From selfies to saber-rattling: Chill in South-North ties plays out in frosty football match
Published: 21 May. 2026, 13:06
Updated: 21 May. 2026, 13:17
Naegohyang Women's FC's Pak Hyon-jong attempts a header that is blocked by Suwon FC Women's goalkeeper Kim Kyeong-hee during an AFC Women's Champions League semifinal at Suwon Sports Complex in Jangan District, Suwon, on May 20. [NEWS1]
North Korea's Naegohyang Women's FC came from behind to defeat South Korea's Suwon FC Women 2-1 in a rain-lashed AFC Women's Champions League semifinal at Suwon Sports Complex on Wednesday, a bruising contest that laid bare the deep chill in inter-Korean relations.
The win sent the Pyongyang-based club into Saturday's final against Tokyo Verdy Beleza at the same venue, and ended Suwon's bid for the Asian title.
The match was a physical war of attrition from the opening whistle. Naegohyang's Kim Song-ok and Choe Yon-a were both booked for hard tackles in a contest more reminiscent of a wrestling bout than a football match.
Suwon dominated the first half, rattling the woodwork twice without a breakthrough.
Suwon's Japanese striker, Haruhi Suzuki, finally put the hosts ahead in the 49th minute. But Naegohyang hit back through Choe Kum-ok in the 55th minute and prolific striker Kim Kyong-yong in the 67th. Suwon captain Ji So-yun then dragged a penalty wide in the 79th minute, sealing the loss.
Naegohyang Women's FC players celebrate after defeating Suwon FC Women 2-1 to advance to the final of the AFC Women's Champions League at Suwon Sports Complex in Suwon on May 20. [NEWS1]
"If our whole team sticks together as one, neither the semifinal nor the final will be any problem at all," Choe said after the win.
The two sides had already traded barbs the day before in a prematch press conference that played out like a UFC weigh-in.
"We will do everything we can to repay the trust and expectations of our people and our parents and siblings." Naegohyang striker Kim Kyong-yong said, with a cold face.
Ji, Suwon's attacking midfielder, fired back, "If the North Korean players curse at us, we'll curse back. If they kick us, we'll kick back."
The two clubs' group stage meeting last November had also been a war without gunfire, marked by heavy tackles and verbal abuse.
North Korea's Naegohyang Women's FC line up ahead of an AFC Women's Champions League semifinal match against South Korea's Suwon FC Women in Suwon on May 20. [AP/YONHAP]
The hostility on the pitch goes back further. At a 2017 Women's World Cup qualifier between the South and North Korean national teams at Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, armed soldiers were posted at the entrance to the arena. The mood in the tunnel just before kickoff was, short of actual firepower, indistinguishable from a battlefield.
Back in 2017, when one North Korean player shouted, "Let's kill them out there," Ji shot back, "Then we'll kill them too."
That was met: "Let's tear them apart." In fact,
North Korean players went on to deliberately hit South Korean goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi in the head.
In an October 2019 men's World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang, midfielder Hwang In-beom was struck in the face by a North Korean player. The North Koreans hurled crude insults at the South Koreans throughout the match.
"Just bringing our players home without injuries was a major achievement," Son Heung-min said as he returned to South Korea.
Naegohyang Women's FC players react to Suwon Women FC captain Ji So-yun's missed penalty during an AFC Women's Champions League semifinal at Suwon Sports Complex in Jangan District, Suwon, on May 20. [NEWS1]
It was not always this way. Just after the East Asian Cup awards ceremony in Wuhan, China, in August 2015, South Korean players, including Cho So-hyun, took friendly selfies with North Korean striker Ra Un-sim, a fellow player born in 1988.
"I heard you missed me. So why didn't you say hi?" Ra asked warmly after the match in 2015.
Cho replied lightly, "Yeah. Just because. So, do you all live in Pyongyang?" Na, keeping up the friendly chatter, said, "Yeah, we live in Pyongyang. Why did you cut your hair?"
Na also teased Kwon Ha-neul, who had just reached her 100th cap for the senior national team, joking in a North Korean lilt, "Hey, you've been at this a long time, haven't you?" She added, "We're one people, one bloodline. The day we reunify, we'll all be playing on the same field."
Cho later admitted, "I used to genuinely worry whether my North Korean friends would actually be dragged off to the coal mines if they lost a match."
Eleven years on, that selfie-era camaraderie between North and South Korean footballers is a faded memory. There is no longer any trace of "one people" or "one bloodline" in the players' words, expressions or actions. With the inter-Korean standoff dragging on and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un having declared the South a "hostile" foreign state, South Korea is now nothing more than an enemy to be crushed in the eyes of North Korean players.
Suwon Women FC's Lee Yu-jin and Naegohyang Women's FC's Kim Kyong-yong shake hands after an AFC Women's Champions League semifinal at Suwon Sports Complex in Jangan District, Suwon, on May 20. [YONHAP]
The frozen political climate has turned the football pitch into something closer to an octagon on Wednesday. A joint cheering section made up of civic groups that work on North Korea issues held up placards reading "Go, our players!" and chanted "Naegohyang!" But the awkward sight of the cheering section roaring louder for Naegohyang's goals captured the strange mood of the night.
Asked after the match whether his side had failed to fully enjoy home advantage, Suwon coach Park Kil-young grew emotional.
"We are Suwon FC Women, a South Korean football team. I was upset throughout the match, and my heart was heavy," he said.
Naegohyang coach Ri Yu-il offered little.
"It was such an intense match that I couldn't really pay attention, but it seems the South Korean public has a strong interest in football," he said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK LIN [
[email protected]
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