymnasium in Ulsan at 11:00 a.m., one hour later than originally scheduled, due to heavy traffic. As they almost wrapped up the day’s training at about 1:00 p.m., the South Korean arrived.

Spotting the guests from the North, head coach Lee Yu-sung and staff coach Hyun Jung-hwa approached their counterparts Park Man-il and Lee Hyung-il to welcome them. Players were also shaking hands and saying hello to one another. The encounter was the first in 4 months since the championship held in China back in May this year.

As Hyun asked Lee whether Lee Bun-hee, former North Korean table tennis star who won a gold medal in a pair match with Hyun at the 1991 championship in Japan, was doing okay, Lee said, “She got well and visited our training camp almost everyday.” Lee, however, complained that the gymnasium was too far from the athletes’ village, saying he’d better bring his lunch next time.

A similar encounter also took place in Changwon where a shooting field is located. The North Korean shooting team comprising 23 athletes and 6 coaches visited Changwon shooting field in the morning. 42-year-old South Korean skit shooter Kim Yeon-hee and 33-year-old North Korean Lee Hye-gyeong met for the first time in 11 years and had a long conversation.

Han Dong-gyu, chairman of the North’s shooting association who is leading the Asian games team was talking with Jang Jae-kwan, head coach of women’s rifle team, whom he met a year ago during the Munich World Cup.

South and North Korean gymnastic teams had morning trainings at a school gym and Sajick Gymnasium respectively for about an hour. North Korean coach Lee Chul-soo told reporters at the scene, “We have to wait and see, but we are confident.”

Feeling pressure from the media attention, the men’s team held a private training session, while the women’s team asked the press to exit after beginning training. Yet to get accustomed to unfamiliar environment, in particular, some of female players and staff got carsick on their way back to the village and had to take medicine.

North Korean boat team had an encounter with their South Korean counterparts while leaving the riverside arena located along Nakdong River. Son Byeong-rok, head coach of men’s team welcomed his North Korean counterpart Choi Myeong-hwan he first met during the Asian Championships last year. They had a short but friendly conversation encouraging each other. As North Korean athletes began to assemble the boat they rented for the race, South Koreans helped them lending some instruments such as spanners and drivers.

Hwan-Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com