North and South Koreans

An Olympic selfie that goes around the world

Lim Jonghoon (right) poses with opponents from North Korea and China.(Bild: AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

A joint selfie of athletes from North and South Korea at the Olympic Games in Paris has gone viral. After the award ceremony in the mixed competition, South Korean table tennis player Lim Jonghoon took a smartphone and snapped a special photo with his opponents from North Korea and China. 

South Korea had won bronze, while China had beaten North Korea in the final.

First medal since 2016
While the North Korean Ri Jong Sik was initially rather reserved, his mixed partner Kim Kum Yong was beaming and proudly showed off her medal. In another photo, Lim Jonghoon stood directly in front of the North Korean team. It was North Korea's first Olympic medal since 2016, having not competed in Tokyo in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In South Korea, the joint selfie triggered widespread media coverage. The left-leaning daily newspaper Hankyoreh, for example, wrote of a "sensational scene". The action provoked mixed reactions on social media. "I hope that no North Korean player is harmed by this photo and this internet article," commented one user on the online platform "Naver", alluding to the rigid ideological control in a closed-off North Korea. Another commented: "It's nice to see North and South Korean players smiling together."