As One: Korea’s Longing for Reunification
Written by Karina Prananto
The PyeongChang Olympics may be over, but the discussion on the chance of reunification is forever a hot topic here in Korea. Since the latest inter-Korean summit took place last April, residents of Korea have high hopes that reunification is a strong possibility! One of the results of the summit is that the two Koreas will compete together again as a team for the 2018 Asian Games this coming August in Jakarta, Indonesia. This will be the third time that the two Koreas have joined together as “Team Korea,” the most recent case being the PyeongChang Olympic’s Korean women’s hockey team. The Koreas first came together as a team for the World Table Tennis Championships in 1991. Those of you who are curious about what happened at that time should watch As One, a movie based on the real-life story of a retired South Korean table tennis player.
Warning: This article contains spoilers! The movie starts with Hyun Jung-hwa (portrayed by Ha Ji-won), a South Korean athlete who defeats Li Bun-hui (portrayed by Bae Doo-na) of North Korea, but later loses to her archrival from China. Her defeat makes her determined to win a medal in the next competition, for her country as well as for her sick father in the hospital. Following her training in Busan, her hometown, she is called to participate in a training camp in Chiba, Japan, to prepare for the World Table Tennis Championships. She also gets the news that the two Koreas will compete as a single team under the helm of a North Korean coach.
We see in the movie that the North Koreans behave in a very restricted manner, even when not in their country, while South Koreans are portrayed as loud, noisy, and obnoxious. But as they’re engaged in training together (and in some scenes, doing what Koreans like to do: drinking), both teams’ players soon become close and develop a budding friendship and affection. As the tournament draws near, the Chinese team arrives to undermine their efforts to win again this time. As you may predict, Jung-hwa was paired with Bun-hui, and they met their archrivals once more.
The climax of the movie is the final game, which Jung-hwa and Bun-hui win; however, despite their win, the two teams are disbanded as the championships end. Knowing that they may never see each other again, their parting scene is probably the most touching part of any movie I’ve seen in a long time.
At the end, the movie tells viewers that Jung-hwa never saw Bun-hui again after the game. But the story doesn’t end there. To viewers’ great surprise, Jung-hwa does meet Bun-hui again one last time in a competition in 1993. But, who knows if that’s the real end, as they may again see each other now that the two Koreas have decided to meet often and discuss reunification. This might be a happy ending for everyone!
The Author
Karina is from Indonesia and has been living in Gwangju since 2006. She has been involved with the Gwangju News for ten years now. She loves watching horror movies whenever she has the chance!