By Kang Hyun-kyung



During the Rio Olympics, Chinese-born athletes representing different countries played against each other in table tennis.



Of the 44 Chinese-born table tennis players at the Olympics, making up about a quarter of the total players, only six were Chinese national team members; the rest represented 21 other countries.



The dominance of Chinese-born players in international table tennis is the result of an unrivaled China. In Rio, China topped the medal standings in the sport, collecting six, including four gold medals, and was followed by Japan with one silver and two bronze.



Many good athletes are eliminated in the Olympic qualifications in China, and some seek a second chance by migrating to other countries to represent them in the international sports event.



The migration of foreign-born athletes to Korea is not new. As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics approaches, more foreign-born athletes are knocking on the Immigration Service's door to check if they are eligible for visas as "aliens of extraordinary ability."



If their applications are approved, these foreign-born athletes will get Korean citizenship and be able to represent Korea in the Winter Olympics if they pass the national competitions.



Kim Yu-kyoum, a professor at the Seoul National University Department of Physical Education, voiced concerns about the unintended consequences of this citizenship policy, specifically that some athletes are taking advantage of its loopholes.



"I understand that some athletes are using the citizenship policy of other countries for personal gains," he said. "They leave the country they just represented once the Olympics are over." He called them "Olympic migrants," a term he used to refer to athletes who seek citizenships outside their home countries to join the international sport event after being eliminated in their countries' qualification tournaments.



"Unlike in popular sports such as baseball or golf, we have no professional teams in winter sports," he said. "Thus, those foreign-born players have no good reason to stay here after the Olympics."



In general, he said, he supports the idea of allowing foreign-born athletes to acquire citizenships in Korea if doing so is the only way for them to continue their athletic career and they are sincere about representing these countries. "But I am against using the naturalization policy for short-term Olympic migrants," he said.



Visas for aliens of extraordinary ability were introduced in 2011, following the revision of the Nationality Law, to accept foreign talent in science and technology, sports and other fields. Since then, 22 foreign-born athletes have been accepted as Korean nationals. Ice hockey athletes accounted for the lion's share with seven, followed by basketball and taekwondo athletes. Judo, short-track speed skating and biathlon athletes have also become Korean nationals.



Plenty of foreign-born players have applied for Korean citizenship and are waiting for the results, according to the Ministry of Justice. Among athletes seeking Korean citizenship to compete in PyeongChang are two ice dancers ― Russian Kirill Minov and American Alexander Gamelin, according to the Korean Skating Union (KSU). Ice dancing, a discipline of figure skating that incorporates elements of ballroom dancing, is one of the winter sports where Korea has not yet won medals, and the KSU believes the two can help the country win its first medals in the sport.



The Korean Olympic Committee has said foreign-born players would help improve the overall competitiveness of Korean athletes in winter sports, particularly those where few Korean athletes have excelled in previous Olympics.



Lawyer Park Sang-yung concurs, saying the open-door policy will benefit the local sports industry in the long run.



"Our winter sports are not globally competitive, and they are not popular at home," he said. "I think foreign-born athletes can help turn the public's attention at least to the unpopular winter sports and, naturally, progress will be made there. If there are certainly such benefits, I think we have no good reason to reject (those athletes)."



He also said rejecting such qualified athletes who are applying for Korean citizenship could lead to discrimination allegations.



However, a former national team member said, on condition of anonymity, that teamwork is the hardest part when foreign-born players, who have insufficient time to form a bond or rapport with their Korean teammates, join the team.



"In every sport, teamwork is very important," he said. "It can make or break the team's performance. If ill-prepared foreign-born players join the team shortly before the Olympics, other teammates suffer." He also identified the language barrier as another serious challenge that Korean teams face when training with foreign-born athletes.



