Lee Seung-hoon won the men's 10,000 meter gold Tuesday when his opponent, and reigning world record holder, failed to change lanes at the appointed time/location.
But today, in a soul-crushing blow, the FOUR-TIME DEFENDING CHAMPION South Koreans were disqualified in the final of the women's 3,000 meter relay. The Koreans crossed the line first, but were disqualified after a judges review. Making it more painful, is that China was then awarded gold. The US benefited as well, picking up the bronze.
I walked in to talk to Ridia today and found her with tears in her eyes while sitting at her desk. She was watching the race, but she hadn't yet found out they were disqualified. She was crying tears of joy, waiting for the review. When she found out they lost, she immediately stood up and left the room, most likely for a little more crying. Nationalism is a very strange thing in Korea, isn't it?
5 comments:
I saw this. Sad moment. They smoked everyone. And as happy as I am for the US, they were NEVER even in the race...
Actually, it's the lack of nationalism that is a very strange thing in America.
The Korean -- That's an interesting point. I think coming from so many different backgrounds and being in such a large area sometimes makes it hard to all come together.
I am not sure if that's necessarily true -- China is also large and surprisingly diverse, but their nationalism is just as strong as any other, perhaps the strongest in the world.
Anyway, this is what I previously wrote on nationalism if you are interested. Link
Thanks for the extra info. I appreciate it. Also, I have enjoyed your blog since I first came to Korea. Keep up the good work!
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