In North Korean terms, it was unprecedented — a live and, above all, uncensored broadcast of an event on the other side of the world. But what might have been the beginning of a brave new era of openness in a repressive dictatorship turned to disaster.
Today, some of the few foreign residents in Pyongyang described the air of shock in the capital after North Korea’s football team suffered a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Portugal in the World Cup.
At the best of times, such a result would have been a devastating blow to a government whose legitimacy depends upon its much-trumpeted superiority to the rest of the world. But to make it worse, the humiliation was played out on live television.
“The impression we are getting is that people here are still in shock,” said one spectator, who watched the game with a number of North Koreans. “There were great expectations, not only because of the game itself but because the decision had been made to allow it to be shown live. But it couldn’t have been worse.
“This is a country where people have been taught since childhood that they are the best in the world, at everything. It’s the first time in their lives that they have seen themselves humiliated.”
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The game in Cape Town kicked off at 8.30pm Pyongyang time and, given the lack of variety in the normal North Korean television schedules, it must have been watched by millions of people across the country. At half time, with North Korea creating chances despite being one-nil down, the country’s commentator was loquacious.
“Our defenders didn’t see him unexpectedly coming out from behind,” he explained after Raul Meireles scored Portugal’s first goal after 29 minutes. “They should have more awareness about those coming from behind. If we play our own style of game, we will be able to score.”
The interval was filled with a feature about the history of the World Cup, and a performance of the patriotic song We Love Our Country the Most.
“In the second half, [the commentary] became much more intermittent,” said one foreigner who watched the game. “From four goals onwards, they just stopped.”
The broadcast was abruptly terminated at the final whistle, with the words: “The Portuguese won the game and now have four points. We are ending our live broadcast now.”
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In past tournaments, state television showed only brief clips of World Cup matches, sometimes weeks after the events. But the authorities evidently felt confident this week, perhaps because of North Korea’s creditable performance in their honourable 2-1 defeat of Brazil in their opening match.
Any fixture against Portugal is resonant because of the last time the two sides met, in the World Cup in England in 1966. North Korea had qualified for the quarter-finals, having scored a remarkable defeat against Italy. Against Portugal in their next match, they led 3-2 at half-time — to be defeated 5-3.
Nowadays, the veterans of that game are treated as heroes — and Kim Jong Hun, the current North Korean coach, insisted that his players would not face any punishment for their disappointing performance. “Tactically speaking, we fell apart and couldn’t block their attacks,” he said. “As the coach, I consider it my fault for not playing the right strategy — that’s why we conceded a lot of goals.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It doesn’t always turn out the way you want. But there are going to be no further consequences.”