Why Its Awful Playing for North Korea

For the first time since 1966, North Korea has qualified for the World Cup. The national team is ranked last in the world and due to the extreme insular nature of the state little is known about the squad. Only three of its players compete outside of the totalitarian nation: in Japan and Russia.

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For many, if not most, of the players going to South Africa this will be the first time they will lay eyes on a modern society. When the player who competes in Japan showed his teammates his mobile phone they were stunned for they never saw anything like that. It is hard to overstate just how isolated North Korea is and how brainwashed most of the population is under the deranged leadership of Kim Jong-Il.

The people are made to revere their leader and to be willing to sacrifice their lives for him. Kim Jong-Il is that state religion and "god" for the people, thus all matters of individual effort must be directed toward subservience in the name of the "leader".

Thus it was not surprising to see North Korean players cry during the national anthem. Many national players get emotions, especially the first time, when the anthem is called and it is hard to resist an upsurge of patriotism. But the manner in which the Korean players cried was so unsettling. It was as if they felt that if they lost it would be a horrific national shame, they've let down their "leader", with great consequences to be waiting back home.

They are playing out of fear, not love for the game. And that is why it sucks to play for North Korea: Because if you lose you may very well suffer great punishment if not loss of life. Family and friends may ostracize you and Kim Jong-Il may proscribed the punishment himself. It's scary playing with that fear. Loss of a game is not just simply that. But a national dishonor and may lead to death.