Yes, I understand that they have a privileged life in comparison to their other comrades in the capitol, and those further out…yes I’ve read Nothing To Envy, I know they are stupid but kept ignorant. How do you go to a place like Paris, and see all this infrastructure, the ceremony, other races, homosexuals, then go home, surrender your medal to the Leader (or some party official) and keep your mouth shut about everything you saw.
If you’re a big believer going to the games has to be a LARGE test of your faith in Juche, even if you have cardboard beds in the athlete dorms.
Great post. I’ve been thinking about them a lot throughout and making it a point to watch the events they participated in (10m diving, women’s gymnastics, table tennis). I watched them closely to see any reactions to being around so many foreigners, foreign mannerisms, and materialism. They are usually expressionless and don’t give up much. I could also see them getting into trouble for agreeing to take the selfie with the South Koreans, but what choice did they have? The synchro diving girls also looked stunned when the two Brit divers ran up to hug them. They hugged back, but you wonder if they did so with trepidation. What a terrible place to come from. They surely see family and fans for athletes from other countries and they’ve got no one but their coaches. They must work so hard for these medals, only to have to surrender them to some vile leader. The main diver of the synchro pair reportedly said she was very disappointed for not winning gold (they got silver). I wonder how much of that was really her talking and how much was terror for almost (but not quite) bringing a gold back to the “supreme leader” who’s sacrificed so much for them. It’s disgusting.
As for the pairs figure skaters who worked and trained in Canada,that’s wild. I will have to look them up. I imagine they had to watch guns held to their families’ heads while they were threatened against even considering defection.