World Cup Highlights: the North Korean team.
Surely, this is a more appropriate image for the North Korean World Cup team? But that looks a little too normal — a just celebration for an accomplishment in their Athletic Endevor, never mind the backstory for the nation they’re representing.
An overall focus on the team’s relationship with the country.
Seemingly randomly selected soccer matches from overseas leagues are shown every weekend on the Mansudae cultural channel (only broadcast at weekends). Average North Koreans don’t get much of a chance to see high level men’s football featuring their own national team as, quite frankly, the men’s team has been pretty terrible for years. […]
Professional footballers in North Korea don’t enjoy the same rock star level of fame as they do in England and elsewhere, but then neither do North Korean rock stars! The average person would struggle to name more than one or two of the team, and they enjoy relative anonymity on the street.
Their private lives remain outside of the public eye as well, with no news of their WAGS, any naughty off-field antics, or even reports of any rampant conspicuous consumption.
Football is never televised live in the DPRK. Games are generally shown one or two days later at prime time on the state TV channel. Thus far in this world cup highlights packages of all the games – except the South Korea v Greece match – have been shown on the state TV channel.
It was enough to cause a controversy about just who the North Korean contigency of fans in South Africa really were.Â
Fifa officials and millions of television viewers were surprised when rows of red-clad “North Koreans” took their seats, believing the harsh regime had allowed its citizens freedom to travel.
But one fan, Kim Yong Chon, 43, who said he was North Korean, told reporters his group of 300 had been carefully chosen by the North Korean government.
Although they sang their national anthem loudly, the group tended only to cheer when directed by a man who stood before them like an orchestra’s conductor.
Meanwhile, another party of fans confirmed rumours they were Chinese, having obtained tickets through a Chinese sports PR agency, authorised to sell part of the North Korean allocation of 1,400 seats.
Dubbed the “fans volunteer army”, they included dancers, musicians and other artists and said they were happy to don the North Korean national colours.
One Brazilian fan said: “I spoke with them. They had come from Beijing and knew nothing about football or the World Cup. They said they were supporting their Communist cousins and were happy to be there.”
Meanwhile, in North Korea, somehow or other this fell by the wayside.
The Supreme Leader has ordered state-run television not to broadcast live games, and to only screen highlights of North Korea’s victories.
The ruling means that 99 per cent of the country’s 29 million population will not be able to find out who wins the competition unless the 350-1, outsiders win it.
Games between other nations will be banned from the airwaves, while any highlights of North Korea’s matches will be heavily edited to ensure that they look like the better team.
Under the principals of juche. Apparently all hyped up over a decent peformance against Brazil, they relented and broadcast — live — the following game against Portugal. What was the Totalitarian regime of North Korea thinking? Here’s the game they ended up broadcasting on live national television.
On a rain-soaked afternoon on South Africa’s Western Cape, Portugal ended its goal drought in spectacular style, sweeping to a 7-0 win over North Korea — the highest score of the tournament so far — and grabbing a commanding position to qualify out of Group G.
The victory, which was even more one-sided than the scoreline suggests, means that barring the heaviest of defeats against Brazil on Friday and a big Ivory Coast win over North Korea, Portugal is almost certain to join Brazil in the knockout round.
“It was a great day for Portuguese football,” said Carlos Queiroz, the Portuguese coach. “The players played in a wonderful way, with a great attitude and we scored some beautiful goals. Now we have to be more ambitious for the next phase.”
The message that Kim Jong Il had meant to relay:
“We will achieve a good success in this World Cup, therefore giving pleasure to our great General (Kim Jong Il) and proving ourselves worthy of the expectations of the Korean people,” the coach told APTN as the team departed Pyongyang last month to the cheers and applause of well-wishers.
was hampered, quick thinking on the broadcasters’ part:
As the 7-0 loss to Portugal concluded, the North Koreans quickly halted Monday’s coverage. ‘The Portuguese won the game and now have four points,’ the Korean Central Broadcasting commentator said. ‘We are ending our live broadcast now.’
It then cut to factory workers and engineers praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.”
After that, there was nary a mention in the state media. Though, this is a good positive spin.
In a sport where fans follow their favorite players’ every move, the North Koreans’ names are so unfamiliar that almost no one noticed that coach Kim listed a top striker as a goalkeeper when he submitted his final World Cup squad.
I have to wonder if maybe a conspiracy abounded that resulted in the epic loss.
Kim Myong-won, Kim Kyong-il, An Choi-hyok and Pak Sung-hyok tried to defect before their opening group game against Brazil, but the players mysteriously turned up for training Friday much to the surprise of the World Cup Journalists.
The four players had been marked absent on the team sheet for the Brazil encounter, but a spokesman for the team said they thought they were only allowed to name 18 players in the squad just like their last tournament the AFC Challenge Cup. But I can’t see this as the end of this story.
Manager Kim Jong-hun denies the players tried to defect and the manager recently snapped at a South Korean journalist who accidentally referred to them as North Korea. Kim snapped “There’s no such country called North Koreaâ€. Showing the touchiness of the North Korean coach.
Quick. Replacement players!
In the end, with underpinnings of menace that we can shove aside, it made for a good curiosity in South Africa. I should only want a hopeful answer to such a question as this, and leave it at that.