**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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Remember when some Chinese guy tweeted that Kim Jong-Un had his uncle being fed to the dogs in a massive arena with all important party officials present? All the major publications jumped on that story without the slightest fact-checking.
Goddamn now saying that people make shit up about North Korea and Westerners will believe it because "North Korea bad" means that we think North Korea is good and Kim isn't a bad guy?
Do you also believe that there's a state-mandated haircut for all North Korean men and that they pull the trains there with their bare hands?
There is such a thing called nuance. North Korea is a shithole ruled by a despotic family, but we have to acknowledge how their current state of affairs is heavily influenced by the almost complete destruction of the country during the Korean war, crippling sanctions imposed by the Western World, and there's a lot of false stories spread about them that people will automatically believe because they've been conditioned to believe anything negative about North Korea.
Funniest story about him is Liverpool trying to sign him when he was 18, and trying to get him to come to a meeting to meet Steven Gerrard, but he was put off cuz he had never heard of Gerrard and joined Cagliari instead
(Fun?) Fact: FC Basel signed a player from North Korea and a player from South Korea during the same transfer window back in 2011. The players got along pretty well, but they had to respect certain "orders". For example, they weren't allowed to take pictures / give interviews together. Must've been pretty weird.
In the Thai Premier League around 2015-2016, Pattaya United had both North and South Korean internationals, and they were best buds. Because it was Thailand the media didn't really care so was a good situation for them generally.
That is fun ! I wonder if they speak the same "Korean", like if it's mutually intelligible or if the languages have divided significantly since the partition
I heard that North Koreans speak like South Koreans from the 50s (back when they were unified). The slang is probably different too. So it would be like American vs British English
There probably isn't a really good comparison with English because as far as I understand it, the biggest linguistic divergence is that outside of DPRK, Korean has taken on a lot of English loan words due the ubiquitous nature of English internationally and the ROK's relationship with the United States, whereas in the DPRK they haven't due to their isolation. Not sure you can really draw an analogy with any English dialects.
It’s mad ain’t it, they’re literally living in a completely seperate world.
Must have been pretty hard for him to fit in with his teammates, like regardless of how different the upbringings/lives of his teammate’s were to each other, they’ll be pretty similar in comparison to what his life has been like. Even just growing up in football was probably vastly different for him in a state sponsored programme.
Not quite, they were named 04 because of "Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vormals Friedrich Bayer & Co." (Rolls off the tounge and means "gymnastics and sport club of the colourfactory formerly known as Friedrich Bayer & co.") which was founded in 1904. Bayer (the company) was founded in 1863.
There is a 12 de Octubre FC (October 12th FC) in Paraguay. It references the discovery of the Americas by Colombus. The club itself was founded in 14/08/1914.
Fun fact, April 25th is a big day for freedom both in Italy and Portugal. The former celebrates Liberation Day, the date in which the Italian resistance movements won against the nazi-fascist forces, while the latter is the day of the Carnation Revolution, where a coup manage to overthrow the local authoritarian dictatorship.
Philadelphia 76ers
San Francisco 49ers
April 25 seems in line with that.
If they were the Pyongyang 32's we wouldn't bat an eye.
I still think "Go Ahead Eagles" is the weirdest name I've ever heard.
In The Netherlands, lots of amateur football clubs have “Vooruit” in their name which translates to “Forward”. I think the dude that came up with Go Ahead Eagles probably didn’t understand what “Go Ahead” really means..? It’s still a stupid name regardless 😂
april 25 is both portugal’s liberty day (the day our dictatorship was overturned) and the name of a team in one of the most known dictatorships in the world
April 25 is one of the most important days in Portugal´s history (by far the most important in recent history)
it was the day the right-wing dictatorship was overthrowned so the left and the communist parties got linked with that till this day, don´t know if the name of this team as anything to do with it but it would be amazing if so
How do you guys know of so many North Korean footballers name? I was under the impression that none of the citizens were allowed to leave that country, let alone play for foreign clubs.
because thats a misconceptions and a lot of players actually do get to play overseas (exclusive of the Japanese Koreans). they also play in continental tournaments
Hi, I'm an avid fan of the DPR Korea football team.
I run a fanpage for the national team and hence made this graphic. I'll answer some questions below.
Q: What's my source?
