North Korea: Champions of the World (Part 2)



Analysis North Korea: Champions of the World (Part 2) Gerard Clare March 16, 2012 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON NK News While it has been common for ‘socialist’ countries to have paid great attention to sporting achievement, as a means of displaying strength and attaining prestige in lieu of military conflict, North Korea has not traditionally fared well in this area. The women’s team has admittedly achieved far greater success and achievement on the football pitch than their male counterparts, winning the FIFA U20 WC in Russia in 2006. Aside Japan, they are the dominant force in Asia. This however has been overshadowed in recent times with a drugs scandal that saw five players found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs, and © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

Analysis

North Korea: Champions of the World (Part 2)

Gerard Clare March 16, 2012

NK News

While it has been common for ‘socialist’ countries to have paid great attention to sporting achievement, as a means of displaying strength and attaining prestige in lieu of military conflict, North Korea has not traditionally fared well in this area. The women’s team has admittedly achieved far greater success and achievement on the football pitch than their male counterparts, winning the FIFA U20 WC in Russia in 2006. Aside Japan, they are the dominant force in Asia. This however has been overshadowed in recent times with a drugs scandal that saw five players found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs, and

About the Author

Gerard Clare

Gerard Clare is a research student at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, specialising in issues of regionalism and centre-periphery relations in the Russian Far East, including how citizens on the periphery can identify with central representations of what it means to be Russian, and in what ways these representations may conflict with regional identities. His knowledge extends through to Russia-DPRK relations in the post-Soviet era, with particular focus on engagement, expectations and wider themes around energy and security. He has previously completed both his undergraduate degree in Central and East European Studies in 2011, and his MSc in Russian, Central and East European studies in 2012, at the University of Glasgow. He has contributed a number of articles to NKNews since 2011, looking at Russia-DPRK relations, Six-Party Talks and even football within the DPRK.

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