‘I like Messi’: What North Koreans think of soccer beyond their borders



Features ‘I like Messi’: What North Koreans think of soccer beyond their borders The country’s relative openness to sports allows DPRK fans to follow superstars and take inspiration from their feats Shreyas Reddy \| Yeji Chung December 28, 2022 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON North Korean state television broadcasts Lionel Messi's moment of World Cup triumph \| Image: KCTV (Dec. 19, 2022) Soccer fans across North Korea have tuned into state TV over the past week and a half for repeated replays of the World Cup final, watching Lionel Messi lead Argentina to victory in a thrilling penalty shootout over defending champions France. And if state propaganda is to be believed, many North Koreans likely celebrated the storybook ending to the Argentine superstar’s World Cup saga. The YouTube channel “Olivia Natasha – YuMi Space DPRK daily,” which is linked to the Pyongyang-based Sogwang Media Company, recently uploaded a video about the World Cup in which the host asks people about their © 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

Features

‘I like Messi’: What North Koreans think of soccer beyond their borders

The country’s relative openness to sports allows DPRK fans to follow superstars and take inspiration from their feats

Shreyas Reddy | Yeji Chung December 28, 2022

‘I like Messi’: What North Koreans think of soccer beyond their borders

North Korean state television broadcasts Lionel Messi's moment of World Cup triumph | Image: KCTV (Dec. 19, 2022)

Soccer fans across North Korea have tuned into state TV over the past week and a half for repeated replays of the World Cup final, watching Lionel Messi lead Argentina to victory in a thrilling penalty shootout over defending champions France.

And if state propaganda is to be believed, many North Koreans likely celebrated the storybook ending to the Argentine superstar’s World Cup saga.

The YouTube channel “Olivia Natasha – YuMi Space DPRK daily,” which is linked to the Pyongyang-based Sogwang Media Company, recently uploaded a video about the World Cup in which the host asks people about their

About the Authors

Shreyas Reddy

Shreyas Reddy is the Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. He previously worked as a researcher at BBC Monitoring, where his work focused on news and key people and organizations from the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Follow him on Twitter.

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Yeji Chung

Yeji Chung is a research intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former news trainee at NK News. She graduated from George Washington University with a bachelor's degree in political science and government.

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