(Osaka = Yonhap News) Reporters Jeon Myeong-hoon and Oh Myeong-eon = A cheering squad of hundreds of Koreans in Japan wearing red clothes gave a passionate cheering match to the North Korean women's soccer team on the 14th.
On this day, the North Korean women's national soccer team played the first match of Group F of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games against Bangladesh at Nagai Stadium in Osaka.
The 50,000-seat Nagai Stadium was relatively quiet that day due to the small number of spectators, but the atmosphere was different in 'C Seat', where the North Korean cheering squad gathered.
Hundreds of Koreans living in Japan, ranging from children to middle-aged people, filled one audience seat wearing T-shirts with phrases such as ‘Win, Joseon’ written on them.
Banners hung at the stadium, such as 'Let's show off the glory of the Republic' and 'Towards the finish line of building a sports powerhouse', also attracted attention.
The cheering squad's cheering slogans, such as "Chosun, a sure winner!" and "We are Koreans," as well as the sound of drums and cheering sticks rang throughout the stadium without stopping for a moment.
In this day's game, the North Korean women's soccer team showed its presence as a contender for the championship by scoring 7 goals in the first half alone against Bangladesh, which is considered relatively weak.
As the goal was scored, the cheering from the supporters got louder.
The North Korean team, who scored three more goals and defeated Bangladesh 10-0 amidst enthusiastic support, visited the cheering squad immediately after the game to express their gratitude.
As the players climbed over the billboard behind the goal and got closer to the cheering team, the cheering team responded with much louder cheers and a group singing of 'Arirang'.
North Korea's coach Park Seong-jin expressed his gratitude at a press conference after the game, saying, "The cheers of our Chongryon compatriots in the first game gave great strength and inspiration to our players and to me. I am very grateful. I will continue to play well."
An official who met at the site explained that the cheering squad that visited the site that day was composed of students from Korean schools from Osaka, Kyoto, etc., and local Koreans living in Japan.
It is said that the General Association of Koreans in Japan (Chongryon) has been organizing cheering since last August by encouraging students from nearby Korean schools to watch the games in order to actively support the North Korean athletes participating in the Asian Games.
Although Chongryon took the lead in the organization by providing cheering equipment such as cheering sticks, it is said that each Chosun school independently decided on the color of the T-shirts reminiscent of Korea's Red Devils.
In contrast to the enthusiastic cheering atmosphere, the response to the Korean reporter covering the scene was cold.
When I revealed my identity and tried to find the person in charge of the site to interview him, he called me somewhere and asked for my understanding, saying, “A decision has been made from the higher-ups not to respond to the interview.”
Furthermore, reporters were asked not to attempt to interview anyone in the cheering squad.
An official from the Chongryun Aichi branch explained the situation in a phone call with Yonhap News that day, saying, "The relationship between North Korea and Korea is not comfortable. We will not be able to formally cooperate with the reporting of a reporter from South Korea."
However, on this day, when I asked a young man who appeared to be a member of the cheering squad about the expected performance of the North Korean women's soccer team, he answered without delay, "Gold medal," and smiled broadly.
