Figure skaters lend presence to North Korean event | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Figure skaters lend presence to North Korean event

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Since Lepistö doesn't live in Korea and would not suffer if she spoke out against the Kim regime, one would hope that she might have the strength to say "No, thanks" when offered a chance to make money while North Koreans starved. I'm disappointed that she didn't, but from children I don't expect much more. When a young athlete or singer is awake enough to realize that this is an ethical issue, I'm thrilled.

Well, not like she's 12 or anything... :rolleye:
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
It's the annual witch hunt for skaters who take part in this show. Last year it was Tomas Verner (despite not being the only skater to attend last year). This year it's Lepisto (again despite not being the only skater taking part).


LOL, could not agree more... Anyway, maybe a witch hunt should go for the Champions On Ice which organizes skating shows in various countries and invites skaters to participate in them.

Lepistö says that she took part in the North Korean festival on invitation by the Champions On Ice organisation, which organises figure skating events all over the world.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
It's the annual witch hunt for skaters who take part in this show. Last year it was Tomas Verner (despite not being the only skater to attend last year). This year it's Lepisto (again despite not being the only skater taking part).
^ This. I m surprised Lepisto is singled out since other famous skaters went. Although I find like last years with Tomas critics over the top for a show.
I dont like to judge but yes I dont like they went there. Since the audience is not just a simple audience so you would think you give some joy to people but they are probably selected officials etc. As I didnt like Bejing 2008 games either, 10% of the city bright and beautiful and behind the scenes people starving in unhuman conditions. Hypocricy has many faces. I dont go that far assuming the skaters approve of the political situation because they skated there. Did they thoroughly approve of China's political situation when they went to Shen/Zhao show? I m not comparing both countries by any means. Just thinking one can see it many different ways.
 
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ivy

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
LOL, could not agree more... Anyway, maybe a witch hunt should go for the Champions On Ice which organizes skating shows in various countries and invites skaters to participate in them.


I agree that Champions on Ice should receive the brunt of the scrutiny
 

glam

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
It's the annual witch hunt for skaters who take part in this show. Last year it was Tomas Verner (despite not being the only skater to attend last year). This year it's Lepisto (again despite not being the only skater taking part).
Well, the reason why Lepistö is singled out is because this was a huge issue in Finland, as in Tshek when Verner participated. Other countries don't seem to care what their skaters do. I understand that Russia and China are North-Korea's allies, though.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Btw, I thought COI didnt exist anymore, this is another Champions on Ice?

The tour Champions On Ice was an international tour long before it went to be just the US. COI US Tour was bought up by Stars on Ice but I think Tom Collins and crew still produce shows outside the US?
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
This is tricky. The other side of the argument holds that cultural exchange with countries suffering under despotic regimes does more good than harm in the long run. The policy of isolating the bad guys from the rest of the world only causes the dictators to dig in, while making things worse for the people and making change, gradual or abrupt, even less likely.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Yes... in fairness to Lepisto I would like to suggest that the thread title be changed to something like, Again Top Skaters Lend Presence to North Korean Event.
It's the title of the article referenced in the Original Post and is also shared on the front page of Golden Skate.
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
I also just remembered how the Japanese national football team talked about their time in Pyongyang last year when they played the North Korean team. Apparently, they were stripped of all electronic gadgets upon arrival and then taken to a posh hotel. And there was this huge mirror in each room, and the players said that they thought they were being watched from behind the mirror. They said they knew this because e.g., one player made a remark in the room that he had felt cold because the blanket was too thin, and a thicker blanket promptly was placed on the bed. Similar things occured to other players as well. And it spooked the players so much that some of them had to go to their team mate's room to sleep because he was too scared to sleep alone. Each player was assigned a 'guard' or two (can't remember number) who followed them everywhere during their time in Pyongyang. The team lost to North Korea 0-1 although they had roundly beaten them in a match that took place outside of North Korea. They said that they felt something bad might happen to them if they won.

