<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
South Korea initiated working-level contact with North Korea
\nlast month on the 17th because of their athletes and cheering squad\u2019s
\nparticipation in the Asian Games. However, North Korea bowed out of the
\nmeeting, citing a problem with the South’s attitude toward the
\nnegotiations, and thus, the talks were closed without any clear settlement.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, both sides continued detailed discussions about
\nissues with the Incheon Asian Games and North Korea\u2019s participation through
\nwriting. Through this process, the South discovered that there are no issues
\nwith the participation of the North\u2019s athletic delegation to the games.<\/p>\n
Moving forward, North Korea notified South Korea, on August
\n22nd, that they will be sending 273 athletes to the games, which will be
\nheld on September 19th, while also alluding to the comprehensive training the
\nathletes are undergoing. <\/p>\n
Recently, Kim Jong Eun even went directly to a game to vet
\nmale and female athletes for the soccer teams that will participate in the
\nIncheon Asian Games, showing how invested North Korea is in the
\ncompetition. <\/p>\n
Daily NK sought to find out how the North Korean national
\nathletic team participating in the upcoming Asian Games is organized
\nand managed, by interviewing a North Korean defector and former member of North
\nKorea\u2019s National Physical Education Organization, Mr. Oh Deok Heung [alias,
\ndefected in 2008].<\/p>\n
Daily NK [DNK]: How is the national athletic team that is
\ngoing to participate in the Asian Games organized?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Mr. Oh Deok Heung [ODH]: The national athletic team is
\ncomposed of people of the greatest talent and ability and are picked from
\ndifferent physical education organizations. It is organized with the goal of
\nparticipating in an international sporting event. The Chosun Committee for
\nPhysical Education selects players one year before the international sporting
\nevent is to take place.<\/p>\n
After the athletes are selected from their
\norganizations, they train, live, and eat together for one year, returning to
\ntheir individual organizations after the international sporting event. Because
\nthe national athletic team can consist of athletes that do all kinds of sports
\nfrom soccer and boxing to swimming, judo, and archery, they are organized into
\nwhat is called the \u201cNational Physical Education Collective\u201d, which is located
\nin Pyongyang City in the Pyeongcheon District.<\/p>\n
DNK: Where does the selection process for the national
\nteam\u2019s athletes take place, and which physical education organization are they
\nselected from?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
ODH: The national team\u2019s athletes are selected by the
\nChosun Physical Education Committee. Athletes are mainly selected from the 4.25
\nPhysical Education Organization (affiliated with the Ministry of the People\u2019s
\nArmed Forces), the Pyongyang City Physical Education Organization, the Amrok
\n[Yalu] River Physical Education Organization (affiliated with security), the
\nGigwan Physical Education Organization (affiliated with the railways, and the
\nMinistry of Railways), the Wolmido Physical Education Organization (affiliated
\nwith the guard command), the Chosun Physical Education University\u2019s Physical
\nEducation Organization, and the Ocean Physical Education Organization, amongst
\nothers.<\/p>\n
All of these physical education organizations are in
\nPyongyang City, and they pick the country\u2019s most talented young adults, who are
\nthen systematically educated and trained.<\/p>\n
DNK: Who coaches the athletes on the national team after
\nthey have been selected?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
ODH: The coach comes from the organization where the
\nmost athletes were selected. For example, if the female soccer players that
\nwill participate in the upcoming Asian Games were selected from the Gigwan
\nPhysical Education Organization, their coach from the Gigwan Physical Education
\nOrganization would be the coach that is responsible for the national team. The
\ncoach would also be responsible for the soccer team\u2019s training until the match.
