Reporter’s Diary: DPRK cheer squad a hit at Olympics

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There are particular moments at each Olympic Games that never fade from one’s memory.

Like watching Usain Bolt set a world record to claim his first Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Or hurdler Liu Xiang becoming the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold medal on the athletics track in the Athens 2004 Games.

That moment, for me, has come early at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. In fact it came on the very first night.

Arriving at the Kwandong Hockey Center to check on how the unified Korean team was doing against Switzerland, my colleagues and I walked into a stadium that was rocking.

On the ice, history was being made. The team from Korea was a joint team, combining players from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Members of the unified Korea team stand together after losing the women's preliminary round ice hockey match against Switzerland during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Kwandong Hockey Center in Gangneung, South Korea on February 10, 2018. /VCG Photo

The visiting team of 200 plus cheer leaders decked in red, with marching band-style hats, waiving white flags, had the other spectators engrossed.

They smiled, they cheered, they lifted the atmosphere to such a degree that news agencies around the world carried lead stories.

People watched and wondered. Me included. I wanted to know more. I wanted to speak with them about their lives.

DPRK cheerleaders wave the unified Korean flag and cheer for the unified Korean team players after the women's preliminary round ice hockey match between Switzerland and the unified Korean team during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Kwandong Hockey Center in Gangneung on February 10, 2018. /VCG Photo

I wanted to know if they had brothers and sisters. I wanted to know what they thought of the Winter Olympics. I wanted to know what their favorite sports were and how much practice they did to be able to perfect their cheer leading to such a point that they appeared to move as one. I wanted them to ask me questions. What did they want to know about the country I come from; or how many brothers, sisters and children I had.

We didn’t get to have that conversation. But a much bigger conversation has begun, a conversation between those in charge of the DPRK and the ROK, a conversation that may lead to a thaw in relations, a conversation that has the potential to make the world a better place.

That’s why the Olympic Games remains an important institution. It is one of very few places where the world can come together and put their differences aside, even if it’s only for a moment.

But in that moment, understanding can begin. Friendships can be made.

Press surround DPRK cheerleaders before the first period of the women's preliminary round ice hockey match between Switzerland and the unified Korean team during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Kwandong Hockey Center in Gangneung, South Korea on February 10, 2018. /VCG Photo

These games have been promoted as the games of peace. The combined Korean women’s ice hockey team is an example of how a wish or a dream can become a reality.

It reminds me of a famous line from another event and another time, that seems highly appropriate for this moment, with a slight adjustment: one small step from each of us, is one giant step for humankind.

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