Han Kwang Song became the first North Korean to score in one of Europe’s five major soccer leagues in 2017, and in 2019, he was unexpectedly traded to Juventus, then to Al-Duhail, Qatar.
However, his promising career was ended when he vanished from the world soccer stage in 2020, prompting fans to wonder: Where could that North Korean player be?”
Han was once referred to as “The Little North Korean” by an Italian sports commentator. Although he was not particularly tall, Han was still capable of competing with the best players in Europe due to his blistering pace, powerful tackling, and deadly shot in front of goal.
The youthful striker from Pyongyang immediately drew consideration from soccer intellectuals and fans – for his novel foundation, however for his specialized ability also.
Hahn June-hea, a South Korean football commentator, stated to CNN Sport, “His physique wasn’t big, but he was quick with his positioning and could score headers well.”
Han was commended back home as “a promising player who drew the consideration of the European football world,” as indicated by North Korea’s publicity media Sogwang.
Be that as it may, the great times didn’t endure after the Unified Countries Security Board (UNSC) forced sanctions against North Korea for leading its 6th atomic test in 2017.
Concerned that foreign funds were being used to support Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and weapons programs, the sanctions required member states to repatriate all North Korean workers in their jurisdictions. The repatriation deadline was established by a UNSC resolution at the end of 2019.
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However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused North Korea to completely seal its borders, making it impossible for Han and other North Koreans who had been repatriated to return home. In accordance with UN sanctions, he was scheduled to leave Qatar in 2021, but he has since vanished. His disappearance is now better understood thanks to a CNN investigation into his story.
Pyongyang
North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang is where Han was born in 1998. Apart from his enrollment in the prestigious Pyongyang International Football School, which was established in accordance with Kim Jong Un’s well-known passion for sports, little is known about his life.
Sport became a rare window into a country that is frequently kept hidden from the outside world when Kim took over the regime in 2012.
The North Korean pioneer involved sports as a practice in delicate power, putting resources into first class game to advance his nation globally and public game to improve guard and work power, as per South Korea’s unification service report.
North Korea started to move forward cooperation in significant worldwide games, remembering the 2012 Summer Olympics for London and the 2018 Winter Olympics facilitated by South Korea – which actually stays at battle with its northern neighbor.
But at PyeongChang 2018, the two countries even marched together under the Korean Unification Flag at the Opening Ceremony and played women’s ice hockey together. The launch of North Korea through sport appeared as though an entryway that wouldn’t be shut any time soon.
“All sports are famous. They followed soccer and the Olympics, according to Jrn Andersen, a former head coach of the North Korean men’s national soccer team. He admitted to CNN Sport that throughout his time in Pyongyang from 2016 to 2018, he had little interaction with the North Korean populace.
“Some local television channels would occasionally broadcast European soccer during the week, but they would never show live games. Perhaps one from Germany’s Bundesliga, one from Spain’s La Liga, one from Italy, or one from England… I think many watched,” Andersen said of the sporting events that nearly every day air on North Korea’s state broadcaster KCTV.
State news agency KCNA reports that FIFA representatives were invited to Pyongyang in 2014 to assist in the education of local teams and instructors as well as soccer players from other countries in an effort to raise the country’s standard in the sport “to the world’s level.” Kim established the Pyongyang International Football School in the capital’s Rungna Islet in 2013 with the intention of fostering soccer talent, sending students abroad, and hosting experts and soccer players from other countries.
The soccer school likewise included restrictive offices and projects intended to assist with sustaining youthful ability.
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Only months after its establishing, 14 understudies were sent to another country to Spain and 15 to Italy to the detriment of the state to gain from laid out soccer clubs, as per Sogwang. Among the numerous who moved on from the renowned first class program, Han Kwang Tune stood apart the most.
His public notoriety is evident in a YouTube video distributed on a channel run by YuMi, a vlogger specialists accept is reasonable connected with high-positioning North Korean authorities and might be essential for a promulgation crusade pointed toward rebranding the country’s global picture.
I enjoy Han. His abilities are strong and he is truly adept at spilling,” a Pyongyang resident should be visible saying in Korean.
When Han was recruited by the Italian youth scouting center ISM Academy through its Talent Identification Program, he became the country’s greatest sporting success story.
In 2015, the then aggressive young person gathered his sacks for its base in Perugia – the capital of Italy’s focal Umbria locale, situated around 105 miles north of Rome – close by individual North Korean possibility Choe Melody Hyok.
Move to Europe
At the ISM Foundation, the pair joined youthful footballers from across the globe, having similar fantasy about enduring the serious pathway to the expert game in one of Europe’s top associations.
The institute gladly shows a photograph of Han on its site as a their player “arrived at their objective and entered the universe of expert football.” Choe, Han’s friend, who went on to play for AC Perugia Calcio, a team in Italy’s lower leagues, is also featured.
