T

he athletes on stage fell silent as the folk song “Arirang” began to play at Jakabaring Sports City (JSC) in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Sunday. It was a historic moment for both South and North Korea as a dedicated team from both nations, called Team Unified Korea, just won its first-ever Asian Games gold medal.

The victory showed that the North and South can work together to achieve sporting greatness by setting aside their long-held grievances. And “Arirang”, the national anthem for the unified team in the Games, was for some an emotional sign of hope that the two countries can one day reconcile, once and for all.

The team won its first-ever Asiad gold in the women’s 500-meter canoe (TBR) finals, beating powerhouse China, who came in second, and bronze medalist Thailand.

Team Unified Korea crossed the finish line in two minutes and 24 seconds — one minute ahead of China and two minutes faster than Thailand.

“When I came from the North to the South for training I was pessimistic that I could get a gold medal. But our [unified] team has a big passion to win,” North Korean rowing coach Kim Kwang-chul told reporters after the gold medal ceremony.

South Korean rowing coach Kang Geun-yong added, “I am really proud of our athletes in this team.”

Kang revealed that it had not been easy for rowers from the North and South to get together as they came from two different training regimens.

Both coaches pushed their rowers to the limit. For example, they forced their athletes to wake up at 4 a.m. every day to undergo training that finished at 8 p.m.

“I am very proud of the athletes because their training was very tough,” Kang said. “They deserve this gold medal.”

Following Sunday’s victory, the team set its sights on the 2020 Olympics and promised to once again compete as a unified force.

“Sure, we will be in the same team again,” said one of the North Korean rowers. “We will always wait.”

During Sunday’s, supporters from both Koreas were on the sidelines to support the team by wearing a uniform emblazoned with the Unified Korea flag; a solid blue map of the Korean Peninsula with a white background. They vigorously waved Unified Korea flags and chanted “Korea” as their compatriots led the race.

Joe Nam-hyun, a South Korean student living in Jakarta, said he traveled to Palembang with the intention of supporting Team Unified Korea.

“Sports can unite people. I am very happy that Team Unified Korea won the gold,” Joe, who is studying Indonesian in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post.

“At first [my friends and I] sat in different row from the North Korean spectators. Later, we were in the same row as our team won.”

Another fan, Moon Hak-sik, said he had traveled all the way from South Korea to witness the historic event.

“I’ve been in Palembang for 10 days now. I wanted to see and support the Unified Korea team competing,” Moon told The Jakarta Post.

Moon said he and dozens of South and North Korean residents intentionally came to Palembang to watch Team Unified Korea in action. They mingled with local students, who were deployed to support the joint Korean team, in the venue. The students were sporting T-shirts with Unified Korea symbols and holding flags that read “One Dream, One Korea”.

One of the local students, Aditya, 22, said he was proud to be part of the cheering squad.

“We like Korea, but we always love Indonesia,” said Aditya, a student from Sriwijaya University. “People of South and North Korea are equally beautiful and handsome. Their movies and TV series are also popular in Indonesia.”

Team Unified Korea ranks 26th in the medals tally as of Sunday afternoon. It has one gold and one bronze.

The team might lag far behind in terms of gold medals, but its athletes’ motivation and determination to put aside their differences to reach one goal is tremendous.

As its supporters hope during the race on Sunday, sport can become a stepping stone for people from both Koreas to build a harmonious future.