Cold expression from North Korea on the podium... An uncomfortable awards ceremony for Yeo Seo-jeong and An Chang-ok [Nagoya]

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games women's artistic gymnastics vault awards ceremony took place on the 24th at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium. Yeo Seo-jeong (24, Jecheon City Hall), a member of South Korea's national gymnastics team, stood atop the podium and smiled brightly. This marked her second gold medal, earned eight years after winning one at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang (Indonesia) Asian Games. Yeo Seo-jeong waved to the cheering crowd in response to their applause.

However, the expression of the silver medalist standing right beside her was not just gloomy—it was icy cold. It was An Chang-ok (23) from North Korea, also a rival of Yeo Seo-jeong. Two days earlier during the preliminaries, An had finished second behind Yeo. On this day, she scored 14.300 in her first routine but slipped upon landing in her second attempt, finishing with only 13.033 points. The final score, calculated by averaging both routines and adding bonus points, was 14.483 for Yeo Seo-jeong and 13.666 for An Chang-ok, resulting in contrasting outcomes.

On this day, Yeo Seo-jeong chose difficulty levels of 5.4 and 5.0 for her first and second routines, respectively. An Chang-ok, performing immediately after Yeo, attempted more challenging skills with difficulty ratings of 5.6 and 5.4. By opting for higher-difficulty elements, she took a gamble on her performance. Ultimately, Yeo Seo-jeong executed both routines successfully and steadily, while An made a critical error in her second attempt. "High-difficulty skills carry a higher risk of mistakes," said Yeo Seo-jeong, explaining her strategy: "I decided to lower the difficulty slightly and perform cleanly." Her final-round approach proved effective.

Yeo Seo-jeong stood highest on the podium. Yet An Chang-ok beside her remained completely expressionless. This contrasted sharply with China's Du Siwei, who won bronze and shared the podium, smiling brightly throughout the ceremony. In the end, both Yeo Seo-jeong and Du Siwei smiled during the entire awards event, while An Chang-ok maintained an icy, emotionless demeanor from start to finish—even when the national anthem played and as the ceremony neared its conclusion.

Even after the official ceremony concluded, when informal conversation might have been expected, an uncomfortable atmosphere persisted. An Chang-ok did not offer any congratulatory remarks to Yeo Seo-jeong, and Yeo likewise made no effort to initiate conversation with her. Unlike the 2024 Paris Olympics, where athletes from North and South Korea posed together for selfies on the podium—a moment that became a major topic—there was no such interaction here. The ceremony ended with both athletes simply descending the podium without further engagement.

After the competition, Yeo Seo-jeong spoke to reporters: "Honestly, I didn't want An Chang-ok to fall. I just wanted everything to be fair and clean. I watched her prepare diligently, so I felt sorry for her." She added, "She is truly a world-class athlete who works hard. We may not be able to speak to each other, but it seems we both continue to work steadily." The phrase "we may not be able to speak to each other" carried deep implications.

When asked whether she rarely converses with North Korean athletes, Yeo Seo-jeong replied, "Not rarely—I don't talk to them at all." Even when questioned whether, as the older sister by one year, she could have initiated conversation, she smiled and said, "It's not just my personal issue; I cannot speak lightly." This indicates that the situation involves more than simple interpersonal dynamics—it is entangled with complex political issues such as inter-Korean relations. This is no coincidence following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's 2023 declaration classifying inter-Korean relations as "hostile," which has led to a cold relationship within the sports community.

Meanwhile, Yeo Seo-jeong secured her second career Asian Games gold medal, matching her father and gymnastics legend Yeo Hong-cheol, currently executive vice president of the Korean Gymnastics Association. Winning two Asian Games gold medals also makes her the first female athlete in history to achieve this feat. Yeo Seo-jeong smiled and said, "I feel honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with my father. It feels wonderful to walk the same path he did."

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*This content was translated by AI.