Unified Korean hockey team grab maiden goal

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The unified Korean team consisting of athletes from the host nation and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were playing their third game at these Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, where they fell to Japan 4-1 to end the group stage 0-3.

With the chance of a medal gone, the team now move on to the consolation bracket, but the biggest legacy of this squad won't be where they finish in the standings. It's the example they set for cooperation, on a long divided peninsula.

When the unified Korean women’s hockey team took the ice for their third game, the attention was focused more on sport than their highly politicized debut outing.

That match saw the likes of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong in the stands. And while the DPRK cheerleaders were at this game, the high-ranking representatives of government were not, leaving only the fervent fans hoping to see the historic team pull off an upset against Japan.

Japan occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, and feelings still run deep in both the North and South towards their neighbor across the "Korea Strait."

Cheerleaders from the DPRK hold unification flags as they attend the ice hockey game. /VCG Photo‍

Although a win was not in the cards for the Korean joint team, they did manage to score their first goal of the tournament when Randi Heesoo Griffin saw her shot find the net in the second period, and the arena erupted as thousands cheered and waved the white and blue unification flags.

"I think it’s a positive thing. The united Korean team represents a better way in terms of peace, even though their performance is not so good." a South Korean fan said.

"Personally, I don’t like the united team. It’s a political thing. I don’t have interest in it. The South Korean team had been training for four or five years, but suddenly they were forced to change," the fan added.

While opinions in the Republic of Korea (ROK) remain mixed over the unified hockey team, these Olympics have provided a platform upon which tensions on the Korean Peninsula have eased, and talks have begun.

There may not have been a win on the ice, but for many these three games will be remembered as a victory beyond the boards, as players from ROK and the DPRK managed to come together after only a short time of practice and put on a performance that caught the attention of the world.