Ahh, the Winter Olympics
Ahh, the winter Olympics! The snow, the drama, the spandex. How can we not love it?
But instead of playing up the spirit of the Olympics, I would like to touch on something that has somewhat troubled me about the Olympics – fanaticism.
As Lucie mentioned, more objectivity in reporting is definitely welcomed. However, I think that we are fundamentally dealing with two different mentalities here with regards to the Korean and the American fronts. I can't say that American athletes lack patriotism. They do, but it is still quantified within the individual framework – benefiting the nation through self-gain to put it crassly. At the very least, they do not flaunt patriotism as fervently as the Koreans. Most American athletes look for the ultimate reward - corporate sponsorships, endorsements deals (with Ohno as the exception I guess). Of course I am generalizing, but one cannot dismiss its prevalence. American athletes have the luxury of deciding who they want to train with, or how they want to conduct their training - relatively speaking of course. At least, these are based on what I’ve observed.
Koreans on the other hand, seem to uphold the patriotic card on a different level of reverence. I think the issue that disturbs me is how death threats were targeted at Ohno (Of course, this can happen in different places, but I am only concerned with the Korean case here). What has he done? He does not hold the decision when it comes to disqualifications. For goodness sake, he is not even 150 pounds! The Korean public should have directed its unfounded anger at the panel of judges. The public’s uncalled for animosity towards Ohno plays into my general impression that Koreans do exhibit some form of national fanaticism. Honestly speaking, it freaks me out. Nationalism is good, but nationalistic fanaticism is dangerous. When Malaysian athletes lose medals due to disqualifications, the default winner does not receive death threats when they visit Malaysia. Likewise in Japan or Singapore. In fact, if Ahn visited the US, I highly doubt someone would even bother to send him a death threat. They might diss him, but that is not a death threat, just people being sour grapes.
Manipulation by the media might be a cause for such sentiments, but the media has to play on something already existing in order to stir up something. Am I suggesting some fundamental nationalistic fanaticism? Perhaps. Then again, I don't know the entire Korean population. But perhaps an interesting self-check is to ask yourself as a chaemi gyopo, who were you cheering for when both South Korean and American athletes were competing in the same event.
Additionally, "collusion" is common in short-track races. That is why Ohno wanted another American to be in the finals. There is a widely acknowledged pattern of Koreans and Chinese athletes playing tag-teams to secure medals. This is an observation not only American sport journalists concur, but other international journalists too. It is unethical. But in the pursuit of Olympic goal, are sportsmanship and ethics important components? I would like it to be, but I am being idealistic. Such tactics are really difficult to penalize – you know it is happening, but you can’t do much about it. However, it is important for me to emphasis that the recent short track race was indisputably clean and fairly executed.
I am not South Korean. Do I care that South Korea won? Not at all. But I am extremely proud of the fact that the best athlete, and an Asian at that, won the gold medal. I really am. This brings us to the very essence of the Olympics. It is suppose to unify people, not polarize nations. I cheer for the very best athletes and teams based on their talent and ability – not by nationality, skin color, or how tight the spandex is.
The South Korean dominance is not a fluke - it is sheer talent and potential. But it is the Korean nationalistic fanaticism that scares me. One can argue that it happens everywhere. Not really. I will strongly disagree with anyone that tries to parallel this fanaticism with the religious fervor in the Middle East. What might have happened if Ohno were to win the race via the disqualification of another South Korean athlete again? Thank God that did not happen. So what breeds patriotic zeal? When does patriotism transforms into nationalistic fanaticism? I don't know. But I do know that it freakes me out, and it poisons society. Not because I am a hater, but I just don’t think the most educated society in the world should fall victim to excessive zeal that clouds objectivity and judgment.
Hah, but then again, for someone that does not even remember his country's independence day, who am I to talk about patriotism?
