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The 2022 World Cup in Qatar came to an end on Sunday, with Argentina lifting the World Cup trophy. South Korea advanced to the round of 16 after coming from behind to beat Portugal in the final group stage. Against all the odds, South Korea miraculously earned its ticket to the knockout stage. In the early morning of December 6, when South Korea took on Brazil in the round of 16, football fans in Korea braved the freezing weather and filled Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul to enthusiastically root for their team. Although South Korea lost to Brazil 4-1 in the tough game, the Korean fans still comforted and cheered for the national team players, who fought hard. 

North Korea, meanwhile, had pulled out of this year’s World Cup qualifiers due to COVID-19 concerns. Today, we’ll talk about how North Korea enjoys the global football festival as well as this particular sport, with Dr. Heo Jeong-pil at Dongguk University’s Institute for North Korean Studies. 

Does North Korea broadcast World Cup games, just like many countries around the world? The answer is yes. 

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central Television delivered the news about the opening ceremony of this year’s World Cup. 

During the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar, one of the scenes that captivated the viewers all over the world was Jungkook of the K-pop superband BTS performing “Dreamers” from the official World Cup soundtrack. Just three days after it was released, the new track topped songs charts in more than 100 countries. Analysts say that the performance opened a new horizon, namely, the extraordinary encounter between K-pop and the World Cup. 

However, North Korea never mentioned the special performance. For this year’s World Cup, North Korea received recorded versions of the World Cup games from broadcasters in the South like KBS, SBS, and MBC which it edited and then broadcasted some of them over its state-run television channel. 

North Korea did not include matches involving South Korea, the U.S. and Japan in the group stage from its World Cup broadcast lineup. Also, the North introduced South Korea in Group H simply as “one team.” 

The state television blurred out the names of South Korean companies and the image of the South Korean national flag of Taegeukgi. It even erased U.S. advertisements. 

It seems North Korea intentionally omitted the games involving its political enemies, namely, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, from its World Cup coverage as the three countries generally map out their North Korea policy based on their three-way alliance. 

North Korea, just like many other countries, is greatly interested in football. It would broadcast pre-recorded World Cup matches in the past to provide its citizens with something to view and enjoy. I guess the North aired some World Cup matches in Qatar to let its people forget about their difficult economic situation, even for a while, and to promote North Korea as a normal state that broadcasts World Cup games. 

But North Korea did broadcast a game between South Korea and Brazil. Its state TV introduced Son Heung-min as the captain of the South Korean team and analyzed the game in a relatively neutral tone. It highlighted South Korean player Paik Seung-ho who scored a goal, showing the scene again. 

Now, let’s review North Korea’s past World Cup record. North Korea joined FIFA in 1958. It stunned the world by beating soccer giant Italy and advancing to the quarterfinals at the 1966 World Cup in England to become the first Asian country to achieve the feat. 

The surprising result was included in the list of World Cup upsets chosen by FIFA’s official content platform at this year’s World Cup in Qatar. 

North Korea was quite lucky at the 1966 World Cup. At the time, FIFA decided to give only one place to three continents each: Africa, Asia and Oceania in the line-up for the 16-team finals. In protest of the discriminatory World Cup arrangement for Africa and Asia, African teams and South Korea boycotted the World Cup. North Korea competed in a play-off match against Australia to eventually qualify for the finals. In the round of 16, North Korea lost to the Soviet Union 3-0, ended in a 1-1 draw with Chile and beat Italy 1-0 to reach the second round. North Korea was so happy with the feat that it has produced various videos related to the dramatic victory and shown them to the public. 

It took 44 years for North Korea to return to the biggest football stage at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It was grouped with Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast in Group G, which was widely regarded as the “group of death.” But the coach of the North Korean team expressed his ambition to beat Brazil 3-0. 

At the time, the North Korean national football team had two Japanese-born North Korean football players, Jong Tae-se and An Yong-hak, who played for the Japanese J-League, raising expectations that the team could progress to the round of 16. North Korea even broadcast live coverage of its match with Portugal. Unfortunately, it failed to make it past the group stage. 

These days, North Korea is known to air pre-recorded games of professional football leagues in other countries, including the English Premier League and Bundesliga. According to North Korean defectors, local residents can buy videos of world-renowned footballers at the market. 