Han spent essentially a year at the institute before a fruitful give a shot with the young group of Cagliari. He became well-known throughout the region as a result of the move.
Max Canzi, the under-19 coach at Cagliari at the time, told CNN Sport, “I remember my director Mario Berreta saying we had a North Korean trying out and asked me to see if he was good enough.”
Canzi recalled his initial refusal to see the player, saying, “I was kind of upset because we had an important match that Saturday.”
“He began preparing, and following 20 minutes, I took a gander at my associate mentor and said, ‘Tell Mario he needs to emerge. We have an issue – he’s generally excellent.'”
However, due to what Canzi referred to as the “bureaucratic problems” and “voices going around,” putting pen to paper took longer than usual.
“Someone in [the Italian] parliament even put out an inquiry as to on the off chance that it was the proper thing to do in light of the fact that we [Italy] had a ban against [signing contracts with] North Koreans,” he said.
In any case, it ended up being a beneficial pursuit for Cagliari.
According to Canzi, the North Korean striker, who joined the club’s youth team in March 2017 and scored in his very first youth match, received an immediate promotion to the first team in Serie A.
A week after making his professional debut on April 2, 2017, Han headed in his first top-flight goal, marking the first time a North Korean player had scored in one of Europe’s five major leagues.
Han had arrived from North Korea without knowing how to speak English or Italian, but he quickly became used to Western culture—something that was forbidden in his home country.
“At first, it was challenging since he didn’t speak English or Italian. Whatever the case, he picked up Italian quite quickly, according to Canzi, who spoke to CNN Game.
Nicholas Pennington, a previous Cagliari youth partner, recalls Han as “an incredibly, great player” on the pitch and “a piece modest however pleasant person” off it.
“I was one of the first to pause and address him and assist him with coordinating. He stated to CNN Sport, “I would pick him up in the car a few times, and he came to training with me.”
Pennington recalled asking Han and Choe numerous questions about North Korea.
But they didn’t really say anything. I figure you might see that they were a piece terrified to say anything. They would agree, ‘I don’t have the foggiest idea,’ easily overlooked details, however for the most part extremely saved and didn’t have any desire to express anything about it,” he said.
Pennington said that Han also barely mentioned his family in Pyongyang.
“I remember Han talking about his family, saying that his family was there, that he misses them, and that he didn’t know when he would get to go home and see them. Of course, at the time, I don’t think it was easy for him to just go back home and go to Italy.
He stated, “I remember thinking in my head that it’s crazy how little he says about back home in comparison to what I do.”
Canzi, who lived in Seoul for quite a long time as a youngster, likewise said Han was “extremely modest, exceptionally respectful.”
“When Han showed up interestingly, I utilized the couple of Korean words I knew and said annyeonghasaeyo [hello in Korean], and he said, ‘Goodness, what’s going on here?’ Canzi continued, “And when he passed the water at our first meal, I said kamsahabnida, which means thank you in Korean.”
“Football is unusual because if you play in a team and you’re a good player, everyone likes you,” said the athlete. “Everyone saw immediately how good a player he was when he arrived,” Canzi recalled.
“Here in Cagliari, everyone loves me. In a 2018 video that Cagliari published, Han spoke fluently in Italian. “I feel like I am at home.”
Han went on loan to AC Perugia and the under-23s of Juventus while he was under contract with Cagliari. Transfermarkt says that in January 2020, Juventus paid $3.74 million (€3.5 million) for him.
“That was truly a can hope for Cagliari on the grounds that he showed up for no good reason,” Canzi said.
Yes, Juventus’ interest caught me off guard. Although he was young, I had no idea how far he could advance, despite my belief that he was an excellent player. We had a few different players in the group very like him that, obviously, had much less news made [of them] on the grounds that the way that he was a North Korean was a major issue.”
Han’s move to the Bianconeri, or Juventus to fans, was an even greater accomplishment than Han’s participation in Serie A.
After a lengthy wait, I can now say that my ambition was realised when I scored my first goal in Serie A and became the first North Korean to don the prestigious Juventus jersey. My fantasies came true!” Han said in a blog post from the ISM International Scouting Centre.
Despite this, Han’s ambition of donning the fashionable, sharply contrasted colours lasted only seven days since, according to a UNSC Board of Specialists report, Juventus offered him to Qatar’s Al-Duhail in the same month for an exchange fee of $7.7 million (€7 million).
While North Korea was testing what it claimed to be its first intercontinental ballistic missile on the Korean Peninsula, Han’s debut in the European top flight in 2017 marked numerous milestones for the country.