\nHowever, the Chosun Physical Education Committee takes care of the general
\nmanagement of the teams.<\/p>\n
In 1990, when the chairman of the Physical Education
\nCommittee, Kim Yoo Soon, became a foreign ambassador, Park Myung Chul took his
\nplace. Park Myung Chul was famous in the 50s and 60s in Japan\u2019s pro-wrestling
\ncircles and is the son-in-law of Yeok Do San (also known as Kim Sil Lak). He
\ngraduated from the Chosun Physical Education University (formerly the Pyongyang
\nPhysical Education University), and has been the National Physical Education
\nCommittee\u2019s director and vice-chairman, as well as the chairman of North
\nKorea\u2019s Soccer Association.<\/p>\n
DNK: Where do the athletes of the national team live?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
ODH: The athletes sleep and eat at the Changkwangsan Hotel,
\nwhere they are under military-like regulations and strict control. Their food
\nis different from the regular physical education teams. They get the best food,
\nincluding beef, and all their meals are based on a specific diet and calorie
\ncount. You can say that they basically get the best of the best.<\/p>\n
DNK: Are the athletes\u2019 songbun [family political background and loyalty] investigated?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
ODH: Of course. If there\u2019s even one relative that is of
\nquestionable character, they cannot be selected as an athlete for the national
\nteam, no matter how talented they are. Also, if they have relatives residing
\noutside of North Korea, they cannot participate in an international sporting
\nevent. There can be an exception if they have participated in an event before
\nand gotten first place, but those kinds of cases are not common.<\/p>\n
DNK: What kind of benefits do they receive if they get first
\nplace at an international sporting event?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
ODH: They don\u2019t give the actual prize money to athletes
\nthat win a gold medal at international sporting events. However, and it can
\nvary depending on what kind of international sporting event it is, but they
\ngive about $5,000 to the first place winners. The actual prize money won at the
\nevent is given directly to North Korea.<\/p>\n
Jung Sung Ok, the female marathon gold medalist in the 1999
\nIAAF World Championships in Athletics, was given a Mercedes-Benz worth $50,000
\nby Kim Jong Il and was also given the right to reside in Pyongyang City as well
\nas a house.<\/p>\n
DNK: Which physical education organization do athletes
\nprefer?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
ODH: It depends on the individual athlete\u2019s standards and
\ngoals. For example, if an athlete wants to live in Pyongyang, he or she might
\nwant to join the Gigwan Physical Education Organization. If an athlete wants to
\nbe a professional athlete, he or she would want to join the 4.25 Physical Education
\nOrganization.<\/p>\n
The 4.25 Physical Education Organization is of a higher
\ncaliber than other organizations and a trailblazer in its own right. The
\nOrganization\u2019s director is raising its status by acquiring the newest physical
\neducation equipment and facilities. However, competent athletes selected from
\nrural areas prefer the Gigwan Physical Education Organization because, if
\nselected, they are given the right to live in Pyongyang City. There are many
\nfamous athletes from the Gigwan Physical Education Organization.<\/p>\n
The Gigwan Physical Education Organization, affiliated with
\nthe Ministry of Railways, had such a sharp increase in members that they needed
\na bigger training field. The field has been newly constructed in the Daedong
\nRiver District in front of the YangKakDo Hotel. The Pyongyang City Physical
\nEducation Organization also gives their athletes the right to reside in
\nPyongyang after they have retired. Athletes from the 4.25 Physical Education
\nOrganization, Amnok [Yalu] River Physical Education Organization and others, return to
\ntheir respective hometowns after retirement.<\/p>\n
DNK: When do athletes from the national team retire, and
\nwhat benefits do they receive?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
ODH: The retirement age for athletes in physical education
\norganizations is 27 or 28. However, if they have great athletic ability, they
\ncontinue their careers until they are about 34. Athletes are given the benefit
\nof attending the university of their choice after retirement. Different
\nphysical education organizations of different universities secretly compete for
\nthese athletes.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If an athlete wants to coach after retiring from the
\nnational team, they must graduate from the Chosun Physical Education University
\nto become a national coach. There aren\u2019t many athletes who want to become a
\ncoach after retiring and graduating from the Chosun Physical Education
\nUniversity. This is because during the Kim Jong Il regime, artists were
\npreferred over athletes, and thus, were more popular. With Kim Jong Eun\u2019s
\nregime, however, it seems like athletes are starting to get more attention.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Korea initiated working-level contact with North Korea last month on the 17th because of their athletes and cheering squad\u2019s participation in the Asian Games. However, North Korea bowed out of the meeting, citing a problem with the South’s attitude toward the negotiations, and thus, the talks were closed without any clear settlement. Afterwards, both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":28260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n