"This is why we do Olympics." Unite countries somehow. Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-jong of the North took a quick smiling snapshot during the training period before the start of the games. Now, the picture of these two women have been widely praised as capturing the Olympic spirit.
Though North and South Korea are technically still at war at each other, nothing can stop these women from being friends with each other and take "the most iconic photo of the games."
The relations between the two countries have been more tense in recent months, with recent missile launches from Pyongyang. But Olympics has proven that even the games are made to build and bond players despite their countries' quarrels.
The political scientist, Ian Bremmer, tweeted, "This is why we do the Olympics." His tweet has been retweeted for more that 18,000 times.
"Sports brings everyone together," said another Twitter user.
Though a lot of people really loved the cuteness of this "most iconic photo," so are still more cynical about it.
"Is she allowed to fraternize with the enemy?" most people asked. Some people also assumed that Hong might face punishment once she gets home.
Lee, 17, and Hong, 27, both competed as individual qualifiers. The Games in Brazil was Lee's first Olympics.
Hong became North Korea's first gymnast to win a medal at the Olympic Games, winning the gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Netizens praised the contrasting attitudes portrayed by the South and North Korean athletes, even got compared to the Lebanese Olympic team, who allegedly refused to ride on the same bus with Israeli athletes.
Lebanon and Israel are officially at war and have no diplomatic relations.
According to Udi Gal, member of Israel's Olympic sailing team, the organizers intervened and the two teams traveled separately to "prevent an international and physical incident."
"How could they let this happen on the eve of the Olympic Games? Isn't this the opposite of what the Olympics represents?" he said in a post on Facebook.
Chinese authorities also clashed with Australian Olympic gold medalist Mack Horton after he called Chinese defending champion Sun Yang a "drug cheat."
Source: BBC
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