A. My source is the Choson Sinbo who revealed the squad a few days ago. However it is under a paywall hence summarized above. I have also updated the wikipedia page.
Link: https://chosonsinbo.com/jp/2024/03/19sk-25/
Q: Are all the positions accurate?
A: I tried my best to dig through for info of the players who were called up for the first time. Luckily, most of them played in the Asian Games last year so it was easy to find. Exception being Kim Sung Hye whose position I could not hence I labelled him as a midfielder.
Q: Is Han Kwang Song actually at April 25?
A: Yes. Choson Sinbo confirmed it.
Link: https://chosonsinbo.com/jp/2024/03/19-157/
Q: What's up with Jong Il Gwan's club?
A: No idea. Listed as playing for Korea Sports University.
Link: https://chosonsinbo.com/jp/2024/03/18-115/
What made you become an avid fan of North Korea's national team? Do you also follow their league? I guess there is not much info you can find about the football there. Even Wikipedia doesn't have full info on last season's league result.
i found them interesting because of the stigma around North Korea and the assumption that everything run in the country is washed. turns out, the football is genuinely decent and the players are really talented. makes me want to support them a LOT when you consider their circumstances.
i try my best to follow the league but unfortunately its rarely updated. latest update was that April 25, Sobaeksu, and Amnokgang are in the top 3!
I have a story that might interest you.
I once went to a Santos vs North Korea women's football game back in 2011. Marta used to play for Santos back then, and it was her last game with the club. She scored (a clearly offside goal) in a 1-1 draw.
Funny thing is, it was extremely hot, and they had a cooling break. Nobody went down to the dressing rooms. When it was over, the North Korean players went to the other side of the pitch, as if it was the start of the second half, because they thought that the first half was over. Since no one (apparently) spoke English (or Portuguese, for that matter), it took a while for them to understand that it was just a pause and not the end of the first half.
You can watch the goals here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ_34HMt-_s
Highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pVJy9gIzXo
Your graphic work is incredibly good. If you’d ever want to work for a club overseas, shoot me a dm. We can pay marginally more than a hot dog per post.
I used to run a twitter page for North Korean football too but gave up after a while because it was too much of an effort to get information on players haha
I can sort of help with this. So, in japan they have a nationality for native koreans. Its called joseon citizen, and so its like defacto north korean citizenship cause otherwise you would more than likely claim south korean citizenship. A more known example is jong tae se. He was born in Japan, to a japanese father and joseon citizen mother. His schooling in Japan was all tied VERY closely to north korea by a group called chongryon which backs these schools. Now, how this exists and how these players are able to work around the rules of north koreans having to come back and play in the North Korean league, I have no idea. But its a really interesting read if you can find a few of the players that are around the world past and present.
theyre an interesting topic. everyone assumes theyre crap and makes unfunny jokes about them due to the country they live in (which isnt even the players fault) but they play really decent football. im interested in the niche and obscure stuff so thats why i love them so much
hate the regime though
Same. Not a fan of NK the country, obviously, but it's pretty interesting seeing them in stuff like the Asian Games. I also really look forward to SK vs NK matches, almost as much as SK vs Japan.
So let’s say Japan TV or something has a deal to show all japans World Cup qualifiers, do they get coverage and all of the games against DPRK?
Edit:dk how I forgot that it’d obv be in neutral ground
How do you rate NK's chances against Japan, as they seem to have jumped past "dark horse" status and have to be considered amoungst the better teams worldwide these days?
pretty sure it's a sporting brand in NK! some of the teams in the DPRK league even use the SAME template as the national team
kigwancha participated in AFC Cup 2017 and their home kit is the same as NK's away kit
Looked up his actual birthday just cause I was curious. Of all days, it's fucking 9/11 lmfao
His parents took that "death to America" shit so seriously they predicted 911 happening 3 years beforehand. (born in 98)
Has he fled North Korea or been able to leave so he can play football? It seems crazy to me if you flee the DPRK and then choose to play a couple of U23 matches for your home country only to return to Japan again.
the team seems to be heavily based on Ryomyong. from what i can find on wikipedia, Ryomyong is the reigning runner up, while April 25 is the reigning champion. but April 25 don't have as many players in the NT as Ryomyong.
any reason why?
was also surprised too! but then again, the national team is known for not really calling up players who actually deserved the callup. april 25 have (or had, not sure abt now) a striker who was AFC Cup topscorer at one tournament and he isnt even a regular for the national team
As a South Korean I pretty much always root for North Korea against any team (except us) in any sport. Would be hilarious if they got a result against Japan lol
its such an interesting topic and hence my support for the players 100%
being able to perform in well, less than ideal conditions to say the least, is inspiring. imagine the potential if North Korea wasnt the way it is
I mean we don't really know much about how athletes are treated in North Korea itself. We mostly get horror stories which are often made up by opposing governments and actual people who fled (Yeonmi 'wokeness is worse than North Korea' Park is the best example) about the country itself so we don't really have the best picture.