On September 3, 2017, the North conducted its sixth nuclear test, prompting the UN Security Council to impose a list of sanctions on the isolated country over worries that its “ongoing nuclear- and ballistic missile-related activities have destabilised the region and beyond.”
The sanctions forced all member states to stop granting North Koreans work permits within their borders. Three months later, the UN Security Council also mandated that by December 22, 2019, all North Koreans who are working abroad and “generating foreign export earnings that the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea] uses to support its prohibited nuclear ballistic programmes” must return home.
Despite his extraordinary soccer talent, Han was not exempt from these sanctions because he was traveling with a North Korean passport. Yet, it stays muddled how Juventus and Al-Duhail proceeded with the exchange in January 2020, which fell after the UNSC’s cutoff time.
CNN has connected with Han’s previous specialist, Sandro Stemperini, and Al-Duhail for a remark, however didn’t quickly hear back.
Juventus wouldn’t remark on the issue.
I was unable to determine whether he was qualified to represent Juventus at that time. Then, at that moment, I have no idea what happened subsequently. He travelled to play somewhere in Qatar,” stated Canzi.
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Going to Qatar
Although Han’s promising Italian career had come to an end, the premier club in Qatar, Al-Duhail, graciously accepted the gifted youth.
The Qatar Stars League 2019–20 season was in the midst when he joined the squad in January. He participated in 10 league contests, scored three goals, and contributed to the team’s league title.
According to the UNSC report of the Board of Specialists from mid-2020, Qatar had signed the North Korean to a five-year, $4.60 million (€4,310,000) deal until the 2023–24 season; as a result, Han received compensation of about $296,200 (€270,000) between February and April 2020.
Han put out a commendable effort on the pitch, but it was unclear if, as the UNSC said about other North Koreans employed overseas, he was sending money back to his country of origin.
According to the UN investigation, Han signed a commitment with a bank in Qatar promising not to transfer “any cash cost or sum to North Korea in any cases.”
Individual football talent and teamwork Due to concerns that his salaries were being taken advantage of by the Kim system, Choe, who had travelled to Italy with Han, declined the valuable opportunity to play for Serie A team Fiorentina.
CNN has sought clarification from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) about Fiorentina’s appeal regarding Choe’s violation of EU penalties as a result of a void contract. After reviewing its files, CAS concluded that the relationship “does not seem to have at any point been alluded to” Choe’s case.
Although it is unclear in Han’s case if he had been transferring money to the Kim regime, it is well known that North Korea routinely forces its workers overseas to contribute money to the government there. The UNSC Panel of Experts indicated in a second report that was released in March 2020 that it is looking into North Korean citizens who are allegedly making money abroad. Also included in this group are “specialists like athletes.”
On August 21, 2020, Han made his final appearance for Al-Duhail when he entered the game off the bench against Al-Ahli.
While lifting the Qatar Stars Association trophy with his Al-Duhail teammates, the then-21-year-old Han submitted in the air while sporting a red jersey that read: “CHAMPIONS.”
Fans of football would see Han’s skillful skills one last time. When the new season began the following month, Han was no longer in the starting lineup or on the bench, and there was no indication that he had transferred.
Months went by without any reports regarding
Han was nowhere to be found until a UNSC Board of Specialists latest report, issued in Walk 2021, confirmed that the player’s contract with Al-Duhail had been terminated earlier that year and that he had been deported from Qatar.
Al-Duhail and Qatari officials were contacted by CNN for more information, but they did not respond right away.
However, North Korea maintained its borders closed and restricted all imports of people and goods as the globe entered the second full year of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2021 out of fear of the disease.
Kim Jong Un even fired a few key officials in 2021 for failing to respect the nation’s strict efforts to combat the Coronavirus. The harsh border closure that ensued left Han trapped.
In accordance with a letter included in the UNSC’s most recent Board of Specialists report, Han loaded up a Qatar Aviation route departure from Doha on January 26, 2021, the day he was dismissed. CNN Sport was informed by a source with knowledge of the incident that Han was returned to Rome by the aeroplane because he had nowhere else to go.
He was returned to Italy by his management, as I am aware. Andersen, Han’s previous coach, stated that he believed Han was still present but was no longer able to play football. It was terribly bad for him that he could not continue to play and develop.
FIFA and the unknown Italian service were contacted by CNN, but no response was received immediately away.
Even if his status is still debatable, the fact that he was excluded from the club because of his birth circumstances is arguably the biggest disgrace.
It won’t be simple to go back there, but it is feasible. Of course, it would have been a lucrative job, so it’s a waste, said Canzi. He hasn’t played football in over two years, so the possibility of returning is a great motivator. He hasn’t been playing football, but I think he has merely been practising with a small group. As a result, he has significantly lost his quality, Anderson observed regretfully.
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I’m very sorry he had to stop playing football. He has such amazing skill.
