EXCLUSIVE: Our Correspondent Blogs from Inside North Korea...
20th June 2010
One of the most talked about entrants of the 2010 World Cup are undoubtedly North Korea. The Football Ramble has gained exclusive access to a correspondent living in the country to give us an insight into the portrayal of the tournament under Kim Jong Il´s rule...
The World Cup has been in full swing for over a week now and, even in one of the most isolated countries on the planet, interest in the event is huge.
North Korea’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup has sparked interest and speculation across the globe, just as it did when they made their only other appearance at the finals in England 44 years ago. Back then the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was not recognised as a state by the UK, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office considered denying the team entry to the country. However, the FCO backed down (mainly due to the fact that FIFA would protest strongly and move the event elsewhere), but insisted that the North Korean anthem was not played during the tournament. Little was known about the Korean team, and it looked as though they would be making a fairly rapid return to the Hermit Kingdom when they were thumped 3-0 by the Soviet Union in their opening match. But a late equaliser in their second game against Chile boosted confidence and they created one of the greatest sporting upsets in their final group match when they defeated Italy 1-0. Another shock looked on the cards when they raced into a 3-0 lead against Portugal in the quarter-finals, only for Eusebio to get his finger out, bag a four-goal haul and guide his side to an eventual 5-3 victory. The Koreans were out, but they had won many admirers – the people of Middlesbrough, where the DPRK squad were based during the group stage, took them to their hearts and 3,000 made their way across the country to Anfield to support them against Portugal. The story of the 1966 World Cup team is documented in the excellent film, The Game of Their Lives, which recounts that glorious summer and also follows the surviving players as they made an emotional return to Middlesbrough in 2002. Well worth a watch.
The small ex-pat community here in Pyongyang are, thankfully, able to catch this year’s games live on satellite television. The Korean proletariat aren’t quite so fortunate, but the event has received more coverage in the Korean media than your humble correspondent had anticipated and, contrary to some expectation in the UK and elsewhere, the brief match report from the DPRK’s loss to Brazil was very honest.
There are three television channels available in Pyongyang (only one is available in other cities), but the national broadcaster did not obtain rights to screen the World Cup. Instead, the South Korean broadcaster, SBS, bought the rights for the entire peninsula. SBS began negotiations with the North to provide coverage, but there were disagreements over costs, and the talks eventually collapsed as tensions rose when an investigation concluded that the North had been responsible for the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel which claimed 46 lives. It was, therefore, something of a surprise when the opening match of the tournament, South Africa vs. Mexico, was screened on Korean television last Saturday evening. SBS cried foul, believing that the North had obtained a pirated signal. The North Koreans simply denied this, and it later emerged that FIFA had negotiated a deal with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union to ensure that the people could watch the greatest show on earth. Technically, the agreement means that live matches could be broadcast, but this has not happened as yet. One match per night has been screened, including England’s opener against the U.S.A., South Korea’s victory over Greece, and Germany’s trouncing of Australia.
Of course, the one match that the North Korean population wanted to know about was DPRK’s clash with Brazil. The game kicked off at 3:30am Pyongyang time on Wednesday 16 June. The North Korean staff where I work implored me to stay awake long enough to watch the game and give them a blow by blow account when I saw them later in the morning. It wasn’t a difficult task; I was intrigued as anyone as to how this game would pan out and wouldn’t have missed it for the world. However, when I spoke to my Korean colleagues some three and a half hours after the match ended, they already knew the score! One even claimed that people were talking about it on the bus on the way to work! Quite how the news got around so quickly, I’m not sure; according to the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, “Quickly following North Korea´s 1-2 defeat to Brazil, Pyongyang´s official media reported Wednesday that its side put up a "fierce" fight in its first World Cup match in 44 years, complimenting the players for their dogged performance.” However, the report cited came from the Korean Central News Agency website which is aimed solely at foreigners, and is not, obviously, available to Koreans. Whether the result was broadcast on radio or over the loud speakers which carry news bulletins in some parts of the city is still a mystery to me. But details of the match were included in the Rodong Shinmun (Workers’ Newspaper) the following day. The short report stated that the two teams “fought a seesaw battle,” and that the “DPRK footballers created good shooting chances, not losing their confidence even after losing two goals.” The DPRK goal was described as follows: “At about the 88th minute of the match Jong Tae Se headed the ball before passing it to Ji Yun Nam who powerfully kicked it into the rival´s goalmouth, scoring a goal.” Ji was later quoted by the pro-North Korean Japanese newspaper, The Chosun Shinbo, as saying: "It would have been nicer if we had finished the game in a draw. I am confident that we will play good matches if we fight with the same mettle and audacity as the General [Kim Jong Il] has."