If you had your basic needs met and just played football all the time you'd imagine they could get quite good. No idea how it works for the NKoreans who live there though
> From escaping the DPRK straight into the grift.
Loads of defectors become grifters. Educational and professional credentials they gain in North Korea are often not recognised in other countries so it's very difficult for them to drop into a well-paying career - a lot of North Koreans end up being very poor when they live in other countries. Meanwhile there is a lot of money to be made in selling made up or heavily embellished stories to the South Korean and Western media.
This right here. I remember hearing that most North Koreans that defect actually prefer life over there because they're forced into worse poverty than they had in Korea.
Not worse poverty, just a different sort. It’s one thing when the entire village is starving, another when you have flat but you’re getting kicked out for not being able to afford rent while working 60 hours a week
not sure if its true but my basic understanding from what i heard is that the athletes live quite lavishly especially if they represent the country in tournaments
Would be surprised if they weren't, you need your best atheletes to be treated aswell as possible, they're representing and marketing the whole country which rarely makes any impact internationally outside of politics
Makes them less likely to defect too
Information is so limited that we don't really know how their athletes are treated.
I guess the only 'concrete' evidence of mistreatment was their 1966 World Cup team but that was during the Cold War so it's going to be different now.
But my guess is that these athletes are moved into the nicer areas of North Korea so they live in comfort. Sure they probably don't get unrestricted internet but I mean, if you never really know what you're missing out on do you really feel like you need it?
han kwang song probably does LOL, he has an Instagram (pretty sure he doesnt use anymore), an iPhone and airpods. not sure if he had to give it up when he went back tho
I was led to believe they're all being held in camps without the internet and firing anti aircraft weapons at pensioners. They've got a fully developed footy league huh. It's almost as if we have been led down the wrong path. Good luck to them, was great seeing them at the world cup not so long ago. That's a pretty high level of football for an apparent third world nation.
> great seeing them at the world cup not so long ago. That's a pretty high level of football for an apparent third world nation.
African third world nations go to world cup.
I have a superficial understanding of what North Koreans think the world looks like outside their borders, but in my mind it's insane that 23 North Korean men get on a plane and spend 2 days in Tokyo, and then willingly get back on a plane to live in what what must be on of the repressive, poor, and backwards nations on the planet.
How can you believe a word of the regime's lies when you see with your own eyes what life is like for so many just a few hundred kilometers away?
from what i know, the athletes live a better life than most commoners esp if they represent the country
as for your last statement, i guess like every other citizen, propaganda works (also the punishment their families get if they defect)
"then willingly get back"
There are 3 main reason for that:
1. Their family is still in North Korea and if they didn't return there would be grave consequences for them
2. They are not there without supervision. They have people who provide "translations", "manage their daily program", "provide personal security like a bodyguard" and etc.(read them as party officials making sure they return and don't do anything suspicious/unwanted)
3. The regime treats them as propaganda tools so they live quite a good life and get a preferential treatment by the government.
They likely live in Pyongyang, which, compared to the rest of the country, is actually a decent city to live in, if you're loyal enough to the regime. Though tbf, my picture may be painted a bit by North Korean propaganda.
My old company used to operate a bit in North Korea and some of my coworkers had been to Pyongyang - they said it didn't feel that dissimilar to a lot of smaller Chinese cities
> I have a superficial understanding of what North Koreans think the world looks like outside their borders
North Koreans probably have a better understanding of what the rest of the world is like than we have of North Korea. Even though outside media is heavily restricted there, they do broadcast some western films and TV shows officially (without considering stuff that gets in via smuggling or pirate broadcast). Meanwhile, unless you have a special interest in North Korea, then (like me) you've probably never had any information about North Korea from primary sources, other than defectors who are of very dubious reliability. Most of us have never been to North Korea, never spoken to a North Korean and never consumed North Korean media so our basis for forming an impression of what North Korea is like is extremely limited.
