Young Dae Joo, a Korean table tennis player, won the first gold medal for the Korean national team in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. https://sports.news.naver.com/news?oid=448&aid=0000337896
A new case of discrimination was found in the Paralympic regarding media exposure. From 23 July to 8 August, the 2020 Olympic Games were held in Tokyo, Japan. And after 16 days, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics was held from 24 August to 5 September. However, compared to the heated conversations regarding the Olympics, it was hard to hear about the Paralympics. In other words, athletes in the Paralympics get little attention than the athletes in the Olympics. To figure out why this phenomenon happens in our society, The Voice conducted a survey that targeted George Mason University Korea (GMUK) students. Through the survey, The Voice was able to find hidden discrimination against the disabled in our society.
The main reason people know less about the athletes in Paralympics is the less exposure in the media. While it was easy to watch the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the live broadcast from most public channels such as SBS, MBC, and KBS, it was only available to watch the Paralympic Games on KBS in Korea. According to the survey, 45.5% of students watched the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Many of those students explained that there were fewer channels that transmit the broadcasting of the games. Fewer broadcasting channels show that athletes in Paralympic Games get fewer benefits from media than athletes in Olympic Games; further, it could also be seen as discrimination against the disabled.
There are fewer broadcasting channels that broadcast the Paralympics on TV; naturally, the public and media have little attention to the athletes in the games. The four South Korean fencers who won gold medals in a sabre group game of Fencing were very famous among Koreans as they are called ‘Afengers’, combined with ‘Avengers’ and ‘Fencing’. Also, we could see them on variety shows such as ‘I live alone’ and ‘Boss in the Mirror.’ However, people do not know that South Korea’s boccia mixed team won the gold medals in the Paralympic games. It is hard to see them in TV shows, even on the news. This outcome is not because ‘boccia’ is unfamiliar to the public. Joo Young-dae, also won a gold medal in a men’s singles game of table tennis in the Paralympics; however, it is not reported to the public even though ‘Table tennis’ is a trendy sport in Korea. Moreover, broadcasting media expose fewer athletes in the Paralympics as the media reflects people’s interests in the Paralympic Games. Some of the students in the survey pointed out another problem: the media platforms do not promote the Paralympics as much as they do the Olympics. It means that less interest in the Paralympics leads to the fewer media exposure of athletes in the games.
There is an alternative way to access more news about the athletes in Paralympics on social media, such as Instagram. According to the survey, 54.5% of students responded that they had seen the results or news about the Paralympic games on social media platforms. Particularly, there is an Instagram account, @insight.co.kr, which is the news platform delivering card news on various topics. It has produced some content about the athletes in the Paralympics, such as card news introducing athletes such as Joo Jeong-hun, a South Korean taekwondo player who won a bronze medal in the game without a right hand, and Matt Stutzman, an American archer who plays well with his mouth and foot. Nevertheless, social media still cannot replace broadcasting channels since it does not, though it delivers some news of the Paralympics to people. The reason that such platforms do not broadcast the games on-air as well as it is not appropriate for promoting the games for all generations.
Less exposure of athletes in the Paralympic Games reflects social discrimination. Fewer broadcasting channels for the Paralympics show that our society unconsciously discriminated against the disabled rather than treating the disabled and non-disabled equally. Our society has been increasing the policies that can prevent discrimination against the disabled, the media. However, the case of the Paralympic games indicates that public perception should be improved more in order to ensure equal treatment and equal opportunities for both disabled and non-disabled.
Comparison between how the media showed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics reveals how the media still discriminates against the disabled. In order to stop the vicious cycle of this social phenomenon, broadcasting media platforms should promote the Paralympic games and the athletes as much as the Olympics so that people can get more interested in the Paralympics. It will provide chances to watch the Paralympic Games, and further, have attention to athletes, for more and more people. Kim Yeon Koung, a South Korean volleyball player, revealed that volleyball could get attention by appearing as a guest on the TV variety show ‘I live alone.’ Also, it led to the attention of other players in the volleyball games. Such effects can also be shown in the case of players in the Paralympics. By trying things not to eliminate discrimination against the disabled little by little, our society would reach the possibility that everyone is treated equally.
Written by Sunbin Kim, staff writer
Revised by Yu Bin Kwon | Managing Editor
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