“She wanted to know how rich we were, and about how much money I made, in U.S. dollars, and I told her,” said Hyun, who became a celebrity in both Koreas when the Korean women’s team upset China to win the gold medal at those world championships. “I just told her everything, and we became friends. And now I miss her. It was just so natural that we were on a team together.”

Before that unified team came together, neither Kim Taek-soo nor Hyun could imagine the power of it. They were too young at the time and too single-minded, with their focus on their sport. Both said they realized much later that it had changed the way they looked at life and at their divided country. It forced them to think about reunification, even though it hadn’t been on their minds.

Both said they were crushed when the good feelings created by their joint team in 1991 vanished shortly after the world championships, just like Kim’s doubles partner vanished. For years after they played together, Kim asked other North Koreans how his partner was doing, but everyone said they had no information. The player had just disappeared.