Everyone saw the photo. You know the one—the selfie on the podium where athletes from North and South Korea stood side-by-side, grinning at a smartphone. It felt like a glitch in the matrix. For a few seconds in Paris, the decades of tension, the missile tests, and the closed borders seemed to just... melt. But if you think that was the whole story of the North Korea 2024 Olympics campaign, you're missing about 90% of the drama.
Honestly, the fact that they even showed up was a big deal. North Korea hadn't stepped foot in a Summer Games since Rio 2016. They skipped Tokyo 2020 because of "COVID concerns," which got them suspended from the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Paris was their big "we’re back" moment. And they didn't come to just participate. They came to win, even if their squad was tiny.
The Small Team That Punched Way Above Its Weight
North Korea sent only 16 athletes to Paris. Think about that for a second. While the U.S. and China were bringing hundreds of people, the DPRK delegation could barely fill a small bus.
They competed in just seven sports. But man, did they make it count. By the time the closing ceremony rolled around, they had bagged six medals. No golds, sure, but two silvers and four bronzes is an insane efficiency rate for a group that small.
- Table Tennis: Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong were the absolute stars. They were the lowest-ranked team in the mixed doubles but somehow smashed their way to a silver medal.
- Diving: Kim Mi Rae and Jo Jin Mi took silver in the women’s synchronized 10m platform.
- Wrestling & Boxing: They grabbed four bronzes here, proving they still dominate in the high-intensity, "grit" sports.
Why the North Korea 2024 Olympics Selfie Was a Huge Risk
That selfie? It wasn't just a cute moment. It was a massive political gamble for the athletes involved. In North Korea, interacting with South Koreans—whom the regime officially labels as the "number one enemy"—is a fast track to an "ideological review."
Reports from outlets like Daily NK and Human Rights Watch suggest that the athletes, including Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong, faced intense scrutiny the second they touched down in Pyongyang.
Imagine winning an Olympic medal, the highest honor in sports, and then having to spend weeks in "ideological cleansing" sessions because you smiled next to a guy from Seoul. It's wild. The regime apparently viewed the "grinning" and "fraternizing" as a weakness. Some reports even hint at "unpaid labor" or rural relocation as punishment for those who don't pass these reviews. It makes you realize these athletes aren't just playing for a trophy; they're playing for their lives, basically.
The Samsung Phone Scandal
Here’s a weird detail: every athlete in Paris got a free, limited-edition Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6. It was a perk for being an Olympian. Except for the North Koreans.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) eventually confirmed that the North Korean team didn't get the phones. Why? Because of UN sanctions. Specifically, Resolution 2397 prohibits the transfer of "industrial machinery" and electronics to North Korea.
Giving a high-tech smartphone to a North Korean athlete is technically a violation of international law. It sounds like a joke, but the South Korean government was dead serious about it. They didn't want any tech leaking back into Pyongyang that could be used for anything other than taking selfies.
The Reality of Training "Behind Closed Doors"
When you look at the results of the North Korea 2024 Olympics, you have to wonder how they stay so competitive while being so isolated.
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Most athletes on the world stage have access to the best nutrition, high-tech recovery tools, and international sparring partners. North Koreans don't. They train in what people call "closed-door" environments.
They did spend some time training with the Chinese table tennis team before the Games—which Kim Kum Yong admitted was a huge help—but for the most part, they are isolated.
This isolation is actually a tactical advantage sometimes. Opponents have no film on them. They don't know their playstyles. When the North Korean mixed doubles pair started knocking out top seeds, the world was blindsided. They were the "unknown quantity."
Key Stats from the Paris Campaign
| Sport | Medals Won |
|---|---|
| Diving | 1 Silver, 1 Bronze |
| Table Tennis | 1 Silver |
| Boxing | 1 Bronze |
| Wrestling | 2 Bronze |
They finished 68th in the overall medal table. It doesn't sound high, but when you compare it to a country like India (which has 1.4 billion people and won the same number of medals), the North Korean performance looks legendary.
What Happens Next?
The North Korea 2024 Olympics return has set the stage for their participation in future events, like the 2026 Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But the "ideological" fallout from Paris might change how their athletes are allowed to behave.
Don't expect many more selfies. The regime has seen how a simple photo can humanize their people to the rest of the world, and they aren't exactly fans of that.
If you're following international sports, keep an eye on these specific moves:
- Watch the "re-education" reports: Organizations like Lina Yoon at Human Rights Watch often track what happens to these athletes months after the cameras go dark.
- Look for their presence in smaller regional meets: North Korea usually tests the waters in Asian championships before committing to a global stage.
- Monitor the "Samsung-gate" precedents: The phone incident will likely dictate how tech sponsors handle "pariah" states in future Games.
The Paris Games proved that North Korea is still a powerhouse in specific niches. But it also reminded us that for these 16 people, the competition didn't end when the plane landed in Pyongyang.
Actionable Insight: If you're interested in the intersection of sports and geopolitics, follow the Daily NK or 38 North for updates on how the DPRK manages its athletic program between Olympic cycles. Their training methods remain a mystery, but their results are impossible to ignore.