Olympic medalists from North Korea, South Korea, and China got together for a selfie following the table tennis mixed doubles medal ceremony. The picture was taken by South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon using a Samsung phone, following the victory of China’s Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin over North Korea’s Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong. Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin of South Korea took the bronze medal by defeating Hong Kong. Despite ongoing tensions between North and South Korea, the athletes celebrated their achievements together.
Previously, all individual items, including mobile phones, were banned from medal ceremonies, with photographs only permitted to be taken by official media. However, an agreement between South Korean tech giant Samsung and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) now permits their products to be used in such occasions. The selfie by the table tennis stars was captured using the Galaxy Z Flip6, which was introduced to athletes before its official launch.
Samsung explained the utility of their latest product in a press release this week. They stated that athletes could take creative selfies from various angles thanks to the foldable design of the device. The competing athletes had the Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip6 preloaded with the Athlete 365 app that allows “victory selfies,” to be added.
The shared selfie comes in the aftermath of an unfortunate incident during the Olympics opening ceremony. The South Korean athletes were erroneously introduced as North Korean athletes, leading to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) having to issue a “deep apology” for the mix-up. The South Korean delegation was initially announced as the ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,’ which is North Korea’s official name. The formal title for South Korea is the Republic of Korea.
North Korea sent a delegation of 16 athletes to compete in the Olympics – their first since 2016. North Korea had not participated in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics owing to concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Following the mix-up, the North Korean delegation was correctly introduced later during the program in both French and English.
The cross-border selfie is remarkable as it presents a moment of unity and camaraderie among medalists from nations with political tensions. The athletes’ cheerful smiles during the photo, despite political complications, transcended boundaries and are reflective of the broader spirit of sportsmanship and unity that the Olympics is known for.
