It’s been a weird and wacky few days for North Korea at the Olympics as North and South Korean boxers both became the first Korean women to medal in their sport and a Kim Jong Un impersonator showed up to cheer the North Korean on.
Additionally, it was revealed that North Korea had to negotiate Paris 2024 broadcast rights directly with the International Olympic Committee, rather than getting the feed from South Korea as usual.
North Korean boxer Pang Chol Mi and her South Korean counterpart Im Ae-ji were both part of the Women’s 54-kilogram tournament, and they both won bronze by losing in their respective semifinals on Aug. 4.
Boxing, like other fighting sports, awards two bronzes at the Olympics, but unlike judo or taekwondo, the bronzes are not won with victories in a “second chance” repechage tournament, but with losses in the semifinals.
Technically, Pang is the first Korean woman to medal in boxing, because her semifinal was played earlier, but had both Pang and Im won, they would have faced each other in the finals.
That fact was not lost on the athletes ahead of the semifinal, Im told reporters from South Korea's Yonhap News.
“I met Pang Chul Mi at the weight room in the athletes’ village and she said ‘fighting.’” said Im.
The English word “fighting,” is a slang word meaning “do your best” in the variety of the Korean language spoken in South Korea.
RFA reported in December 2023 that North Korean authorities were cracking down on citizens who use the word in text messages.
“So, I told [Pang] to push hard together to meet each other in the finals, but we both lost,” said Im. Both boxers will recieve their bronze medals in a ceremony after the final on Aug. 8.
Prior to the Olympics, Pang and Im faced each other at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in 2022. Pang emerged victorious from their early torunament bout and went on to win gold.
Observers in South Korea told RFA they were worried upon hearing Im’s account of their encounter in Paris.
“If it is true that Pang said ‘fighting,’ she could be pointed out as someone who watched a lot of South Korean dramas,” a North Korean who escaped the country in the second half of 2023, identifying himself by the pseudonym Ri Jong Sik for safety reasons, told RFA Korean.
“I am concerned that she will be subject to punishment when she returns to North Korea,” said Ri.
Lee Kyu-Chang, the director of the Human Rights Research Division at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, told RFA that it was important to first determine how Pang’s words of encouragement were nuanced.
“I’m not sure if there were any records, such as photos or videos taken,” said Lee. “But when considering only the word ‘fighting,’ I am concerned about the possibility of punishment after she returns.”
Lee predicted that if it is confirmed that Pang cheered for the South Korean athlete it would be difficult for the North Korean authorities to approve such an act, given leader Kim Jong Un’s recent stance of hostility toward the South.
Fake Kim photobombing
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was present during the semifinals, or at least his lookalike was.
Howard X, a Hong Kong-born Australian who has gained notoriety online for impersonating Kim in public situations, was in the stands in costume when Pang lost to win bronze.
He told RFA that he did not have the opportunity to shake hands with Pang or any other North Korean athlete at the games, but he stood behind Pang and her opponent, China’s Chang Yuan, when they were interviewed following their semifinal.
“They were giving interviews. I was trying to meet them and I was right behind them, you can see.” he said. “I was standing there waving to the camera the whole time.”
He wasn’t sure if the footage made it back to North Korea, but if it did, he imagined that the people there would be surprised.
"I'm hoping by being there, you know, North Korea'll go 'Hey, how come Kim Jong is in the Olympics? He's supposed to be looking after us with our floods,'" Howard X said, referring to the natural disaster that struck the country last week when heavy rains caused waters in the Yalu River to rise, damaging river towns and submerging inhabited islands.
Paris is not Howard X’s first Olympics. He was spotted at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics at a hockey match between Japan and a unified Korean team.
When he tried to interact with the North Korean cheering squad, South Korean security guards dragged him away.
Howard X’s brand of humor is not intended to make fun of North Koreans, he said.
“We don't have a problem with the people of North Korea. What we have a problem with is the government of North Korea,” he said, adding that he was there to remind people that North Korea is not a normal country, and that they use the games for propaganda.
Befuddling broadcast rights
North Korea this year acquired broadcast rights from the International Olympic Committee directly instead of negotiating broadcast rights with a South Korean outlet.
South Korea’s Seoul Broadcasting System had been awarded the rights for the whole peninsula for the 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 Games, in an agreement inked in 2011.
Normally, North Korea would simply use the South Korean feed, but an agreement was reached with the IOC this year to get the footage directly.
It was not immediately clear to RFA why North Korea negotiated its own rights for the games this year.
Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.