At the market in the North, you can find a lot of videos of famous football players such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing not only at the World Cup but in their own teams. The videos are available in the form of CDs. I remember I bought them to see their games. 

North Korean media reported that the Premier Football League 2022-2023 season kicked off on December 2. Under North Korea’s Football Association, the league consists of the Premier Football League, League 2 and League 3, both for men and women. 

There is no professional football league in North Korea. The Premier League has about 15 teams, including April 25 Sports Club, while League 2 and League 3 consist of 40 teams and 80 teams, respectively. The Premier League is the top-tier of the North Korean football system and League 3 is the lowest. Those who belong to the Premier League are excellent players and receive good treatment. Players in a league rarely move to another league. 

In the Kim Jong-un era, North Korea has created new football teams under the party, the military and enterprises, and also in cities and counties. 

Since Kim Jong-un came to power, North Korea has stressed the need to build a “sports powerhouse.”

North Korean media have often reported news about Kim Jong-un watching football games to highlight the leader’s keen interest in this sport. 

Under Kim Jong-un’s rule, North Korea has produced many more books, films and TV series about football, compared to the past. The country has improved relevant systems, as seen in the establishment of a football academy in Pyongyang, reflecting its growing interest in the sport. 

There are many episodes about the top leaders’ love for football in North Korea. Kim Jong-un has recently unveiled an episode about his grandfather and regime founder Kim Il-sung. In the middle of the Korean War in 1951, Kim Il-sung joined a football game with military commanders after holding a meeting with them. He was wearing uniform number 16. North Korea is actively making this story known to the public. Also during a New Year’s speech on January 1, 2011, former leader Kim Jong-il said football suits Koreans’ constitution and the sport is loved by all the people. It shows that the former leader also adored football. 

From early years in office, current leader Kim Jong-un gave full support to football. North Korea set up the Pyongyang International Football School in 2013 to train football prodigies systematically and nurture them as global players. 

Children who were admitted to the prestigious football academy feel very proud. 

Some brilliant students at the school are sent to academies in Spain on government scholarships, while foreign coaches are invited to the school. Indeed, North Korea is keen to train super-talented players. 

Under the vision of former leader Kim Jong-il and current leader Kim Jong-un’s instruction, the Pyongyang International Football School opened in 2013. Seven coaches there have participated in multiple international matches as a holder of the highest level of coaching accreditation given by the Asian Football Confederation. North Korea claims that the school, under state support, trains students in a scientific way to cultivate top players. Students who are admitted to the school after rigorous screening have to complete an eleven-year course, which consists of the primary class, the beginner’s class and the advanced class. With the purpose of encouraging the students to play abroad, the school attaches importance to English education. This is one of the distinctive parts of the school. 

During the Japanese colonial rule of Korea, football teams from the two major cities, Seoul and Pyongyang, held friendly matches. The event was known as Gyeong-Pyong Football Series. At the time, Seoul was also called Gyeongseong, and the name of the event, Gyeong-Pyong, took the first character of each city’s name. 

Pyongyang won the inaugural event in October 1929, while Gyeongseong beat Pyongyang 2-1 the following year. The games returned in 1933 but the inter-city football rivalry was suspended by the Japanese. The last match was held in 1946, a year after Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial occupation. The event no longer took place, due to the division of Korea. 

After South and North Korea held a friendly football match in 1990, inter-Korean football games emerged as a new venue for cross-border exchanges. 

South and North Korea held football matches of workers in the 1990s and the 2000s, alternately in Seoul and Pyongyang. The tradition of inter-Korean workers’ football games continued in Pyongyang in 2015 and in Seoul in 2018. As the name indicates, the football games were not for professional players. Rather, they were some kind of exchange program involving amateurs from the two sides. In the Kim Jong-un era in North Korea, the country has continued to create and hold athletic events joined by the general public. Sports events like these, if jointly held by the two Koreas, will greatly contribute to restoring national homogeneity and promoting communication between the two sides. 

Reports by North Korean media indicate that the country has shown growing interest in football, while providing greater support to the sport. Experts say that in a sport like football, individual capabilities are important, of course, but it is equally important to understand global trends. 

North Korea has refused to participate in international sports events since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. For North Korean football to grow further, it seems necessary for the country to give support to the sport and also actively interact with the international community.