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For North Koreans, Olympics has larger meaning
DW ^ | 08/06/12 | Benjamin Mack

Posted on 08/06/2012 7:44:30 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

For North Koreans, Olympics has larger meaning

One of the most surprising stories of the Olympics' first week was the four gold medals won by North Korea. The athletes' achievements have inspired a nation - depending on who you ask.

One thing is certain: for North Korean athletes, winning has a special meaning.

"As an athlete I believe by winning the gold medal I was able to glorify my nation and give support to the people of my nation, so I am really happy," judoka An Kum Ae told reporters after winning gold in the 52-kilogram category on July 29.

"I believe I gave some happiness and joy to our leader, Kim Jong Un," she added.

Likewise, when Om Yun Chol won men's 56-kilogram weightlifting gold with a remarkable clean and jerk, he had no doubt where the credit lay.

"There are no secrets," said Om. "The reason for my improvement and how I won the gold medal is [due] to the warm love of the Great Leader Kim Jong Il and the Great Comrade Kim Jong Un."

The North Korean athletes' achievements in London have, apparently, inspired the masses.

"Another victory that makes our nation happy," wrote state-run newspaper "Rodong Sinmun."

"I will devote myself to building a thriving nation, true to the leadership of respected Marshal Kim Jong Un, as the gold medallists did for the country," power sector worker Yu Jung-Ryol was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

But just how inspiring are the Olympians to ordinary North Koreans?

The issue is a murky one.

(Excerpt) Read more at dw.de ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: hungergames; nkorea; olympics; propaganda

1 posted on 08/06/2012 7:44:35 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster; AmericanInTokyo; Steel Wolf; nuconvert; MizSterious; nw_arizona_granny; ...

P!


2 posted on 08/06/2012 7:46:04 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (The way to crush the bourgeois is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

3 posted on 08/06/2012 7:48:35 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

P! I mean Puke.


4 posted on 08/06/2012 7:51:24 AM PDT by brivette
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To: TigerLikesRooster

To celebrate, every citizen in Pyongyang was issued an additional grain of rice.

Their team motto for this Olympic games is Forward to Victory, apparently an homage to the Obama re-election campaign.


5 posted on 08/06/2012 7:52:35 AM PDT by lurk
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Of course An Kum Ae feels this way. She is one of the North Koreans getting fed. And statements like this make her sure to keep being fed.


6 posted on 08/06/2012 8:03:49 AM PDT by Venturer
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To: TigerLikesRooster
judoka An Kum Ae told reporters after winning gold in the 52-kilogram category on July 29. (...) Likewise, when Om Yun Chol won men's 56-kilogram weightlifting gold with a remarkable clean and jerk, he had no doubt where the credit lay.

Those are the heavyweight classes back home in NK!

7 posted on 08/06/2012 8:12:04 AM PDT by Moltke ("I am Dr. Sonderborg," he said, "and I don't want any nonsense.")
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To: TigerLikesRooster

This sad little spectacle takes me back to the days of my childhood when athletes from all of the Iron Curtain countries had to mouth similar rubbish. It demonstrated to me, even as a boy of 10 or so, how evil the Communists were.


8 posted on 08/06/2012 8:24:17 AM PDT by ccmay (Too much Law; not enough Order.)
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To: lurk
- depending on who you ask.?

Yeah, like the Norkies are really allowed to express different opinions.

It reminds me of one of the funnier things to come out of the mouth of that fool Jimbo Carter when he said it was easier working with dictatorships than democracies because, under the former, you only had to talk to one person to know what the entire country thought.

9 posted on 08/06/2012 8:30:23 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: Vigilanteman

The North Korean got a new refrigerator for winning gold. Problem is it was empty and there is no electricity. This Brainwashed dude would fit in nicely with our SOCIALIST DEMOCRAT “CAN’T DO” PARTY.


10 posted on 08/06/2012 9:14:38 AM PDT by spawn44 (moo)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

I believe that in North Korea, 52Kg (114 lbs) is either heavyweight or unlimited class.


11 posted on 08/06/2012 9:53:10 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Legalize Freedom!!)
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