The game was shown on DPRK television in full the following evening, and the streets of Pyongyang were very quiet! People here really do love their football, and they know a wee bit more about the game outside their borders than many give them credit for. A 30-minute international football highlights show is broadcast on state television each Sunday night, so some of the populace recognise the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo and Beckham. The draw for the group stages was shown on TV here in mid-January (a full month and a half after it had taken place) and one Korean fan told me that they did not expect their side to qualify from the group – they were aware that Brazil and Portugal had a bit of pedigree, although they knew little of the threat that might be posed by the Ivory Coast. I’ve also been informed by several Koreans that a lot more time, effort and money had been ploughed into women’s football, with tangible results – the DPRK have won the Asian Cup three times in the past decade, won the 2006 U-20 World Cup and are currently ranked seventh in the world. Obviously, such successes will be propagated within the country as examples of the DPRK’s superiority, and a further consequence is that football fans in DPRK are really interested in the progress of their women’s side. So there was no real weight of expectation on the men’s side ahead of the tournament (despite the manager and some players claiming that they would reach the knockout stages), and there would be little loss of face in admitting defeat to Brazil, whom the people know are a footballing powerhouse.
The match itself followed the predicted pattern with Brazil having the lion’s share of possession, and DPRK defending staunchly and in numbers, relying on Jong Tae Se as their main attacking threat (this is in total contrast to how they played in 1966 when their speed, attacking instincts and tactical naivety were very much apparent) . Jong created a bit of a stir by crying his way through the national anthem, but anyone who has seen him play previously will know that he is an incredibly emotional individual and loves playing for the DPRK. He shed tears during the anthem when making his debut and again when the team secured the point needed for qualification in Saudi Arabia this time last year. He’s also a fairly handy player, as he showed on Tuesday night, and will hopefully realize another of his dreams by playing in Europe at some stage during his career. The Koreans I spoke to, having watched the game on Wednesday evening, were disappointed in the nature of the first goal they conceded, saying it could have been prevented by Ri Myong Guk covering his near post, but they accepted the quality of the second Brazilian effort and were fairly happy overall that they limited the Seleção to a one goal victory. There is a bit more confidence now ahead of the matches against Portugal and Ivory Coast, which the people of Pyongyang are eagerly anticipating.
It may surprise some people to learn that the North Koreans are keen for their southern neighbours to do well in South Africa. As mentioned previously, the Republic of Korea’s 2-0 victory over Greece was broadcast here, and the North Koreans were delighted by their performance. The Chosun Shinbo reported that, "the match where compatriots played has drawn great attention. People in Pyongyang, without an exception, cheered for the South Korean team." I noted that the Guardian’s Fan Network has a North Korean advisor claimed that South Korea would be among the North’s “least liked opponents” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/06/north-korea-world-cup-2010). This simply isn’t the case. Fair enough, most North Koreans have little time for the current South Korean government, but they see the ordinary RoK citizens as their kith and kin and don’t wish ill upon them. The same correspondent failed to list Japan in the same category, which demonstrates another lack of understanding – the Koreans absolutely despise the Japanese, even more so than the Americans, mainly due to the mistreatment and oppression they suffered at their hands during their occupation of the peninsula from 1910 to 1945. My North Korean friends were gutted to learn that Japan had won their first match, and equally disappointed when the result of the Argentina-South Korea game was relayed.