I think it would be too difficult for these skaters to make a political stand because they would then always have to live with the fear that the regime might try and harm them in some way. Princess Tenko apparently asked for police protection when she was back in Japan and she and also her family members continued to get contacted by someone from North Korea on occasion.

Still, I'm just really, really surprised that they would go in the first place, so they must not have known what they were setting themselves up for and didn't know how scary that place could be.
 
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Sylvia

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
The tour Champions On Ice was an international tour long before it went to be just the US. COI US Tour was bought up by Stars on Ice but I think Tom Collins and crew still produce shows outside the US?
I don't believe Tom Collins is still active in producing skating shows or tours, but I don't know for sure. As of this year, Sergio Cánovas is running the current "Champions on Ice" company according to wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champions_on_Ice
In November 2006, Anschutz Entertainment Group and Sergio Cánovas purchased Champions on Ice, being AEG owner of Champions on Ice U.S.A and Sergio Cánovas from the brand in the rest of the world.
After 2008 season Champions on Ice turns into standby mode during an evolution an reinvention process. In 2012 begins a new Champions on Ice international touring by the hand of Sergio Cánovas.
Carrying the tradition started by Tom Collins, a new luminary, Evgeny Plushenko takes center stage.
(The COI website hasn't been updated since 2008.)
 
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PolymerBob

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
I am as anti-communist as anyone on this board. ( I still refer to China as a communist dictatorship. ) But really, has starvation in North Korea gotten worse since Laura skated there?
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
big deal a lot of other international skaters have skated in NC
I don't see how they will single out Laura, and isn't Finland suppose to be a neutral country
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
You know, I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing. If it's true Lepisto is being singled out for this, and the other skaters who went are getting a free pass, then that's probably not really fair to her. Then again, as a higher-profile skater, she should be aware that this could happen.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I don't believe Tom Collins is still active in producing skating shows or tours, but I don't know for sure. As of this year, Sergio Cánovas is running the current "Champions on Ice" company according to wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champions_on_Ice

I wonder how authoritative this add-on paragraph to the WikI article is. It is written in a different hand and concludes:

In 2012 begins a new Champions on Ice international touring by the hand of Sergio Cánovas. Carrying the tradition started by Tom Collins, a new luminary, Evgeny Plushenko takes center stage.
 

skateluvr

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
This is tricky. The other side of the argument holds that cultural exchange with countries suffering under despotic regimes does more good than harm in the long run. The policy of isolating the bad guys from the rest of the world only causes the dictators to dig in, while making things worse for the people and making change, gradual or abrupt, even less likely.

And the other side of the coin well put. It is a no win situation, politically, it seems and I'm sure the money was good. It seems to me the federations should advise their skaters what to do when such an invitation comes in. Isolate or culturally embrace. I go with embrace. The movie Mao's Last dancer is recommended to all, to see the long term consequences of cultural exhange and how this one situation changed and helped open China.
 
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lowtherlore

Guest
And the other side of the coin well put. It is a no win situation, politically, it seems and I'm sure the money was good. It seems to me the federations should advise their skaters what to do when such an invitation comes in. Isolate or culturally embrace. I go with embrace. The movie Mao's Last dancer is recommended to all, to see the long term consequences of cultural exhange and how this one situation changed and helped open China.

I agree.

The N Korean event had been an annual thing for a long time, and a bunch of international skaters, including the likes of Plushenko and Yagudin, had skated there before Lepisto did. It’s true the event had been organized and presented with a political tint typical of N Korean propaganda, but it’s been essentially an athletic event for a long time. I suppose it’s been enjoyed by many, if not all, N Korean people, and it’d have been something that their people take pride in – an annual international skating event, something that the people in the south don’t have.

If one feels Lepisto’s visit was politically controversial or contemptible, I wonder what he/she would say about NY Phil’s 2008 visit to Pyeongyang. One is an athletic performance event and the other a music performance event. Can one call the Russian, Chinese, Czech, French or Finnish skaters “politically blind” or “ignorant”, and turn and call American musicians “a goodwill envoy”? Frankly, for this matter I don’t think whether Lepisto was politically conscious of the situation or not is really relevant, either.