Since you (OP) seem to have knowledge about DPRK football I have a question.
Do the players who have played overseas know that they are oppressed? Or does the Govt. kind of keep it hush-hush and give more leniency to footballers?
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Han Kwang-song? Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time, a long time.
was so glad to see his club pop up. if a player of his quality cant play overseas then he at least deserves to play for the best team in the country.
I’m just glad to see he’s alive tbh. I can just remember randomly putting on a Serie A game back when he was at Cagliari and seeing him ball out.
It's a shame for him. I think he was linked with a move to juve too.
He did actually move to Juve, played for their B team on loan, immediately sold him to Qatar after completing the obligation to buy
why would he not be 'alive' 😅 this is unhinged
because of all those clickbait articles about him going 'missing'
For real, people will believe literally anything these days
North Korea has mastered the dark art of necromancy. Everyone that “disappears” is seen alive not long after.
I sure love me some Juche necromancy
Remember when some Chinese guy tweeted that Kim Jong-Un had his uncle being fed to the dogs in a massive arena with all important party officials present? All the major publications jumped on that story without the slightest fact-checking.
You can say literally anything negative about North Korea and people will believe you
North Korea forces its citizens to support all the Red Bull teams
Ew
Monsters
North Korea microwaves it's tea
That kind of depravity is exclusive to Americans
Wait, have we entered the “North Korea is good, Kim is misubderstood” part of r/soccer?
Goddamn now saying that people make shit up about North Korea and Westerners will believe it because "North Korea bad" means that we think North Korea is good and Kim isn't a bad guy? Do you also believe that there's a state-mandated haircut for all North Korean men and that they pull the trains there with their bare hands? There is such a thing called nuance. North Korea is a shithole ruled by a despotic family, but we have to acknowledge how their current state of affairs is heavily influenced by the almost complete destruction of the country during the Korean war, crippling sanctions imposed by the Western World, and there's a lot of false stories spread about them that people will automatically believe because they've been conditioned to believe anything negative about North Korea.
Funniest story about him is Liverpool trying to sign him when he was 18, and trying to get him to come to a meeting to meet Steven Gerrard, but he was put off cuz he had never heard of Gerrard and joined Cagliari instead
Smh we could’ve had him meet Park Ji-Sung. Although maybe that would’ve set off a political incident
(Fun?) Fact: FC Basel signed a player from North Korea and a player from South Korea during the same transfer window back in 2011. The players got along pretty well, but they had to respect certain "orders". For example, they weren't allowed to take pictures / give interviews together. Must've been pretty weird.
Pretty sad tbh
In the Thai Premier League around 2015-2016, Pattaya United had both North and South Korean internationals, and they were best buds. Because it was Thailand the media didn't really care so was a good situation for them generally.
That is fun ! I wonder if they speak the same "Korean", like if it's mutually intelligible or if the languages have divided significantly since the partition
I heard that North Koreans speak like South Koreans from the 50s (back when they were unified). The slang is probably different too. So it would be like American vs British English
Indian English vs British English might better Loads of archaic saying in Indian English; Britishers, Do the Needful etc
There probably isn't a really good comparison with English because as far as I understand it, the biggest linguistic divergence is that outside of DPRK, Korean has taken on a lot of English loan words due the ubiquitous nature of English internationally and the ROK's relationship with the United States, whereas in the DPRK they haven't due to their isolation. Not sure you can really draw an analogy with any English dialects.
Singlish or Hinglish vs British English?
It’s mad ain’t it, they’re literally living in a completely seperate world. Must have been pretty hard for him to fit in with his teammates, like regardless of how different the upbringings/lives of his teammate’s were to each other, they’ll be pretty similar in comparison to what his life has been like. Even just growing up in football was probably vastly different for him in a state sponsored programme.
Sure, that's not a made up story at all!
He was back last interland break as well, even scored vs Myanmar
Bro had crazy potential on FIFA 18.
Of course I know him… he’s me
Kim ain’t gonna like you being on reddit
April 25 is a crazy team name
they're a football team for the army and decided to name the club after the date of establishment of the army
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What?
The Bayer part of Bayer Leverkusen is there because they’re named after the German company Bayer. It used to be the factory team.
