Disqualifications in Beijing bring out ire against China

Diplomacy

Published: 08 Feb. 2022, 17:58 Updated: 08 Feb. 2022, 19:15

Disqualifications in Beijing bring out ire against China

Yoon Hong-geun, head of the Korean athletic delegation at the Beijing Winter Olympics, center, announces a decision to appeal a controversial disqualification of two Korean short track speed skaters with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, in Beijing on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Koreans weren't happy about controversial disqualifications of Korean short track speed skaters at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Monday evening – and didn't hesitate to express their ire.

Olympic record holder Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified from the men's 1,000-meter race at the Beijing Olympics on Monday night and China took the gold and silver medals, Hungary the bronze.

“Why not take all the medals you want, China,” reported the Seoul Shinmun, a local news outlet in Korea, using the phrase for the headline and repeating it over and over for the first ten sentences of the article.

The article, published online around 10:17 p.m. Monday, was deleted later, but not before screen captures of the piece went viral on social media platforms.

Hwang finished first in his heat and Lee came in second in his, but both were disqualified after lengthy video reviews.

Referees said Hwang made an illegal late passing that caused contact with a Chinese skater, and that Lee made a lane change that caused contact with another skater.

Olympic sports are supervised by international committees, which are also responsible for choosing all match officials. Short track speed skating events are organized by the International Skating Union, which chooses referees, who are confirmed by the International Olympic Committee. The Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee has no say over event referees.

Both disqualifications were controversial, with Hwang in particular being penalized for an infraction despite also appearing to have been pushed by a Chinese skater during the trace. The Chinese skater was not penalized.

Short track speed skating, in which competitors race around a 111-meter (364-feet) track at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, has long been Korea’s best winter sport, and it has won 24 Olympic gold medals to date, the most of any nation.

Vitriol towards China after the race was particularly heavy from Koreans in their 20s and 30s.

In an online community of university students on Facebook, one user ranted about the disqualifications, adding, “I wish China would go extinct.” The post received hundreds of likes.

A 27-year-old office worker surnamed Hwang in Seoul said her ill feelings towards China go further back than this Olympic season.

“They [China] carry this image of people who steal from others rather than creating through honest efforts,” said Hwang. “If you look at Chinese movies and dramas, many look like copy-and-pastes of Korean movies and dramas.”

A 26-year-old student surnamed Sohn said his personal experiences with students from China have affected how he sees the country as a whole.

“I’ve seen Chinese students free-ride in group projects and still get the same grades as the rest of the group,” Sohn said. “When these kinds of experiences build up over time, you cannot but help see a country in a negative light.”

A survey by the JoongAng Ilbo from November to December of 1,031 Koreans aged 18 or over found that six out of 10 Koreans in their 20s and 30s feel unfavorably about China.

Some experts said the results were not surprising given the values of Koreans in their 20s and 30s.

“How fair things are, that is the most important aspect for people in their 20s and 30s,” said Koo Jeong-woo, a professor of sociology at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. “So when they see the disqualifications [of the athletes], they think that impartiality and justice have been completely compromised, which leads to these bursts of anger and venting.”

The online element may be another factor in the anti-China venting by young Koreans, said Ha Nam-seok, a professor of Chinese language and culture at the University of Seoul.

“Many of these young students are active online, and things can spread very quickly there,” Ha said. “There’s a need to take steps to discourage rampant hate speech and anti-China expressions in the virtual world.”

Korea said on Tuesday it will appeal the two controversial disqualifications with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

In a meeting with the press in Beijing Tuesday, Hwang Hee, Korea's minister of culture, sports and tourism, said the Moon Jae-in administration considered pulling Korea's athletes out of the Games to protest the disqualifications, but decided to conclude the matter with a legal appeal.

BY NA UN-CHAE, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]