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Why the Olympic Torch is Good for North Korea

Written by Robert Vance on April 29, 2008 – 2:15 am

The Chinese government on Monday finally got what it wanted; twelve joyous unprotested miles of people waving flags, cheering, and adoring the Olympic Torch. The CCP will probably be using video footage from the torch parade in Pyongyang for years to come. There were no reported incidents; security was much lighter. It was a dream come true for the Communist propaganda machines. For the government, the event ‘proved’ to the world that people who have been shielded from the pollution of the Western media will naturally adore China and her glorious claim to the 2008 Olympics. It did not matter if the events in North Korea’s capital were staged. It did not matter if every single one of those ‘joyous’ people were told to either show up to the rally or go to prison. Certainly none of these likelihoods seemed to matter to Lin Binghua, executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee,who said on Monday that the committee was “very moved that tens of thousands turned out.” ‘Mobilized’ might have been a good alternative to the word ‘turned out’ but the Olympic Committee was just relieved that an entire country had finally welcomed the torch . The Committee must have been just as thrilled as the Chinese government to see the ‘outporing of affection’ by the North Korean people.

But what about the North Korean people? Most of the onlookers were probably carefully selected government officials. But even though the event was more than likely staged, I find myself imagining that many of the North Korean people in attendance were truly ecstatic to see the torch. Watching the torch pass by and feeling connected to its global significance must have warmed some people’s hearts if even for a fleeting second. It must have been nice to have had the opportunity to cheer about something that was not directly connected to the DPRK’s opressive regime. Perhaps the relay even ignited a little spark of hope in the hearts of some North Koreans that someday the DPRK could truly join hands with the world and become part of the international community.

Some may criticize the decision to have the torch make its five hour journey through North Korea’s capital; I do not. In many aspects, China was in the past what North Korea is now; a brutal dictatorship demanding unwavering allegiance from its people. While the Chinese government still has some great strides to take in the area of human rights, China is a country that North Korean people can admire; and it is a country that they are allowed to admire. One of my friends recently reminded me that “China is in a transition period.” He is right. If one looks back 30 years ago at China, one sees a ’supersized’ version of North Korea: the opression, the idolization of a leader, the starvation, the isolation. In these days, one sees a developing China that is slowly moving towards a socialized system that affords and guarantees human rights. The process is painstakingly slow, but at least ‘the wheels are turning.’ I am hoping that the North Korean people looked at that torch as it passed by them and wondered ever so quietly if someday their country might have the chance to follow in the footsteps of their ‘big brother’ China.

The irony of ‘Communist China’s’ Olympic Torch being victoriously paraded in North Korea does not escape me. However, the continued ‘warm’ relationship between the two countries is North Korea’s best hope of moving out of the darkness of opression and isolation and into the light of change. The North Korean government may have little respect for most governments in this world but they do listen to the Chinese. If there is to be any major change in North Korea in the future, it will most surely be brought about my the gentle nudging of the Chinese government. Until then, I can only hope that such rare events in Pyongyang will cause the North Koreans to yearn for a day when the doors will be flung open and they can truly unite with the international community.

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