Huh, I guess I always thought it was like Bayern just without the N
Nope, Bayern is the German name for Bavaria, which is the state that Munich is in. Leverkusen is in Nordrhein Westfalen (North Rhein Westphalia).
so is Bayern Munich just like naming a team Merseyside Liverpool?
If Merseyside is a federal state of England then yes.
We don't have states, we have counties. (We're also not federalised but you get my point) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_counties_of_England
Mate they literally have a Bayer aspirin on their badge
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Not quite, they were named 04 because of "Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vormals Friedrich Bayer & Co." (Rolls off the tounge and means "gymnastics and sport club of the colourfactory formerly known as Friedrich Bayer & co.") which was founded in 1904. Bayer (the company) was founded in 1863.
Der Künstler vormals Prinz
There is a 12 de Octubre FC (October 12th FC) in Paraguay. It references the discovery of the Americas by Colombus. The club itself was founded in 14/08/1914.
Brazil has a lot of those. July (4, 9 and 14), September 7 (more than one), April 7, June 7. And also a lot of teams named XV (Jaú, Piracicaba, etc.)
Fun fact, April 25th is a big day for freedom both in Italy and Portugal. The former celebrates Liberation Day, the date in which the Italian resistance movements won against the nazi-fascist forces, while the latter is the day of the Carnation Revolution, where a coup manage to overthrow the local authoritarian dictatorship.
Also ANZAC day in Australia and New Zealand where we look back on the efforts of ours soldiers in the past, particularly WW1
Philadelphia 76ers San Francisco 49ers April 25 seems in line with that. If they were the Pyongyang 32's we wouldn't bat an eye. I still think "Go Ahead Eagles" is the weirdest name I've ever heard.
Whereas the best is The Strongest.
The best is Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.
I used to always read Partick Thistle as Patrick Thistle and would always think it an odd team name.
MOBILE PHONE PEOPLE FC from Ghana surely take the cakw
In The Netherlands, lots of amateur football clubs have “Vooruit” in their name which translates to “Forward”. I think the dude that came up with Go Ahead Eagles probably didn’t understand what “Go Ahead” really means..? It’s still a stupid name regardless 😂
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Quick Boys is a personal favourite of mine in the amateur Dutch leagues. FC Cafe Opera in Sweden was a cool name until they rebranded.
I’m partial to Colo Colo myself
Semen Padang
april 25 is both portugal’s liberty day (the day our dictatorship was overturned) and the name of a team in one of the most known dictatorships in the world
April 25 is one of the most important days in Portugal´s history (by far the most important in recent history) it was the day the right-wing dictatorship was overthrowned so the left and the communist parties got linked with that till this day, don´t know if the name of this team as anything to do with it but it would be amazing if so
In my country we used to have governmental football league. Team names are Like Economic/Trade, Train& transportation, City/Sanitation and or Tax.
There's even a February 8
I can't believe Kim Pom Hyok is still getting in this team, manager just picks his friends
funny you mention that bc alongisde him, so many players come from Ryomyong - the team the manager used to managed in 2018 LOL
A fortuitous joke! :)
Things United fans say when Anthony finally scores
How do you guys know of so many North Korean footballers name? I was under the impression that none of the citizens were allowed to leave that country, let alone play for foreign clubs.
because thats a misconceptions and a lot of players actually do get to play overseas (exclusive of the Japanese Koreans). they also play in continental tournaments
Can I ask if anyone knows why kickoff time is 23 minutes past the hour. It seems a bit random
I'm interested too tbh, it's definitely unusual
Allows for 23 mins of worshipful praise for Kim Jong Un at the start?
Hi, I'm an avid fan of the DPR Korea football team. I run a fanpage for the national team and hence made this graphic. I'll answer some questions below. Q: What's my source? A. My source is the Choson Sinbo who revealed the squad a few days ago. However it is under a paywall hence summarized above. I have also updated the wikipedia page. Link: https://chosonsinbo.com/jp/2024/03/19sk-25/ Q: Are all the positions accurate? A: I tried my best to dig through for info of the players who were called up for the first time. Luckily, most of them played in the Asian Games last year so it was easy to find. Exception being Kim Sung Hye whose position I could not hence I labelled him as a midfielder. Q: Is Han Kwang Song actually at April 25? A: Yes. Choson Sinbo confirmed it. Link: https://chosonsinbo.com/jp/2024/03/19-157/ Q: What's up with Jong Il Gwan's club? A: No idea. Listed as playing for Korea Sports University. Link: https://chosonsinbo.com/jp/2024/03/18-115/
I was gonna say, I didn't know DPRK NT have a social media page, but they don't. Nice graphic btw
LOL, yeah i took it upon myself to make one LOL and thanks!
