Kim Jong-Hun: The World Cup Coach who had Football’s Poisoned Chalice
The career of a football manager is tumultuous to say the least. If they can get their side playing nice football and winning trophies, then there seems very little they could do to damage their reputation. It only takes a few poor results though, for that god-like façade to disappear. A couple of losses at the wrong time are all it takes for that manager to go from being revered to being booed. When that happens, the sack is often not too far behind. On some, admittedly rare, occasions the sackings are handled with the utmost respect for the outgoing boss. When Arsène Wenger was informed his services at Arsenal were no longer required after 22 years at the club, he was given a send-off befitting the man – a guard of honour and a post-match celebration. In a similar vain of appreciation, when Jackie McNamara was told he was losing his job at National League side York City in October 2016, it was decided that he would stay on as caretaker manager until a replacement for him was found. The replacement was duly found, but upon being relieved of his role as caretaker manager, McNamara was offered the job of Chief Executive. It’s probably the first time in football that a sacking has led to a huge promotion at the same club, not that McNamara had any particular complaints.
Wenger and McNamara are outliers though. Normally managers are cut adrift with little remorse. Take Trevor Francis for example, who was sacked by the Crystal Palace chairman on his 49th birthday back in 2003. Or Gus Poyet, who found out he had lost his job at Brighton live on TV, whilst working as a pundit for the BBC covering the 2013 Confederations Cup match between Spain and Nigeria. No one in the ruthless world of football management, however, has faced a sacking quite as brutal as Kim Jong-Hun.
North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup after finishing second in their AFC qualification group, with South Korea finishing above them but only on goal difference. The North Koreans had not lost a game in the qualifiers, so there were a few people in North Korea who thought this form on the continental stage would translate onto the world stage. Even the most casual of football watchers knew this would not be the case, no doubt Kim Jong-Hun also knew this. Unfortunately for the North Korean head coach, two people who did not realise this were Kim Jong-Il and his son, Kim Jong-Un. In their eyes, the North Koreans had as good a chance as any, and in North Korea, those were the only opinions that mattered.
To make the impossible challenge even worse for Kim Jong-Hun, his side were drawn in a group with Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. North Korea’s first game was against Brazil who, at the beginning of the tournament, were top of FIFA’s international rankings. In comparison, North Korea were the lowest ranked side to have qualified for the tournament, sitting in 105th place. The entire world expected a resounding win for Brazil. What transpired was a performance of discipline and grit from the underdogs, and although they lost, the 2-1 score line meant that it was North Korea rather than Brazil who were taking the plaudits. Maicon and Elano scored for Brazil, before an 89th minute finish from left midfielder Ji Yun-Nam gave the world number ones a few scary minutes to see out. The North Korean dictator and his ambitious son were so pleased with their side’s display that it was decided North Korea’s next match against Portugal, the 3rd best team in the world, would be broadcast on North Korean television. It is believed to be the first live sports event to be shown in North Korea. What followed was a humiliation. There were six different Portuguese scorers in a match that ended 7-0 to Portugal. The North Korean regime had been building up the national team’s chances to its obedient citizens for weeks, and at the first opportunity to see their national stars play, the North Korean people watched on as their countrymen were torn apart. Four days later they were in action again, although not on North Korean screens. Another defeat was handed out to them, as Ivory Coast easily brushed the Asian side away 3-0. North Korea’s tournament was over. They had earned no points, scored one goal and conceded twelve. The squad had left for South Africa with the love and admiration of the people. That love and admiration had long gone by the time they touched back down in Pyongyang.
Two of the North Korean players, Jung Tae-Se and An Yong-Hak flew straight to Japan, the place they were born and played football. For the rest of the squad and staff, an audience with the Sports Minister, Park Myoung Chul was in order. In what became called ‘The Grand Debate’ in North Korea, an audience of around 400 other athletes and sports students joined Chul to watch a six hour long dressing down of the team. Each player was subjected to a scathing review of their individual performance, with their perceived failings highlighted in the most humiliating way. The ceremony, which had all the hallmarks of a show trial (minus the cameras), was largely overseen by a man named Ri Dong-Kyu. Dong-Kyu was chosen by the North Korean state to be one of the commentators for the Portugal match, and was therefore well versed in the side’s misfortunes. Once the players had been suitably shamed, they were then invited to give their own opinions on their head coach’s performance during the tournament. One by one, Kim Jong-Hun’s players berated him in front of the audience. Before this, Jong-Hun had been accused of betraying the country’s heir Kim Jong-Un. In the lead up to the tournament Jong-Un had been very keen to align himself with the team, as he expected them to do well in South Africa. By doing so, he hoped to garner support to his claim to power amongst those in the upper echelons of the Workers’ Party of Korea, once his sick father finally passed away. As a consequence, the poor performance of the national team had an adverse impact on Jong-Un’s reputation. It’s probably for this reason that the repercussions were so severe for Kim Jong-Hun.
Jong-Hun’s whereabouts are unknown, which is not unusual – we are talking about North Korea here. Rumours did circulate that he had been expelled from the Workers’ Party and that he had been sent to a forced labour camp – again, not hard to believe. An investigation by FIFA was launched, but it would appear nothing came of it. Whether Jong-Hun ever went to a forced labour camp or if he remains in one to this day is unlikely to ever come out. But what is certain is that a man dedicated to serving his country (he represented the national team as a player four times), simply fell foul of the delusional ambitions of his leaders. The unrealistic view of North Korea’s place in the world through the lens of Kim Jong-Un also corrupted his expectations for the national side. The North Korean players, through no fault of their own, were completely out of their depth compared to the other nations in their group. In any other nation with a world ranking three digits long, having got so close to beating Brazil would have been cause for celebration. But in a dictatorship like North Korea, with authority figures as paranoid as Kim Jong-Un, the lack of victories was seen as treasonous. Despite the best efforts of Kim Jong-Hun, he was unable to reach the impossible targets he was set. Jong-Hun definitely paid for this with his reputation, he may well have paid for it with his life.
Sources:
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/26-maddest-managerial-sackings-ever-football
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(AFC)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10935521
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/worldcup-07282010173446.html
North Korea's failed World Cup footballers undergo public mauling | North Korea | The Guardian
Cover Image:
"Portugal v North Korea" by George M. Groutas is licensed under CC BY 2.0
