North Korea and the World Cup

I'm not going to lie to you. I know and care as much about sports as I do about the eating habits of cave-dwelling insects. This, however, struck me:

How do you solve a problem like North Korea?

On the one hand, the team representing Kim Jong Il's brutally repressive state is providing one of the World Cup's most interesting storylines. Not much is known of this team; unlike the other 31 nations competing in South Africa, North Korea and its players are seen little outside of their international appearances.

Their "star" is striker Jong Tae-se, the North Korean "Wayne Rooney" (perhaps not the most flattering of comparisons anymore). Jong was born to South Korean parents, currently living in Japan. This is a player who cries during the DPRK anthem yet enjoys expensive shoes and cars in a foreign country. He is likely a source of profound fascination for his infinitely less-fortunate teammates, who must return north of the demilitarized zone, and is just one example of the sometimes bizarre and contradictory nature of this squad.

In a sense, North Korea is an underdog's underdog. It has evoked memories of the North Korean wonderteam at the 1966 World Cup. It has a bizarre fan from Portsmouth who travels to all its international games. It trained in a public gym in Johannesburg ahead of the Brazil match because of lack of funds for facilities. And, his team two goals down to one of the best sides in World Cup history, a hitherto unknown Ji Yun Nam managed to score a memorable goal against five-time winners Brazil. If you're going to ironically support a weird but "plucky" nation at this World Cup, North Korea will be your first choice.

I do feel badly that (aside from playboy Jong Tae-Se) even though the North Korean team (at least some part of them) play for the love of the sport, they will no doubt be eliminated from the games and return to a hellish existence under the fat, blood-stained hands of Kim Jong-Il. However, just as we should not have legitimised China's getting the summer Olympics, we should not treat North Korea as some kind of athletic curiosity. As I said before, there must be some part of the North Korean players that loves soccer and plays for the thrill of it. There is also the ugly official party line of representing and supporting a regime as awful as the North Korean one.

How curious that the World Cup is played in a country that was anathema in sports circles because of the ugliness of apartheid. Where has the courage of convictions gone?