The North Korean Footballer Who Disappeared
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Published 2024-02-11
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North Koreaâs first international star, Han Kwang-song, was the first North Korean to score in Serie A, but in 2020 he disappeared. He disappeared for three and a half years.
Last seen playing for North Korea in a World Cup qualifier in Saudi Arabia, what happened to him? Where did he go? Why did he disappear?
James Montague explains, Craig Silcock illustrates.
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#NorthKorea #SerieA #Football
All Comments (21)
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Thanks to those who pointed it out. Yes, we've used an old map here that incorrectly shows the territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. Apologies for that, we'll find out how that happened. Have a good week everyone, Tifo.
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If I had a nickel for every time North Korean players got interest from major Italian football clubs, I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice
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Thatâs nothing, Moises Caicedo has been missing ever since he moved to London
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Someone has to look into that academy NoKor has set up cause getting 2 players signed by serie a clubs is a good enough achievement considering that academies in the AFC arenât well known especially in the top 5 leagues in europe. Couple that with good showings by both menâs and womenâs teams after a lengthy suspension and you really wonder how on earth did NoKor got back on track this quickly.
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I'm not sure if it's correct to say that Han Kwang-song is the first international star for North Korea. That honour probably goes to Jong Tae-se. You probably remember him for his open display of emotions in the 2010 World Cup when the North Korean anthem was being played. In his career, he played in Japan, Germany and South Korea. To this day, he appears in South Korean reality/variety shows. He showcases his football skills. Politics is not discussed.
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This guy was a goat for me in fifa 18 career mode
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5:36 TIFO casually making a Hydrogen Bomb pun đ
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So he disappeared for three years (during Covid)⌠which is honestly an apt description of most of our lives đ
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Aside from Han, the other highly profiled NK player should be Pak Kwang-ryong. Not many know about Pak because he hasn't reached the high levels Han did but Pak played in Austria and Switzerland and had played there for about a decade. He was also the first North Korean to appear in the Champions League. Being able to form a decade long career in Europe should be discussed about more with no discredit to Han. Both Pak and Han are phenomenal.
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Another great and enlightening video from Tifo đ
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He was so good on fifa 18 career mode
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weird pronunciation of jong un
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we want a video on the controversy of the asian cup 2024 final!! qatar vs jordan!!
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Nice video, but prior to be in Italy, those korean players were send to a football academy in Barcelona. They went to Italy from there.
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Disappeared is an interesting word to use
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Erm, so as long as someone who doesn't have or provide update on their social media, and comes from North Korea, will be deemed as "gone missing". Why am I not surprised that I wasted 7 mins of my life watching a video that in the end appeared that nothing happened and is the case for most footballers and people.
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I felt bad for him that he had to return to North Korea
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That was depressing
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Chinese here. We do have some medicines that might sound weird to you, but some of them actually work. But throughout my whole life, I have never heard of anything that cures people after a lightning strike.
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2:02 if you're going to mention politics, the sanctions on Korea by the West led by America should be contrasted with the capital invested in South Korea by the same countries.
