Do you like sports? Some people say they like participating in sports, others say they just like watching it, however, some Koreans would say radically ‘No, I don’t like sports.’ If so, how do they explain their emotional involvement in the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup?

Did not almost every Korean put on a red shirt and joined the crowds on the streets? Yes, there were millions of Koreans outside and cheering for our national soccer team. It is sure that you, as one Korean, felt as one of them. Sports influences and enriches our lives so much. Also this year, 2006, there were the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games in February, the World Baseball Classics in March, and the 2006 World Cup which is coming up in June.

The FIFA World Cup has been and will be a daily conversational topic among Koreans and foreigners alike. This is ALL ABOUT SPORTS. However, have you ever thought about the relationship between sport and politics? Did you know that sport is (and has been for quite a while) an integral and important part of international politics and relations?

Making these connections between sport and politics can be torturing to some sports fans. However, throughout modern history, sports have taken an important place in the international political field. Without the ping-pong diplomacy between the USA and China the two countries would not have any political relations. Professor Udo Merkel, teaching Sport and International Relations at Sookmyung Women’s University, said, “The relationship between sport and politics has a long history.

For many it started in 1936 when the German Nazis used the Olympic Games in Berlin as a showcase for their political propaganda. However, there were several earlier incidents which are not that well known. The best known examples are usually the 1972 Munich Olympics due to the terrorist attack of Israeli athletes and 1980 Moscow Olympics which were boycotted by large parts of the Western world as the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan a year before. However, it is not only the Olympics as most sport events have a political dimension. Nowadays sports diplomacy is much more subtle and not always that obvious”

Sports diplomacy, following the Naver Kin-Search, means ‘sports that are being manipulated by politics and international relations.’ Professor Udo Merkel mentioned that “The use of sport as an element of international politics is not restricted to the Western world. It happens everywhere.

Korea’s attempts to organize a unified (Northern and Southern) team for the next Olympics in Beijing is another good example. Furthermore Korea’s victories over Japan in baseball appear to mean much more to the people here than a simple sport result..” This national occurrence implies that Korean countries are stepping toward reunification at least on the sports field. That is why, when the unified North and South Korean Athletes appear, the Korean audience in Olympic stadium stands up and applauds.

 Prof. Udo Merkel also said, “There are some people who do not like the involvement of politics in their beloved sports. Others claim that sport and politics have nothing to do with each other or should be kept apart. These are very naive and unrealistic views. The reality today is that sport, particularly international sport, go hand in hand and can no longer be separated from politics.

Sports still represents a pure spirit, ‘Sportsmanship.’ According to Wikipedia, the word ‘sportsmanship’ is defined as "conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants, including a sense of fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, a striving spirit, and grace in losing." Perhaps, we would like politics to follow these same rules of honor.

However, this concept of sports diplomacy may contaminate sports. Prof. Udo Merkel also suggests that we might underestimate the power and effects. He said, “even though international sport events are often only a single game held on one day, its outcome influences whole nations and becomes part of a nation’s history. In Britain, for example, almost everybody knows the meaning of “1966”, the year the English team won the World Cup.

This is partly due to the display of national flags and other symbols, such as the team’s colours and the national anthems at the beginning of each game. The eleven players are seen as representing their nation for ninety minutes.” For most people, it is one of the very few occasions where they can actually experience and feel the nation they belong to.

There is no doubt that the 2006 World Cup is going to send chills up people’s spines. Every Korean, again, is going to get together and cheer for Korean’s National Team. It is much better if you know that the World Cup is also a big political event. However, let us enjoy the world festival of soccer, the 2006 World Cup, without being too concerned about the political aspects.