Just six month after the 2002 World Cup, South Koreans greeted another sporting extravaganza as the 14th Asian Games opened here last night with an all-Korean grand show.

Just as it was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, athletes from the two Koreas -- the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) -- marched into the stadium together, but this time on ROK soil.

The Asiad came back to the ROK 16 years after Seoul hosted the 1986 Asian Games.

Shrugging off the pre-game flagging ticket sales and the lingering post-World Cup lethargy, the games opened with a fanciful and touching flair.

ROK President Kim Dae-jung announced the opening of the 16-day tournament with its record high number of participants.

The most touching moment came at the finale of the ceremony with athletes from the ROK and DPRK marching into the stadium together under one flag -- "unified Korea," with a blue image of the entire Korean Peninsula on a white background -- all hand in hand.

This is the first appearance of the DPRK at an international sporting event in the ROK. With the participation of the DPRK, the games bring together all 43 members of the Olympic Council of Asia for the first time and have attracted more athletes and officials than any previous Asiad.

(China Daily September 30, 2002)