Reporter Lee Seol = North Korea, which is expected to participate in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September, is actively promoting its athletic talent development.
In its June issue, the North Korean magazine Kumguksugangsan published a report on a visit to the Pyongyang International Soccer School under the title “Raising Future Soccer Players”.
According to the magazine, the Pyongyang International Football School was established in May 2013 and has a sports field, technical center, and cultural welfare facilities. North Korean soccer player Han Kwang-sung, who made waves when he joined an Italian professional soccer team, is said to be a graduate of the school.
The school “sets high standards for student selection and admits and transfers excellent students who aspire to play soccer on a national scale every year through several stages of rigorous examinations” and “focuses on training physical education faculty to develop students into intelligent and creative athletes,” according to the media.
The media also reported that the teachers and researchers at the school “have developed an integrated education management information system for soccer schools, which is used for teaching and training, and are working to further perfect the training and competition evaluation system using information means,” and that students “are learning various subjects according to each grade, acquiring multidisciplinary knowledge”.
In particular, he emphasized that “in the past period, students here have raised their game talk and game awareness through these friendly matches with youth soccer teams from other countries, and many students who have graduated from the school are playing in the first-class domestic soccer teams.”
North Korea, which is scheduled to compete in various international competitions including the Asian Games this year, has been actively emphasizing that it was engaged in sports exchanges with other countries before the COVID-19 outbreak, and that it is still paying attention to fostering its athletes. This is in line with North Korea’s recent direct and indirect indications of its willingness to participate in various international competitions. 메이저놀이터
North Korea last attended the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in Thailand in January 2020 before the border closure. It recently sent a delegation to the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where it is preparing to compete.
The country also returned to the international sports scene last month by sending two athletes to the East Asian Karate Championships in China. Fourteen North Korean athletes are on the roster for the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Grand Prix in Cuba from Sept. 19-19.