[KS] Re: Olympic Partners?

[Thomas Duvernay]

REPLY sends your message to the whole list
__________________________________________


----- Original Message -----
From: <maliang at wolmail.nl>
To: <korean-studies at iic.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2000 5:30 PM
Subject: RE: Olympic Partners?


> REPLY sends your message to the whole list
> __________________________________________
>
> Dear all,
>
> As a non-Korean in Korea, the Olympics may be a cause of frustration.
Although
> I have seen some coverage of (North) Korean boxers, judokas and archers,
it's
> virtually impossible to see athletes from other countries in action,
unless
> they're up against Korea. There is virtually no coverage of games NOT
involving
> Korean athletes, and the overall idea is that the ranking of Korea counts,
not
> the Olympic spirit (if there ever was one). When a game involving Korea
has
> ended, they repeat it unless the outcome is very negative.

You see the same thing in the US (probably other countries, too).  It's
economically motivated, to be sure; people want to watch events that feature
their country's athletes, especially if they have a chance to get a medal--
advertisers know that.

On the other hand, I've seen some other events (like swimming and
gymnastics), where Korea has very little representation or chance to win
that were broadcast on Korean TV.  Still, you are right, most coverage will
be of events that Korea does well in.

Thomas