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On July 17, 2018, Eun-Chong Yoo and Choi Il of mixed doubles, who led the first victory of the South-North single team at the Korea Open International Table Tennis Tournament, are happy and hugging after the game is over. Photo courtesy of Jae-geun Lim

Before the emotional lingering lingering of the dramatic formation of the South-North single team two months ago in 27 years, the staff of the Korean Table Tennis Association were busy preparing for the Korea Open. The same was the case with Yoo Seung-min, an athlete member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (Director of the Korea Table Tennis Association). On July 14, 2018, three days before the opening of the tournament, Commissioner Yoo received a call from Steve Daneton, CEO of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). “Right now, North Korea has announced its intention to participate in the Korea Open!” He said with excitement. After returning to Korea from Sweden in May of that year, Commissioner Yoo and Park Chang-ik, executive director of the Korean Table Tennis Association, were working diligently to form a single South-North team once again at the Korea Open. They did not forget the promises made by the North Korean table tennis staff and Halmstad. A promise to invite each other to the Pyongyang Open and the Korea Open. North Korea responded to this. The second South-North single team in 2018 were men’s doubles Sangsoo Lee (Army Military Sports Corps)-Park Shinhyuk (North Korea), women’s doubles Seo Hyowon (Korean Horse Association)-Kim Songi (North), mixed doubles Jang Woojin (Mirae Asset Daewoo)-Cha Hyo-Shim (North), and Yu Eun-Chong. (POSCO ENERGY)-Choi Il (North), it consists of four groups. Thomas Weikert, chairman of the International Table Tennis Federation, gave power to the unified South and North Korean team by scheduling an unscheduled visit to Korea. At the Korea Open, the men’s coach of the South-North single team will be coach Kim Taek-soo, and the female coach will be coach Ahn Jae-hyung. Both coaches Kim Taek-soo and Ahn Jae-hyung were star players who played an active part in the 1980s and 1990s, but there were differences in the experience of a single team. Ahn, who retired in 1991, was unable to play as a player at the Chiba World Table Tennis Championships that year, but Kim played as a single team player at the time. Coach Kim was the only one who had experienced both the South and North Korean team as a player and manager.

North Korea’s table tennis team participating in the Korea Open International Table Tennis Competition is entering Korea through Incheon International Airport on July 15, 2018. Joint coverage photo

‘Language barriers’ unexpectedly encountered
“Roll up!” “Shielding!” “Push!” North Korean players entered Korea two days before the start of the competition. The training period for a single team was just that. The joint training time was short, but ironically,’language’ came as a barrier in front of me. Table tennis terminology was the problem. Unlike South Korea, which brought the terms of table tennis in English, North Korea used pure Korean. ‘Drive’ was called’rolling up’,’racquet’ as’soldering’,’cut’ as’cutting’, and’sub’ as’pucking’. The differences in terms made it difficult for single team players to understand each other’s terms early in the training. “At first, there were many cases where I couldn’t understand the terms of North Korean table tennis. It is also true that Hyoshim, who became a partner, was difficult because he did not know anything about his sister and no one told him. The problem of terminology was overcome only after the Korea Open.” Jang Woo-jin, who had formed a single team with North Korean Cha Hyo-shim, recalled: There was also a lot of interest in the South-North single team participating in international competitions taking place in Korea. “I did a lot of interviews while doing joint training, and it was the first time that I received such interest. It was a burden to do an interview in front of many cameras. It wasn’t just that it wasn’t just a single team, but because that interest could have been filled with the expectation that good grades should be produced, there was a feeling of pressure on the grades.” Jang Woo-jin said. He was usually playful, but it was not easy to approach Cha Hyo-shim of North Korea who became a team first. Cha Hyo-sim laughed a lot and talked a lot to close people. It was his charm to spit out straightforward words casually. However, in the relationship he saw for the first time, he was unfamiliar, so he showed a face-to-face appearance in his first meeting with Jang Woo-jin. In a situation where they were awkward even after forming a team, coach Kim Taek-soo came out. “Because you are a younger brother, go first, Jin-ah Woo!” Director Kim said to Jang Woo-jin, who sat far away from Cha Hyo-shim. Jang Woo-jin, who was encouraged by the director’s words, approached Cha Hyo-shim. “Because I’m a younger brother and a sister, you can feel comfortable talking.” It was a word that gave me great courage. The relationship between the two started awkwardly through training and competition, and gradually became familiar with each other’s table tennis style. Lee Sang-soo, who teamed up with North Korean player Park Shin-hyuk in men’s doubles, had the experience of talking with him several times at previous world competitions. The two, who are two years apart, were arranged between an older brother and a younger brother at once. The game style was also a complementary relationship. Lee Sang-soo had a sharp attack power, and Park Shin-hyuk, a left-handed man, was well-moved. If Lee Sang-soo launched an attack aiming at the opponent’s weakness, Park Shin-hyuk could stably support him from behind. “North Korean players have excellent basic skills. However, since I didn’t have a big tournament experience, the technology has changed to a modern style, but there are parts that cannot be followed. Park Shin-hyuk played a lot of aggressive and solid play, so it was a good fit when I was planning a strategy or when Shin-hyuk gave a strategy.” Lee Sang-soo explained his breathing with Park Shin-hyuk like this.

