▲ Cha Min-gyu (left) and Gao Ting-yu of China moving after the flower ceremony in the men's 500m speed skating event on the 12th (Source: Yonhap News)
On the 14th, the Chinese state-run Global Times published an article titled 'Competition improves skaters in both China and Korea'.
Korea has become the country that has won the most gold medals in history by winning 24 gold medals before the Beijing Winter Olympics since short track speed was adopted as an official event at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.
China is followed by 10 gold medals.
The media reported that Korea won gold medals in speed skating and figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
It's surprising.
It is said that Korea is a skating powerhouse.
He said that China began to learn from the 'leading countries' by recruiting South Korean coach Kim Seon-tae and Ahn Hyeon-su (Russian name: Victor Ahn) for the development of short track speed.
Korea has been exalted as a 'leading country'.
The article concludes with the words "The competition between the two countries will continue in the future, and this competition will motivate players from both countries to push the limits".
Chinese media "China and Korea, the two powers in short track… love-hate relationship"
Prior to this, the Global Times reported on the 12th that "China and Korea have enjoyed a love-hate relationship as the two powerhouses of the short track."
Even in this article, China recognized the skills of Korean short track speed.
After adopting the official event in 1992, South Korea reported that it achieved the best performance at three Winter Olympics in 1992 (Alberville), 1994 (Lillehammer), and 1998 (Nagano) and swept 9 out of 16 gold medals.
However, he added that China had to wait until 2002 (Salt Lake City) to win the first two gold medals, and in the subsequent four Winter Olympics, Korea won twice, China and Russia once.
He then mentioned coach Kim Seon-tae and coach Ahn Hyeon-soo and said that Korea contributed to China's success.
"Technically, China and Korea have maintained a very close relationship in short track in recent years," said Ren Hai, a Chinese Olympic sports expert. will," he predicted.
"Respect" · "Mocking" for Korean players... China, hot and cold water
From this point of view, the attitude of the Chinese state-run media appears to be quite favorable to Korea.
The appearance of hanbok at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the successive judgments of prejudice against Korean athletes in the men's 1,000m short track race heightened anti-Chinese sentiments, and it can be seen that they made a conciliatory gesture to alleviate this.
This is because anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea can affect the policy toward China after the upcoming presidential election in Korea.
There are more.
On the 9th, when Hwang Dae-heon won the men's 1,500m short track race, the Chinese embassy in Korea personally congratulated him.
State-run media also raised their voices that exchanges should be strengthened to resolve the emotional conflict between netizens in the two countries.
But that's not all.
Chinese media took issue with Cha Min-gyu's behavior at the men's 500m speed skating medal ceremony on the 12th.
Silver medalist Cha Min-gyu reacted to the act as if he was using his hand on the podium, saying that it 'implies a protest against the judgment'.
It is similar to the gestures of Canadian athletes who were disqualified for fouls at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
State media wrote that Cha Min-gyu's gestures were frowned upon and that he was ridiculed by Chinese netizens.
In addition, he blamed Korean athlete Hwang Dae-heon for the elimination of Chinese athlete Dajing Wu in the men's 500m short track semifinal on the 13th.
The logic is that 'Dae-Hun Hwang was disqualified for trying to overtake, but Da-Jing Wu had no choice but to avoid because the blade of Dae-Heon Hwang's skate was pointing towards Da-Jing Wu at the back.
Because of this, Dajing Wu could not speed up at the last minute and finished third, and some media reported the outrageous reaction of Chinese netizens, saying, "A player like Hwang Dae-heon should be banned from playing for the rest of his life."
Even in the articles mentioned earlier, 'Competition improves athletes from both countries' and 'Chinese and Korea have a love-hate relationship', "After the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Chinese athletes have been sticking to clean skating in accordance with the changed short track rules, but Korean athletes are still He frequently commits fouls because he does not change his habit of bullying opponents."
China seems concerned about 'spreading anti-China sentiment' amid US-China conflict
One interesting thing is that China is attracting the United States to the growing anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea.
The Global Times analyzed in a report on the 11th that "some countries and Western media are using this opportunity to sow the seeds of discord between China and Korea."
For example, I heard a tweet from Acting US Ambassador to Korea Christopher Del Koso.
Del Koso, deputy ambassador at the Olympic opening ceremony, when the controversy over hanbok began, posted on his Twitter, 'What comes to mind when you think of Korea?', 'Kimchi, K-pop, K-drama…
Not to mention hanbok,' he wrote.
The Global Times reported that Chinese netizens criticized it as "pouring oil on fire."
This is a passage that reads China's troubles.
As an Olympic host country, it will be difficult for China to tolerate a decision dispute.
You might want to protest what's wrong with the Korean-Chinese, which China calls an ethnic minority, dressed in their traditional hanbok at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
You will want to show off your sports skills that are growing as much as your national and economic power.
Even so, I would not want to turn Korea into an enemy at a time when the US-China conflict intensifies.
What is clear is that a people's feelings toward other countries are not swayed by the state's policies alone and the actions of the leaders alone.
It takes consistency and authenticity to move hearts.