This Selfie of the North Korea/South Korea Gymnasts Is Why We Have the Olympics

North Korea and South Korea are sworn enemies. Tensions between the two countries have been high since the war in the 1950s. North Korea is a totalitarian communist nightmare state, while South Korea is a growing capitalist democracy. To this day, they do not get along.

But that didn’t stop Lee Eun-ju, a South Korean gymnast, and Hong Un-jong, a North Korean gymnast, from getting friendly during the competition.

Gymnasts from North & South Korea take a selfie together. This is why we do the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/Id44OuehN3

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) August 5, 2016

It was a simple gesture — they merely exchanged greetings and took a selfie together — but it’s a huge one. This is what the Olympics do, at their best. They defuse tension. They promote peace. And they create killer photo ops. Take that, #PhelpsFace.