Mixing politics and cultural exchange

The entire point of cultural exchange is to have two parties respectfully introduce one another to various aspects of each other’s lives.

Common ground and mutual understanding are key, and both parties must take special care to avoid treading on topics of contention.  

There were two such exchanges between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in recent years.

One was the New York Philharmonic’s concert in Pyongyang, North Korea, in 2008.

The other was Dennis Rodman’s visit to North Korea.

Rodman’s trip, while noble in its goals, was a complete disaster and conflated politics with the intended vision of his ambassadorship.

In Greek History, the Ancient Olympic Games were meant to foster a sense of community between the varied city-states that comprised Greece as we know it today.

Fighting between the city-states was banned.

We know the games back then were still forums for politics and bouts of infighting, but the ideal was one that was replicated in 1896 with the first ever modern Olympic Games.

Since then, the Games have not escaped political overtones, with the 1936 (run by Nazi Germany) and 1980 (Carter’s protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan) games standing out in particular.

The ideal should, and has always been, celebrating human achievement regardless of politics and ideology.

More closely related to Rodman’s latest trip is the “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” that presaged a visit by then-United States President Richard Nixon to the People’s Republic of China.

Similar aspirations apply towards music.

Yet, like athletic competition, classical music never has truly shed the realities of geopolitics.

But a universal hope towards a united — rather than divided — humanity certainly was a guiding principle for many.

Witness Beethoven’s famous exhortation in Symphony No. 9, “Alle Menschen werden Brüder” (“all men shall become brothers”).

In that sense, Rodman and the New York Philharmonic were united in their vision: to open up, or at least promote, understanding between the two nations.

The results and official communications between the two visits could not have been more different.  

Rodman seems to have gone to North Korea to boost his own stature, while the New York Philharmonic was sent an official invitation by the North Korean government.

Ultimately, while intentions are well and good, Rodman labeling himself as the go-between the two countries is counterintuitive to his supposed mission.

Statements exhorting President Barack Obama to give Kim Jong-un a call on the basis that they both love basketball, or proclaiming he would do everything in his power to free imprisoned American Kenneth Bae do nothing to further cultural exchange.

It is of course a given that Mr. Bae should not be imprisoned and held on trumped up charges of conspiracy to incite a rebellion.  

Any actions to try and secure his release are indeed welcome.  

But by opening his mouth and seeking to oversell himself, Mr. Rodman has done nothing but aggravate his supporters here and made himself into a laughingstock.

Art and sports are indeed critical to our cultures, but it is very easy to take things too far in the process of cultural exchange and quickly jump into the morass of foreign policy.

An orchestra that played a concert in North Korea was praised for simply bringing its music to North Korea, and rightly so.

Rodman and his entourage should be lauded for bringing basketball to North Korea, but his attention-seeking ways should not have a place or any credit in initiating a détente between North Korea and the U.S.

­— mjsu@indiana.edu
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