My two cents: If one feels for the starving people of N Korea, there are better things to do about it, rather than pointing finger at the ones who participated in the rare event where N Koreans interchange with the foreigners. One such thing would be raising voice for better US – N Korean relations, for the US administration to move forward to end the war and replace the armistice with a peace treaty – something the N Korean leaders and the people desperately want. That would be far more effective in the long run in relieving the N Korean misery than anything else.
 

brightphoton

Medalist
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
The situations aren't even close. The New York Philharmonics's visit to North Korea was publicised, well-explained, and thoroughly justified by the United States government and heralded as a step of better relations.

This skating show is nothing more than a way for a few skaters to secretly skate for some North Korean bigwigs, hiding it from the rest of the world. No one in Champions on Ice even bothered to make this a significant political event, which is a shame, because it could have been something good. Instead, it makes all the skaters involved look greedy and ethically questionable

I'm also miffed at the Laura Lepisto quote. She treats her fans like idiots. Are we supposed to believe her when she says durrrrr, I didn't think about the political baggage that comes with visiting North Korea, surely you believe me because none of you have bs meters, you guys need to stop talking about it already, I wish this backlash were over, geez.
 

cosmos

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
but it’s been essentially an athletic event for a long time.

My two cents: If one feels for the starving people of N Korea, there are better things to do about it, rather than pointing finger at the ones who participated in the rare event where N Koreans interchange with the foreigners. One such thing would be raising voice for better US – N Korean relations, for the US administration to move forward to end the war and replace the armistice with a peace treaty – something the N Korean leaders and the people desperately want. That would be far more effective in the long run in relieving the N Korean misery than anything else.

No, it has been a private event for Kim Jong-il who was well known admirer of arts including FS.

That is exactly what N-Korea has claimed for more than 30 years; blaming US for the poor condition of N. Korea. US government, S. Korean government and even Chinese government all requst the same thing to N. Korea; open the country and follow the road China has taken. But, Kim and the people around him refused it because they are so afraid that once the country is opned they will lose the power.
 
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lowtherlore

Guest
The situations aren't even close. The New York Philharmonics's visit to North Korea was publicised, well-explained, and thoroughly justified by the United States government and heralded as a step of better relations.

This skating show is nothing more than a way for a few skaters to secretly skate for some North Korean bigwigs, hiding it from the rest of the world. No one in Champions on Ice even bothered to make this a significant political event, which is a shame, because it could have been something good. Instead, it makes all the skaters involved look greedy and ethically questionable

I'm also miffed at the Laura Lepisto quote. She treats her fans like idiots. Are we supposed to believe her when she says durrrrr, I didn't think about the political baggage that comes with visiting North Korea, surely you believe me because none of you have bs meters, you guys need to stop talking about it already, I wish this backlash were over, geez.

That you can't find it on YouTube doesn't mean it was a secret, private party only for their leaders. It was a public event for them (I'm pretty sure that it was covered by N Korean TV), as it had been during the past years. It had been Baekdusan Trophy for many, many years, a PUBLIC ATHLETIC EVENT. As said earlier, practically ALL public event in N Korea have political propaganda of some degree attached to it. Why do you think this particular event should have been a significant political event beyond that? It had been an annual event for them this time of year for a long time.

Besides, why would the participants like Lepisto need to meet somebody's subjective justification to skate there? Sure, the NY Phil event had more political significance in light of the US - N Korea relations. But the way I see it the skaters' joining their annual event has similar aspect when it comes to building and exchanging goodwill. If anything, I would praise her for her courage in joining the trip. And I don't see anything wrong with her getting some compensation for it. I'm glad she's become one of many who have visited the country for various reasons and shared the common cause of meeting the people and broadening the mutual exchange and understanding.
 
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