The training period was short… The power of support
The opportunity of a single team laid the foundation for a human relationship between South Korean and North Korean table tennis players who share the same age and experience and concerns. In addition, the sense of belonging, as a team pursuing a common goal, served as an adhesive that connects the relationship. On July 17, 2018, when Yu Eun-chong-Choi Il mixed doubles entered the Hanbat Gymnasium in Daejeon, the people sitting in the stands cheered hotly. About 200 spectators gathered together as the’Unification Cheering Team’ greeted the first single-team match at the 2018 Korea Open, waving the spreading curtain and the Korean peninsula with the words “We are one”. Choi Il-Yoo Eun-Chong will face Spain’s Alvaro Robles-Galia Dvorak. In terms of objective abilities, Spain was ahead of the single team. Choi Il was at 154th in the world rankings, Yueun Chong was at 71st, Robles of Spain was at 54th and Dvorak was at 87th. The uniqueness of a single team was the only corner that the mixed doubles tank could lean on, which had absolutely insufficient time to match the breath before the match. The attention and support of the spectators who support a single team had the power to further sparkle each player’s skills. “The most memorable scene at the Korea Open was the moment we entered the main stadium. In Sweden, if everyone went out in a team match, this time, Choi Il and the two became the same team and said hello inside the stadium. I remember the moment when the crowd’s attention was focused on me and Choi Il, and the moment when we greeted each other in the stadium.” Yu Eun-chong remembered this. And the thrill of that moment gave the players in the game an invisible power. Yu Eun-chong and Choi Il were 26 years old at the time. Choi Il has a quiet personality, so Yu Eun-Chong, who is playful and spiteful, naturally led the team atmosphere. At the Swedish World Table Tennis Championships, Yu Eun-chong, who made friends with North Korean Kim Song-i and other female players, had a comfortable conversation with Choi Il without prejudice against North Korean players. “Choi Il’s player was very simple and he was really hard at training. The worrisome part was that we both used our right hand, which was a bit unfavorable for doubles. During the practice, each of them discussed their skills and made autographs, but during the game, they confused each other and went to the game, saying,’I don’t know, let’s just do it.’” (Yoo Eun-chong) The opening day of the Korea Open, July 17, 2018, 9:30 p.m. Boon, Yu Eun-Chong-Spain’s qualifying match with the first single team has begun. Both players wore their national team uniforms and appeared on the pitch. South Korean women’s national team coach Ahn Jae-hyeong and North Korean men’s national team training leader Lee Kwang-il (coach) guarded the bench together.

In the preliminary round of the Korea Open International Table Tennis Competition held at the Hanbat Gymnasium in Daejeon on July 17, 2018, Yu Eun-Chong (left) is serving as a mixed doubles team from the North and South Korea. yunhap news

Dramatic reverse victory… Embracing men and women
Choi Il-Yoo Eun-chong gave a set of 8-11. However, the two started working hard from the second set, and took one more point from 10-9 to get the set. Cheers burst out from the cheering seat. In the middle of the 3rd set that followed, the first consecutive smash was scored, and the atmosphere of the stadium became even hotter, but it lost again to 8-11. Set score 1-2. The situation ends with just one more set. In the audience, there were shouts such as “You are good, you are good, our players are good,” and “Choi Il, do your best, Yu Eun-chong, wow.” When a single team scored, there was a big cheer, and when a single team scored, a long sigh came out. The “We Are One” spreading curtain, hung in the crowd, inspires the two players. Even if Yu Eun-chong makes a mistake, Choi Il patted, “It’s okay, let’s be confident.” Was it thanks to the support of the audience and the breath of the two? Yoo Eun-chong and Choi Il-jo, who set 4 sets as 11-9, won even the 5th set and won a reverse victory. The moment the victory was confirmed with the last smash after a five-set deuce battle, thunderous shouts erupted from the audience. It was the first victory of the South-North single team at the Korea Open. It was already over 11 p.m., but no one left the seats in the crowd. Having tasted the thrilling game with a reverse victory, Yu Eun-chong instinctively opened his arms wide toward Choi Il. Choi Il-do, who is usually quiet, gave an emotional hug with Yu Eun-chong, who led the victory together. “I won, and I felt so good. There was only our table tennis table in the stadium, and everyone was watching only us. And I saw Choi Il, but I felt so good that I just stretched out my arm. And Choi Il came and hugged me. Later, people said,’Where’s the female athlete hug like that first?’ And I said,’Where are those things, I just want you to like them’. At that moment, I was fascinated by the atmosphere.” Yu Eun-chong recalled the thrilling situation at the time. As such, the first single-team match at the 2018 Korea Open led to victory, and the atmosphere of the South and North Korean players began to energize.

Kim Ji-na, writer and reporter, joint planning fact story