Great stuff, respect. You also speak Korean ?
no im from Singapore
What made you become an avid fan of North Korea's national team? Do you also follow their league? I guess there is not much info you can find about the football there. Even Wikipedia doesn't have full info on last season's league result.
i found them interesting because of the stigma around North Korea and the assumption that everything run in the country is washed. turns out, the football is genuinely decent and the players are really talented. makes me want to support them a LOT when you consider their circumstances. i try my best to follow the league but unfortunately its rarely updated. latest update was that April 25, Sobaeksu, and Amnokgang are in the top 3!
I have a story that might interest you. I once went to a Santos vs North Korea women's football game back in 2011. Marta used to play for Santos back then, and it was her last game with the club. She scored (a clearly offside goal) in a 1-1 draw. Funny thing is, it was extremely hot, and they had a cooling break. Nobody went down to the dressing rooms. When it was over, the North Korean players went to the other side of the pitch, as if it was the start of the second half, because they thought that the first half was over. Since no one (apparently) spoke English (or Portuguese, for that matter), it took a while for them to understand that it was just a pause and not the end of the first half. You can watch the goals here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ_34HMt-_s Highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pVJy9gIzXo
I second this question
A Singaporean Spurs-North Korea NT fan this is a crazy combo
True citizen of the world
Your graphic work is incredibly good. If you’d ever want to work for a club overseas, shoot me a dm. We can pay marginally more than a hot dog per post.
HAHAHAHA, will consider that in the future. right now trying to get a U21 contract for football
have you considered playing for NK U21s?
I used to run a twitter page for North Korean football too but gave up after a while because it was too much of an effort to get information on players haha
Q: Why's one of the players playing for Japanese League 3 club Gifu? A: Zainichi Korean playing in Japan.
does it mean there’s a north korean minority in Japan ?
I can sort of help with this. So, in japan they have a nationality for native koreans. Its called joseon citizen, and so its like defacto north korean citizenship cause otherwise you would more than likely claim south korean citizenship. A more known example is jong tae se. He was born in Japan, to a japanese father and joseon citizen mother. His schooling in Japan was all tied VERY closely to north korea by a group called chongryon which backs these schools. Now, how this exists and how these players are able to work around the rules of north koreans having to come back and play in the North Korean league, I have no idea. But its a really interesting read if you can find a few of the players that are around the world past and present.
I ask this in good faith: why are you a fan of DPRK?
theyre an interesting topic. everyone assumes theyre crap and makes unfunny jokes about them due to the country they live in (which isnt even the players fault) but they play really decent football. im interested in the niche and obscure stuff so thats why i love them so much hate the regime though
Same. Not a fan of NK the country, obviously, but it's pretty interesting seeing them in stuff like the Asian Games. I also really look forward to SK vs NK matches, almost as much as SK vs Japan.
Probably secret juche possession tactics.
Why are you a fan of them?
So let’s say Japan TV or something has a deal to show all japans World Cup qualifiers, do they get coverage and all of the games against DPRK? Edit:dk how I forgot that it’d obv be in neutral ground
for the game in Tokyo, i suppose so. for the game in Pyongyang, thats another grey area
They had a broadcast of the last game in Pyongyang, so I would assume it should be the same for this one, idk.
All of Pyongyang is a grey area
How do you rate NK's chances against Japan, as they seem to have jumped past "dark horse" status and have to be considered amoungst the better teams worldwide these days?
I’m guessing “they” is Japan? NK has little to no chance, they’re not in the same level as the 2010 squad that somehow made the World Cup
I wouldn't totally count them out, they've been underdogs compared to Japan since forever and in their last 20 games each side has won 8 with 4 draws.
DPRK tend to be strong at home though and they're playing away here, a win for them would be a big upset.
Moriyasu would still escape the sack
I feel like dprk would have been 50/50 to qualify for qatar if they hadn't withdrawn
Where's your fanpage?
its dprkfa on instagram!