A slightly hysterical but humourous story emerged on Friday, with some press reports claiming that four North Korean players had gone missing, seemingly based on the fact that they were listed as ‘absent’ on the official team sheet ahead of the match with Brazil. However, the South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the players had since been seen taking part in a training session and the scurrilous rumour that they had attempted to defect was put to bed. Chances are that the players were simply injured and unavailable for selection, but thanks to the mystery which surrounds the DPRK (as a team and as a country) the use of the term ‘absent’ caused a few eyebrows to be raised. The likelihood of defection will be low; the players are probably genuinely loyal to the regime, and will enjoy a comfortable standard of living if they perform well in South Africa. They would have had chances to do a runner previously (they do play away matches, you know), but, as far as I’m aware, there have been no reports of this happening. In any case, there are sure to be enough minders with the squad to ensure that everyone is accounted for at all times of the day and that they’ll all be on the plane when their participation comes to an end.
All in all it has been a fascinating experience following the World Cup in Pyongyang. The few Koreans with whom foreigners can interact talk passionately and excitedly about the tournament, and it is nice to see that they are able to join the rest of the world in enjoying the spectacle.
Our Man in Pyongyang
The match report from the Rodong Shinmun newspaper referred to in this article:
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Robert Aspinall
:::2010-06-20 13:26:45
Good article, interesting insight, one slight error tho, The Korean match against Portugal was at Goodison Park, not Anfield :p
Danny Last
:::2010-06-20 13:44:50
Genuinely fascinating. A superb, welcome and obviously very rare insight. Do you ever get to go and see P´yongyang City Sports Group (평양시체육단)? If you do please get in touch. I´d love to know more about them.
Our Man in Pyongyang
:::2010-06-20 13:47:21
Robert, you are of course correct. Think I might be in need of some re-education through labour...
Cheers!
JAMES B
:::2010-06-20 17:45:51
so much to read and such a little attention span !!
Lewis Pool
:::2010-06-20 18:01:51
Absolutely fascinating. Would be great to know more about the individual players and clubs and how that works in this kind of regime. More blogs to come I hope
Tim Morgan
:::2010-06-20 20:08:08
Only the Ramble has ´a man in Pyongyang´. Hooooo
David
:::2010-06-20 20:37:06
Awesome article mate, do you get to see April 25? Are they the military side in Korea DPR, alot of the players in the squad play for them I´ve noticed.
Charlie Giggle
:::2010-06-20 21:27:58
Absolutely fascinating! Really enjoyed reading that, it´s amazing how competition exists within a societal view which despises the idea of competing...
Liselotte
:::2010-06-21 14:40:05
o-ou. Portugal - DPRK 7 - 0
Our Man in Pyongyang
:::2010-06-21 17:41:54
Cheers for all the comments! Second blog, on watching today´s game live on North Korean TV, has been submitted. With any luck the Ramblers will deem it worthy of publication.
Danny and David: I haven´t managed to make it to a domestic game here. I had requested permission to go, but this was denied. As I´m getting a taste for this blogging malarky, I might do a wee bit on the national league set-up (as far as I can understand it!), once the World Cup is over.
April 25 are indeed the team of the Korean People´s Army, but they play in Nampo, a port city some 50kms south-west of Pyongyang. Have to admit that I don´t know a lot about Pyongyang City Sports Group, but will do what I can to find out more.
All the best from PY.
Jamie
:::2010-06-22 02:57:21
Fascinating to read your blog, I’ve been interested in North Korea for a while and contemplating a trip there next year. Are their many foreigners living in the city?
As far as football goes, living in Tokyo I´ve had a lot of opportunities to see Chong Tese (who is actually a South Korean, born in Japan) and he really is a cut above all the other Asian J-league strikers, but don’t the North Korean’s mind having a foreigner as their people’s `Rooney`? It’s also interesting to note that the players all wear branded football boots etc, yet is branded equipment available in the communist country?
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