Joint march is gold to S-N Korea

The candidate for the most coveted gold medal in the Sydney Olympics will the combined march by South and North Korean delegations in the opening ceremony.

Upon hearing the news that South and North Korea would march into the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics together on September 15, Sydney citizens expressed delight as if it were their own event, saying that the real Olympic spirit is to shine brighter after such a long time.

Australians used to ask, south or north when they met the people who say they came from Korea, apparently recalling that the Korean peninsula is divided with a military confrontation still existing.

Today they say that the South and North Korea have achieved friendship and harmony through sports, as their delegates, wearing the same uniforms, will march side by side into the Olympic stadium under the same flag.

Spectator Jim Weiss, 52, who was watching the relay of the Olympic flame in northern Sydney on Tuesday, said he felt awkward because the Olympics seemed to become increasingly an event to earn money, but South and North Korea were bringing glory to the Sydney Olympics, and he conveyed his congratulations to the Korean people.

Weiss said that the Sydney Olympic Organizing Committee had stirred up a social controversy, as it was disclosed recently to have attempted to sell tickets with premiums to the rich. He also said that the largest gold medal should be made for South and North Korea.

Professor Dale Atrance said on Wednesday that the Olympics is a huge corrupt business plagued by scandals, athletes' drug abuse and thorough commercialism. Yet he welcomed the combined march of South and North Korean athletes, saying that it would be remembered for a long time as a case of Olympic humanitarianism.

Foreign reporters working at the Media Center near the Darling Harbor in downtown Sydney also approached Korean reporters, asking if they came from Korea, and expressed their deep concern about the two Koreas¡¯ joint entry into the stadium.

A female French reporter said she had heard that South Korea would join the top 10 group in the medal standings but that the combined march into the stadium would be more precious an event than this.

It is obvious that an atmosphere to congratulate both South and North Korea prevails in Sydney.