North Korea’s Bang Cheol-mi smiles at Im Ae-ji’s words
Im Ae-ji taking a commemorative photo with Bang Cheol-mi.
The Taegeukgi and North Korean flags were hung side by side at the medal ceremony for the women's 54kg class boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the awards ceremony held at Roland Garros in Paris, France on the 9th, Im Ae-ji (25, Hwasun County Office) and Bang Cheol-mi (30, North Korea) each received bronze medals.
The two were confirmed as bronze medalists after losing in the semifinals held on the 4th. Olympic boxing does not hold separate 3rd and 4th place matches, but awards bronze medals to both semifinalists. The award ceremony was held only after the gold and silver medalists were decided in the finals that day. Chang Yuan (China) won the gold medal, and Hatise Akbashi (Turkiye) won the silver medal.
Im Ae-ji smiled brightly as she headed to the podium, but Bang Chul-mi had a stern expression. Even during the "victory selfie" time, when all the winners took selfies with Samsung Electronics' Galaxy smartphones, the other players had bright expressions, but Bang Chul-mi had a blank expression.
The press conference after the awards ceremony was also tense. When asked about her feelings about winning the bronze medal, Bang Chul-mi thought for a long time and said, “I came here thinking I would win first place, but unfortunately I only won third place.”
When asked about how she prepared for this competition, she paused and said, “The Olympics are important, so I put in a lot of effort. However, the results did not come out the way I wanted.” Before answering, she looked at the North Korean leader standing next to her in the press conference room.
Regarding her feelings about the two Koreas winning bronze medals together, Bang Chul-mi said, “As athletes, we just ranked the same,” and “I have no other feelings.” Lim Ae-ji said, “It was nice to see (the two Koreas winning medals together). It wasn’t the result (of the gold medal) that I wanted, but I hope we can meet in the finals next time.” Lim Ae-ji had previously hinted at an affectionate relationship at the awards ceremony by saying, “Can I hug (Bang) Chul-mi?” right after the semifinals. However, the hug did not actually take place at the awards ceremony. When the press asked, "Last time, I asked if I could hug Bang Chul-mi, but did you hug her somewhere other than at an award ceremony or on stage?", Im Ae-ji said, "I'll keep it a secret." At this time, Bang Chul-mi smiled briefly for the first time during the press conference.
Lim Ae-ji also revealed that it was difficult to be friendly with Bang Chul-mi in the joint press area before the press conference. She explained, “Normally, (Bang Chul-mi speaks or acts) first, but if she doesn’t, I think it’s an awkward situation, so I stay quiet.” She added, “I think it would be rude to approach (Bang Chul-mi) first when she’s in trouble. (It’s like showing that we shouldn’t interact now), so I don’t think I should approach her any further.”
Lim Ae-ji and Bang Chul-mi are said to have become familiar with each other after exchanging greetings during the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Since then, the two have exchanged greetings and encouraged each other whenever they met at the training center or stadium. 파워볼사이트