by Simon Daish
The story began with unexpected news coming from DPR Korea with the country agreeing to send a team of players to the Korea Open for the first time, a move that came as a welcome surprise to their neighbours south of the boarder.
Catching the whole world by storm, the news quickly gathered momentum with media outlets across the globe against the hopeful backdrop that the sport of table tennis could in some way help to bridge the divide between the two countries.
In the mixed doubles event there were two Unified Korea pairs entered, one of which was the partnership of Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin and DPR Korea’s Cha Hyo Sim.
Unseeded the Unified Korea duo started their campaign in qualification action before going on to topple three seeded combinations on their way to the final. At the final hurdle the Koreans defied the odds, defeating China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha to make history in front of a packed arena.
Follow the journey from start to finish all over again with an in-depth behind the scenes look, featuring interviews from players and officials from both countries beautifully accompanied by an excellent cinematic experience.
The Unified Korea team in Daejeon, and their continued partnership throughout 2018, was made possible by a grant from the ITTF Foundation and supported by Seamaster.