- ARC
posted by KoreanPop@Penn @ 10:21 PM
2 Comments:
In response to YG's last comment at 7.37pm
You erred in your very first sentence. Firstly, the scenario of Ahn receiving a death threat in the USA was non-definite. I said I highly doubt he would receive a death threat, not that he would absolutely not receive death threat. Lest you forget, Ohno did receive life threats in Korea - it was well publicized. Thus your claim in the second sentence is also flawed. Remember how intelligent agents and Korean security personnel surrounded him as he landed in Korea due to the numerous threats he received?
Hooliganism might lend some credibility to your assertion, but it seems to be more strongly rooted in club-rivalry(i.e.Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid). But I do remember matches during the European League that went out of control. Thus I accept it as a counterexample to support your point.
However, the remaining scenarios are purely speculative. When the US basketball team did not garner the goal medal in the previous summer olympics (one of the summer olympics, I forget), most Americans were dissapointed, perhaps angry. But they limited their criticism within the context of the players - they weren't good or well-prepared enough. Dissatisfaction with judgment calls are usually directed at judges, not opponents. There is a difference between being emotional and being fanatical.
Lastly, I am tempted to believe that national responses can be traced back to history. Korea has never been of great importance in ancient history. It was but a tool in the Chinese-Japanese tug-of-war. The Japanese occupation highly influenced modern memory. Could the pride Koreans have in their language and culture be linked to their previous inability to freely embrace them? If I always had foreigners denying me the pride of learning my own language and embracing my own culture, hell, of course I would hold on to it for dear life now, if not flaunt it at every possible chance!
The downplay of collective thought analysis is myopic. I think it is important to analyze national reactions. It offers insight to the prevailing mentality and also offers clues to future responses. National sentiments are routinely taken into consideration not only in international policy considerations, but also business marketing and business strategy. To neglect is to be irresponsible.
Then again, to be fair, it is impossible to conclusively claim that a country is fanatic or not. As I admitted in my conclusion, there is no way to arrive on a reasonable result without a comprehensive survey of individual responses over decades. But what I am trying to probe here is why does it seem, to me at least, that there is a sense of nationalism more apparent amongst Koreans. I asked my best friend, who is Korean American, who would he support if Korean athletes and American atheletes competed together in the same race last night. He unequivocably said, "Korea." You might say it is the same with Chinese Americans or Japanese Americans, but I am interested in the Korean case. It is not a question laced with political or ethnic nuances, but a genuine desire to understand where the Korean community is coming from.
- ARC
I have no invested emotions or self-interest in this entry, and would like to reiterate my purpose of pure scholarship.
If you think my observations are true as per 8.50AM, I appreciate it. But please do not question my intentions. I am attempting to understand the Korean perspective - where are they coming from, period. My political agendas, if any, would have been carried out on a much bigger platform - like the DP.
This I must say. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of about Korean history. I am contextualizing it within the larger East Asian history. Professor Kim mentioned the same form of tug-of-war in her explanation of the first sino-japanese war in class. Is she being insensitive to the students in class? Not at all. She is presenting an objective account of what happened. If you think my suggestion that history could impact collective national memory or sentiment lacks merit, I accept it with objectivity and with due respect – with no personal prejudice whatsoever. It is but a suggestion that I myself am unsure of, and thus, the very purpose of my inquiry. And I reiterate once again, with the absent of a comprehensive, lengthy survey of the Korean populace on nationalism, we can never arrive on a definite conclusion.
My blog was never targeted at Koreans - it is for EALC 198, which has Korean and non-Korean students. In any discussion that involves Korea, it would be self-defeating to not incorporate the feedback of native Koreans, like yourself.
Lastly, I regard this entire blog as a form of discussion, an exchange of ideas, a platform for learning. I have no interest in arguing. And as a gesture of goodwill, if you wanted to discuss it with me outside class (only discuss, not argue :P), I will gladly do so over starbucks - my treat of course. But I would never snub you or threaten you to suppress your comments in class just because I didn't agree with your opinion. We are all of the same academic pedigree and caliber, with distinct personal backgrounds and experiences that would only serve to enhance an academic platform of impartiality and openness.
- ARC
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