The women’s team from North Korea Naegohyang arrived in South Korea on Sunday, as part of the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League, an opportunity seized by Seoul to celebrate “mutual understanding” between the two countries.
The 39 players and staff members landed at Incheon International Airport, marking the first visit in eight years of a North Korean sports team to its southern neighbor. They were greeted by a crowd of journalists and supporters waving welcome banners, observed an AFP journalist. “I came here today to welcome the players of Naegohyang team, who are visiting South Korea for the first time in eight years,” said AFP Choi Young-ok, a member of a citizen group.
However, she expressed reservations about an improvement in relations between the two Koreas through this sports meeting. “Although I hope it will help, I don’t think this match alone will solve anything significant if the fundamental issues between the two parties are not addressed,” she said, without providing further details. The players quickly boarded a bus, which set off under police escort. Naegohyang FC (“My hometown” in Korean), based in Pyongyang, will face Suwon FC in the AFC Women’s Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday. Founded in 2012, the club won the North Korean championship title in the 2021-2022 season and defeated Suwon 3-0 in last year’s group stage.
Drapeaux interdits
The North Korean delegation arrived via Beijing on an Air China commercial flight and is expected to stay at a hotel in Suwon, south of Seoul. According to local media, the North and South Korean teams will use separate restaurant rooms and travel itineraries, thus limiting direct interactions. The match has generated high interest: the 7,000 tickets sold out within hours. The game will take place at the Suwon Sports Complex, which has a capacity of just under 12,000 seats.
The South Korean Ministry of Unification has also funded civil associations that plan to support both teams during the match, seeing this event as an opportunity to promote “mutual understanding between the two Koreas.” These associations have discussed encouragement guidelines with the authorities beforehand, as displaying the North Korean national flag in public is prohibited in South Korea under the National Security Law. In previous similar events, flags representing the Korean peninsula were waved.
Women’s football is one of the sports where North Korea excels the most. Its national team currently ranks 11th in the FIFA women’s ranking, far ahead of the men’s team, which is at the 118th position.
