There has been an inevitable bout of speculation regarding ‘labor camps,’ ‘disciplinary punishments’ and ‘exile’ for the North Korean national football team after it lost three matches out of three at the World Cup in South Africa, on one occasion shipping seven goals without reply against Portugal in a match broadcast live in North Korea.
However, Lee Jeong Geum, mother of North Korean striker Jung Dae Sae (aka “The People’s Rooney”), has put the rumors to rest in an interview with Korea’s “Daily Sports” today, saying, “No such thing took place, and all the players were warmly welcomed in Pyongyang.”
Lee added, “Deportation? I heard that everyone in the national team, including my son, was warmly welcomed in Pyongyang. They did not do very well, but people still see it as a great achievement.”
Commenting on the security of the North Korean national players, she said, “Reports are just reports; no more, no less. His voice sounded cheerful in our most recent phone call, and he said that the atmosphere of the national team was good, too.”
Lee also gave her interpretation of a photo Jung recently posted on his personal blog, in which he had a dried fish in his mouth. The photo generated some reports that the North Korean national team did not have enough food to eat.
“He posted that picture as a joke,” Lee explained, “but apparently it was misunderstood by other people. I know that everyone on the team had more than enough to eat. Meat was often served in their side dishes, too.”
