North Korean swimmer Lee Hye-gyeong (18), a member of the General Association of Koreans in Japan (Chongryon), who is participating in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, was interviewed by Chinese reporters.
On the 27th, Lee Hye-kyung participated in the women’s 100m butterfly preliminaries held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center swimming pool in Zhejiang Province, China, and finished the race in 1 minute 07.72 seconds. She placed only 19th out of 25 people, which prevented her from advancing to the finals.
After the game, Lee Hye-kyung declined a request for an interview from Korean reporters in the mixed zone (joint reporting area) with a slight smile. When asked, “Have you received instructions not to interview Korean reporters?” he slightly lowered his head as if he had.
He did not avoid questions from Chinese reporters. Hye-kyung Lee stopped when a Chinese reporter, who spoke Korean fluently, said, “This is Hye-kyung Lee, a Chinese reporter.”
Regarding her thoughts after finishing the game, Lee Hye-kyung said, “The result of today’s game was not good. “I was worried because I was in bad shape and had some injuries,” she said. “I am training while recovering little by little.”
When a Chinese reporter asked about my second time coming to Hangzhou, I said, “It was good to be able to participate in a game held in a very large stadium. It’s been a while since I came to China to play, and the swimming pool has changed a lot.” “I am happy to participate in this competition held in China,” he said.
He ended the interview by saying, “My goal for next year is to break my personal best record.”
Two North Korean swimmers, Park Mi-sung (22) and Lee Hye-kyung, participated in the Asian Games. Park Mi-seong competed in the women’s 100m freestyle preliminaries the day before, where she ran a time of 58.79 seconds, placing her in 18th place out of 29 athletes.
As COVID-19 spread, North Korea unilaterally boycotted the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 and received disciplinary action from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), preventing it from participating in international competitions until 2022. With the disciplinary action lifted, North Korea returned to international sports competitions for the first time in five years since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.
Hyewon Lee, Donga.com
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.