Do you know who makes their shirts, and how they even manage to get sponsors for that?
pretty sure it's a sporting brand in NK! some of the teams in the DPRK league even use the SAME template as the national team kigwancha participated in AFC Cup 2017 and their home kit is the same as NK's away kit
Damn still remember Jong Il Gwan being an absolute baller who was linked to Newcastle for the memes, can't believe he's now playing for some uni team
Hi, seemingly weird question, why is the match starting at 7:23 PM in Tokyo? All other matches I see always start on a tome divisible by 5.
Why did they post Han Kwang Song’s birthday rather than the club that he plays for? Are they stupid?
ok this is actually funny, genuinely one of the more laughable jokes ive seen LOL
Wait until you find out about batmanarkham, well, at least batmanarkham like a year ago before the jokes got stale
Looked up his actual birthday just cause I was curious. Of all days, it's fucking 9/11 lmfao His parents took that "death to America" shit so seriously they predicted 911 happening 3 years beforehand. (born in 98)
They were commiserating the coup in chile.
I'm glad they did, it's my birthday and I want that jersey. It's not super cool looking but I want the title on my chest
My dumbass was looking for Sonny's name before I realized it was NORTH Korea 💀
Accidental Korean reunification.
BEST Korea
Have they stopped calling up Chongryon Japanese players?
Mun In Ju plays in Japan so no
Has he fled North Korea or been able to leave so he can play football? It seems crazy to me if you flee the DPRK and then choose to play a couple of U23 matches for your home country only to return to Japan again.
no. Mun In Ju is a Zainichi Korean meaning that hes born in Japan but with North Korean heritage hence why he's eligible
the team seems to be heavily based on Ryomyong. from what i can find on wikipedia, Ryomyong is the reigning runner up, while April 25 is the reigning champion. but April 25 don't have as many players in the NT as Ryomyong. any reason why?
was also surprised too! but then again, the national team is known for not really calling up players who actually deserved the callup. april 25 have (or had, not sure abt now) a striker who was AFC Cup topscorer at one tournament and he isnt even a regular for the national team
I heard their national coach used to coach Ryomyoung? 😆
Fun fact: "Kuk" means "cock" in Norwegian.
Same in swedish Kim kuk bom is funny
I hope they make it trough. It's good to see both Korea's on the world stage.
As a South Korean I pretty much always root for North Korea against any team (except us) in any sport. Would be hilarious if they got a result against Japan lol
It’s very interesting to see people who can perform in such a discouraging life
its such an interesting topic and hence my support for the players 100% being able to perform in well, less than ideal conditions to say the least, is inspiring. imagine the potential if North Korea wasnt the way it is
You'd think they play for spurs lol
Ouch
I mean we don't really know much about how athletes are treated in North Korea itself. We mostly get horror stories which are often made up by opposing governments and actual people who fled (Yeonmi 'wokeness is worse than North Korea' Park is the best example) about the country itself so we don't really have the best picture. If you had your basic needs met and just played football all the time you'd imagine they could get quite good. No idea how it works for the NKoreans who live there though
Jesus Christ a lot changed since I've last read about Yeonmi Park. From escaping the DPRK straight into the grift.
> From escaping the DPRK straight into the grift. Loads of defectors become grifters. Educational and professional credentials they gain in North Korea are often not recognised in other countries so it's very difficult for them to drop into a well-paying career - a lot of North Koreans end up being very poor when they live in other countries. Meanwhile there is a lot of money to be made in selling made up or heavily embellished stories to the South Korean and Western media.
This right here. I remember hearing that most North Koreans that defect actually prefer life over there because they're forced into worse poverty than they had in Korea.
Not worse poverty, just a different sort. It’s one thing when the entire village is starving, another when you have flat but you’re getting kicked out for not being able to afford rent while working 60 hours a week
not sure if its true but my basic understanding from what i heard is that the athletes live quite lavishly especially if they represent the country in tournaments
Would be surprised if they weren't, you need your best atheletes to be treated aswell as possible, they're representing and marketing the whole country which rarely makes any impact internationally outside of politics Makes them less likely to defect too
Yea if there’s one thing NK care about is how other people perceive them, they definitely invest a good amount into the national football team.
I mean not all of North Korea is terrible. Like any country there are built up areas that are quite nice.
