BEIJING (AFP) - South Korean Olympic athletes have been given detailed guidelines to avoid friction with their North Korean counterparts in Beijing, officials said Wednesday.
Contestants should not point or laugh at badges or portraits depicting North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il or his late father Kim Il-Sung, the (South) Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) says in a handbook. "Refrain from pointing, touching or laughing at badges, portraits and remarks idolising the father and son," the booklet advises.
So...who's the midget?
Athletes should also avoid using names like "South Korea" and "North Korea" or even the countries' official titles, the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and "the Republic of Korea."
They should "maintain an attitude that is resolute and dignified while avoiding political issues in dialogue" when they meet North Korean counterparts, says the 150-page handbook which also covers a variety of other topics. "Words like North and South Korea can trigger an argument. So, refer to ourselves as 'our side' and the North Korean athletes as 'North side' or 'your side'," it says. A KOC spokesman in Seoul confirmed the book's contents to AFP.
How about "sandwiches"? Can you mention "sandwiches"?
Relations between the two governments are at their worst in years. The two sides could not agree on holding a joint march at the Games opening ceremony, even though they marched together at the previous two Olympics. Relations worsened after conservative President Lee Myung-Bak took office in February and promised a firmer line with the North. The two nations have remained technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended only in an armistice. Theoretically, neither country recognises the other's existence. The communist North's state media refers in all its articles only to south (lower case) Korea or "the south side."
Sounds like Cubs and White Sox fans...
South Korean official Lee Elisa told Yonhap news agency in Beijing that South and North Korean competitors greeted each other warmly when they encountered each other earlier in the Games. The mood has turned tense in recent days, another official who declined to be named told Yonhap.
Feats...don't fail me now.
North Korea sent 63 athletes to the Olympics and has won two gold medals. South Korea sent 267, with eight golds as of Wednesday afternoon.
They should make golf an Olympic event and send Kimmie down to kick ass...