First, the stats:
Final medal standing for South Korea: 9th overall
- Gold: 13
- Silver: 8
- Bronze: 7
As you may or may not already be aware, South Korea's goal for the London Olympics was 10, 10... aka 10th in overall standings and 10 gold medals. They managed to surpass both of their goals. Now, why is this relevant to a blog on Korean popular culture? Because it is significant in understanding national identity. Countries have a rare opportunity every couple of years to compete against each other in a variety of different sports. While some question the intensity of nationalism in international sports competition, and there are controversies, human rights issues, ect, the world comes to a halt in those days. Variety shows don't air new episodes. Viewers stay up till the wee hours in the morning to watch soccer matches and events live. Singers, actors, comedians all comment, congratulate, support on SNS, twitter, ect. Everyone gathers in support of their athletes. And this is not only limited to South Korean media. Just take a look at the number of American celebrities who tweeted about Gabrielle Douglas. or Missy Franklin. Athletes become overnight stars. In “Political Communities:
the Nation”, Max Weber (1978) suggests the feeling of “national sentiment” and
affiliation to a nation is significant to national identity. In a more narrow context, we may feel affiliated to a particular sports team due to location, college, or familial attachment.
Medal count, of course, is becoming more and more controversial in the Olympics, particularly with the growing U.S.-China race for gold. But I digress. Back to the South Korea. This particular Olympics was particularly significant for South Korea because of breakout stars in sports that South Korean athletes were never in the running for before. In gymnastics: Yang Hak-seon gold. Men's soccer: bronze. Girl's volleyball: 4th (and MVP player). Also, it was not only about medal count this time around, many athletes were supported regardless of whether or not they obtained a medal. While men's soccer is always popular with the fans, prior to London 2012, there was little interest in gymnastics in South Korea. Why? well... part of it is a feeling of nationalism. Why would you watch a sport where no one is a strong contender from your country? Well, maybe you do for fun, but a game (in my opinion) is always more interesting to watch when you have someone to root for. Why do you think the U.S. spends so much television time with one sporting event over another... let's say... U.S. and swimming in the London Olympics? gymnastics?
It is also interesting to see that the TV show Win Win (승승장구) featured 2 athletes on their talk show. Both were not medal winners, but very popular athletes in Korea. Win Win is a talk show where 1 person comes on as a solo guest. Usually there is also 1 or 2 "surprise guests" who come to support the main guest. (For Jang Mi-Ran swimmer Park Tae Hwan came as a surprise guest). Son Yon Jae and Park Tae Hwan were also featured on Running Man. Son Yon Jae was also on Infinity Challenge (무한도전). A panel of them were also seen on Happy Together, Healing Camp, Go Show, and Radio Star. It was heartening to see that these athletes, who work for years (and some who do not get a medal, or in some cases, even the chance to compete) received some limelight. This limelight comes and goes once every 4 years, or sometimes every 2 years. It takes so much motivation, discipline, and stamina to be an athlete and compete... and once they are done with the public media, most of them (if they are moving onto the next competition) go back to training.
Also, when Jang Mi-Ran came on Win Win, she told the story of when she was sitting next to Park Tae Hwan and he was just goofing around and she was telling him to stop/knock it off while grimacing. But a picture was taken by paparazzi and it was a shot of her smiling and it looked like the two of them were sharing a joke. Pictures are a distorted version of the truth. I know netizens often refer to pictures when they are trying to prove something, but just something to think about.
It is also interesting to see that the TV show Win Win (승승장구) featured 2 athletes on their talk show. Both were not medal winners, but very popular athletes in Korea. Win Win is a talk show where 1 person comes on as a solo guest. Usually there is also 1 or 2 "surprise guests" who come to support the main guest. (For Jang Mi-Ran swimmer Park Tae Hwan came as a surprise guest). Son Yon Jae and Park Tae Hwan were also featured on Running Man. Son Yon Jae was also on Infinity Challenge (무한도전). A panel of them were also seen on Happy Together, Healing Camp, Go Show, and Radio Star. It was heartening to see that these athletes, who work for years (and some who do not get a medal, or in some cases, even the chance to compete) received some limelight. This limelight comes and goes once every 4 years, or sometimes every 2 years. It takes so much motivation, discipline, and stamina to be an athlete and compete... and once they are done with the public media, most of them (if they are moving onto the next competition) go back to training.
Also, when Jang Mi-Ran came on Win Win, she told the story of when she was sitting next to Park Tae Hwan and he was just goofing around and she was telling him to stop/knock it off while grimacing. But a picture was taken by paparazzi and it was a shot of her smiling and it looked like the two of them were sharing a joke. Pictures are a distorted version of the truth. I know netizens often refer to pictures when they are trying to prove something, but just something to think about.
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