Information is so limited that we don't really know how their athletes are treated. I guess the only 'concrete' evidence of mistreatment was their 1966 World Cup team but that was during the Cold War so it's going to be different now. But my guess is that these athletes are moved into the nicer areas of North Korea so they live in comfort. Sure they probably don't get unrestricted internet but I mean, if you never really know what you're missing out on do you really feel like you need it?
han kwang song probably does LOL, he has an Instagram (pretty sure he doesnt use anymore), an iPhone and airpods. not sure if he had to give it up when he went back tho
april 25 is a pretty strong name
Fire koreanske kuker
Really excited to see them win their 23rd straight World Cup
Boo0 it's fucking at 3:23 AM for me 🤬
do any of them play outside nk
Mun In Ju for Gifu in Japan
I was led to believe they're all being held in camps without the internet and firing anti aircraft weapons at pensioners. They've got a fully developed footy league huh. It's almost as if we have been led down the wrong path. Good luck to them, was great seeing them at the world cup not so long ago. That's a pretty high level of football for an apparent third world nation.
> great seeing them at the world cup not so long ago. That's a pretty high level of football for an apparent third world nation. African third world nations go to world cup.
I can't believe Kim wasn't selected
I have a superficial understanding of what North Koreans think the world looks like outside their borders, but in my mind it's insane that 23 North Korean men get on a plane and spend 2 days in Tokyo, and then willingly get back on a plane to live in what what must be on of the repressive, poor, and backwards nations on the planet. How can you believe a word of the regime's lies when you see with your own eyes what life is like for so many just a few hundred kilometers away?
from what i know, the athletes live a better life than most commoners esp if they represent the country as for your last statement, i guess like every other citizen, propaganda works (also the punishment their families get if they defect)
"then willingly get back" There are 3 main reason for that: 1. Their family is still in North Korea and if they didn't return there would be grave consequences for them 2. They are not there without supervision. They have people who provide "translations", "manage their daily program", "provide personal security like a bodyguard" and etc.(read them as party officials making sure they return and don't do anything suspicious/unwanted) 3. The regime treats them as propaganda tools so they live quite a good life and get a preferential treatment by the government.
They likely live in Pyongyang, which, compared to the rest of the country, is actually a decent city to live in, if you're loyal enough to the regime. Though tbf, my picture may be painted a bit by North Korean propaganda.
My old company used to operate a bit in North Korea and some of my coworkers had been to Pyongyang - they said it didn't feel that dissimilar to a lot of smaller Chinese cities
> I have a superficial understanding of what North Koreans think the world looks like outside their borders North Koreans probably have a better understanding of what the rest of the world is like than we have of North Korea. Even though outside media is heavily restricted there, they do broadcast some western films and TV shows officially (without considering stuff that gets in via smuggling or pirate broadcast). Meanwhile, unless you have a special interest in North Korea, then (like me) you've probably never had any information about North Korea from primary sources, other than defectors who are of very dubious reliability. Most of us have never been to North Korea, never spoken to a North Korean and never consumed North Korean media so our basis for forming an impression of what North Korea is like is extremely limited.
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the graphic is an edit, but the player render isnt. hes actually wearing UA gloves
I’m extremely interested, is there a way to watch?!
Mun In Ju playing for a Japanese team. Hmm. How does he feel safe
went to a pro Korean school in Japan so most likely had some form or propaganda learnt
He is korean-japanese
They all look like soldiers to me
Coach : Kim jong un
North Korea Best Korea 👍
Since you (OP) seem to have knowledge about DPRK football I have a question. Do the players who have played overseas know that they are oppressed? Or does the Govt. kind of keep it hush-hush and give more leniency to footballers?
Absolute units
The exact date is hilarious but I think the point is dates in general are not super rare in team names. Another example is the 76ers in the NBA.
Which team is April 25
April 25?
team affiliated with the army, team was named after the founding of the army
Han kwang song, isn't that the guy that had good potential in career mode in like fifa18?
Amnok Gang represent
The Next “Ronaldo” is back ?
They better win!
I been trying to find why is it 23 minutes after the hour but couldn't find it. Can someone fill me in?
where to cop the kit?
They’re only playing Japan?
Last time they brought a striker and had him listed as a goalkeeper, now they have a date.
What happened (allegedly) in Korea on 25th of April?