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On one hand, the North is the "arch enemy" that launched a fratricidal war in 1950, which claimed the lives of millions of Koreans and 160,000 United Nations troops. The North, now armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, still poses a grave military threat. It continues to issue threatening statements that it will turn everything in the wealthy South into "debris" and "ashes."
On the other hand, the North is a "brother nation" where 22 million Korean people are suffering from acute food shortages and frequent natural disasters. More than 120,000 South Koreans remain separated from their long-lost relatives in the North.
These contradictory images have long posed a dilemma to South Korea, often sparking ideological disputes over how to deal with its communist neighbor. South Koreans are still sharply divided about what policies should be exercised toward the North.
By and large, conservatives in the South focus on the North's "regime," calling for a tough stance to help topple the communist leadership, while Pyongyang sympathizers urge unconditional engagement to help the troubled "people" in the North.
The dual images became more striking this week when the two Koreas played soccer in the World Cup qualifying matches, amid mounting military tensions in the South following a series of threatening moves from the North.
In its final qualifying match with Iran in Seoul, the South Korean team, though having already secured a berth, made "all-out" efforts to defeat the Middle East powerhouse to pave the way for the North to snatch the last of Asia's four automatic World Cup places.
As the South eliminated Iran with a 1-1 draw with Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung's 81st-minute equalizer, the North could win the ticket for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa just with a draw against Saudi Arabia.
When the North was playing against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh hours later, South Koreans cheered the North's team, shouting, "Let go together to South Africa!"
With a defense-focused play, the North finished the game with a scoreless draw, winning the final berth in the tournament. It was the first time for North Korea to reach the finals since 1966. Tearful North Korean players shouted for joy after the crucial match against Saudi Arabia, television footage showed.
It is also the first time both Koreas will participate together in the same World Cup finals. South Korean media rushed to report the "historic sports event."
"We had hoped that the North and the South would advance to the finals together," South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo told reporters. Officials at the Korea Football Association, the South's football governing body, said North Koreans had urged them not to fail to beat Iran and Saudi Arabia to raise the chances for the North.
The two Koreas have clashed four times during the qualifying round for next year's finals. They tied in three games and the South won 1-0 at their last meeting in April.
South Korean fans said they hope the participation in the World Cup finals by both Koreas will help ease the cross-border Cold War hostility. "I hope the two Koreas will go together for peace and reconciliation as sports do," said Kim Chung-hwan, a 24-year-old college student.
Sports events have often served as an occasion to improve political relations between the two rivals. Their exchanges were highlighted in 2000 when athletes from the two Koreas marched together at the Olympic opening ceremony in Sydney, wearing the same uniform and under the same name.
Again in the 2002 Asian Games and the World University Games in 2003, both held in South Korean cities, the two Koreas marched together wearing the same uniform under the unification flag, which sparked a reconciliation and reunification fever.
But the two Koreas seem to have a long way to go for reconciliation, even in sports. During the World Cup qualifying matches, the North refused to allow the South Korean flag to fly and national anthem to play at Pyongyang Stadium, and it demanded that its home game be held in a third country, China.
Ahead of a match in June last year, the North raised concerns over the safety of its players – due to massive protests against U.S. beef imports in the South – and initially refused to attend the Seoul match, though it later reversed its position.
Such incidents are reminders of South Koreans’ fate in living next to North Korea, despite all their goodwill on the sports field. The two Koreas remain technically in a state of war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The inter-Korean border area is still a flashpoint, with nearly 2 million troops stationed on both sides.
