Winter Olympics In Pyeongchang Wrap With North Blacked Out
With the 2018 Winter Olympics coming to an end in Pyeongchang, South Korea, there appears to be little news making its way across the border to the north. The motivation for keeping the games out of the North Korean public’s eye is something that I can only speculate. But I will not be surprised if the returning North Korean athletes are wearing counterfeit gold medals and telling heroic stories of the regime’s role in their success against the rest of the world. Remember, this is the country where a previous dictator (Kim Jong Il) was touted as having shot a round of golf with a score of 34 (yes, 38 under par). Believing that their country’s athletes are the best in the world is completely plausible by comparison.
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — While hundreds of millions of the world’s people get ready to watch the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Sunday, North Koreans are still waiting to see the first event.
The lack of news at home is a stark contrast with how North Korea’s made-for-the-cameras delegation at the games, replete with hundreds of cheerleaders and even one of the country’s most popular singers, has been a big hit with the South Korean media and some of the hottest Internet clickbait of the entire games.
North Korea’s state-run media has never been especially devoted to covering international news events. Their job is more about hailing Kim Jong Un and whatever the ruling regime’s latest propaganda message might be. On that front they have stayed true to form: The only reports from Pyeongchang as of Saturday afternoon were about the visit of Kim’s younger sister and North Korea’s nominal head of state to attend the opening ceremony.
Even taking into account the North’s reluctance to portray South Korea in a positive light, the blackout is a bit mysterious.
Kim Jong Un himself used his annual televised New Year’s address to wish for the games’ success and announce the North’s plan to participate, prompting officials from both Koreas to make a major effort so that Pyongyang could send more than 500 people, including 22 athletes and 21 reporters (none of whose work has been seen).
The North’s gambit largely worked. Its all-female cheering squad and the singing performances piqued the interest of Olympic fans worldwide, though the athletes, mostly young and inexperienced in international events, won no medals and struggled just to keep up.
“North Korean athletes are competing on the world stage, even if they’re not winning,” said Martyn Williams, a North Korea media watcher and creator of the North Korea Tech website. “So the lack of a mention is mystifying.”
