One of the few areas in global relations in which North Korea is ostensibly equal in opportunity with the rest of the world is in international sports. At the 2012 Olympics, North Korea placed 20th in the overall medal table, higher than Canada, Spain, Brazil, and various other nations with famous sporting pasts. However watching the opening ceremony, the depiction of the North Korean athletes is still very similar to the typical western depiction we see on the news. There are no closeups of the athletes as the video shows them parade into the stadium, reminiscent of the frequent depictions of North Koreans as a uniform mass, void of individuality. On the contrary, the coverage of the South Korean team is exceedingly
more personal, as the camera focuses on various individual athletes
throughout.
North Korea enters at 0:27:30 and South Korea at 0:48:20
A much more personal display of North Korean athletes can be found at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Before their match against perennial favorite Brazil, the cameraman focuses on each member of the team and highlights the overwhelming emotion felt by one of the North Korean players. While North Korea went on to lose the match 0-1, it nevertheless showed a passionate and personalized aspect of North Koreans that western viewers normally never see.
I really liked your comments about these clips. The difference between the two was so huge, and it was really moving to see all the players in the second clip get emotional during the anthem. Because the commentary on the second one is in Korean, I wonder if all U.S. audiences actually saw the same camerawork.
I really liked your comments about these clips. The difference between the two was so huge, and it was really moving to see all the players in the second clip get emotional during the anthem. Because the commentary on the second one is in Korean, I wonder if all U.S. audiences actually saw the same camerawork.
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