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In the summer of 1989, over 15,000 foreign visitors from more than 150 countries converged on Pyongyang to celebrate the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS). Never before had the city hosted an event of such scale, consequently posing considerable logistical and financial challenges. To prepare for the massive influx of outsiders, who required food, shelter, and entertainment, North Korea hurriedly constructed thousands of apartments, several hotels, a colossal stadium, and other festival-related buildings. The week-long festival commenced with a spectacular opening ceremony in the newly erected May 1 Stadium. A large crowd cheered as the delegations of each country marched onto the stadium track, beginning with the festival’s previous host, the Soviet Union. Last to walk in were the DPRK delegation and a lone South Korean woman sporting a white T-shirt and white sneakers, Im Su-gyŏng.
Defying her government, Im Su-gyŏng, a South Korean student-activist, traveled to Pyongyang to attend the 13th WFYS, where the young rebel met with Kim Il Sung, held speeches, and participated in festival activities. During and after the festival, North Korea’s propaganda machine exploited Im’s attendance, using her to paint a grim picture of South Korea, a picture in which the authoritarian leadership in Seoul, against the desires of the Korean people, conspired with US imperialism to sabotage the socialist achievements in the DPRK and prevent a unification of Korea. Shortly following an overly dramatic speech condemning “the big-nose Yankees,” Im Su-gyŏng, who by then had been awarded the epithet “Flower of Unification,” theatrically crossed over to the South via the Joint Security Area, whereupon she was promptly arrested. Her arrest and subsequent confinement only fueled North Korean propaganda and led to international calls to free Im Su-gyŏng, calls that the North Korean press gladly reprinted. As the propagandistic use of Im Su-gyŏng’s journey and arrest indicate, the 13th WFYS played an important role in the rivalry between the two Koreas. After all, North Korea was distraught over Seoul’s hosting of the 1988 Olympics, socialist countries’ participation, and South Korea’s increasing international clout. To enhance its global reputation, especially in front of its own people, the regime found the festival useful and continued to give press coverage to Im Su-gyŏng for months to come.
Inter-Korean competition notwithstanding,...