North Korean Economy Watch

I was perusing the Korean Friendship Association web site this morning, and noticed this post:

Author: Alejandro Cao De Benos
Subject: International Mathematic Olympics

A Delegation of 6 DPRK students (16 to 19 y.o.) and 2 professors from KIM IL SUNG University and Pyongyang Middle School Number 1, are now in Madrid to participate in the International Mathematic Olympics.

On 15th will be the opening ceremony, 16th and 17th the exams. 21st will be the closing ceremony. (100 countries participate)

After the exams, they are invited by the organizing Committee to tour Madrid city center, Aranjuez, Toledo, Salamanca and enjoy typical Flamenco dance.

I just said goodbye to them after sharing 5 days in the capital. They are studying day and night, eager to get the best marks in the competition.

Ri dongji, best of success for all the team!!

This competition originates in the former USSR and Warsaw Pact countries.  Some quick background info can be found on the competition’s Wikipedia site and official site.

Here are the annual results (grouped by country) since the competition started in 1959.  Of all these years, the DPRK (PRK) only competed in 2007-Hanoi (48th place - see team results here), 1992-Moscow (33rd place - team results here), 1991-Sweden (Disqualified - the only team ever disqualified.  Not sure why—anyone out there know?), and 1990-Beijing (31st place - team results here).  Here are the results for all the individuals who have competed on the DPRK team.

Here is where the 2008 team’s results will be posted.  The web page gives a contact name (Ham Yong Chol) and email address.  Some enterprising journalist out there should try to get a story.  

(Hat tip to a reader)

As reported earlier, North and South Korea were both drawn into Group 3 in Round 3 qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  North and South Korea tied 0-0 in both games against each other.  However, due to Pyongyang’s refusal to raise the South Korean flag and play the South Korean national anthem, the initial Pyongyang home match was moved to Shanghai, where yours truly was able to attend.  Pyongyang also tried to have the Seoul home match moved to another city or country before finally abandoning politics and just letting their boys play.

Well, FIFA has drawn groups for Round 4 qualifiers, and both North and South Korea have been chosen for Group 2.  This means Pyongyang will have another opportunity to host the South Korean national football team—along with their flag and anthem.  What are the odds that Pyongyang will actually host their home game this time around?

Matches are scheduled for September 10 and January 4, 2009.  Venues TBD.

UPDATE: The head of the South Korean Football Association Chung Mong-joon wants the 2010 World Cup qualifier against North Korea scheduled for September 10 to take place in Pyongyang. (Goal.com)

Acording to the Korea Times, China invited Kim Jong il to attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics.  President Bush and Japan’s Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, are still mulling their invitations.

Read the full article here:
‘North Korean Leader Invited to Beijing Olympics’
Korea Times
Kim Sue-young
6/22/2008

UPDATE 3: 0-0 Draw in Seoul

From the Associated Press (via the IHT):

Amid an atmosphere of goodwill, South Korea and North Korea tied 0-0 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier Sunday.

With both teams already through to the final round of qualification, the match had the feeling of a friendly from start to finish. The visitors were given a rousing reception when they appeared for warmups. The respective anthems were played before 55,000 fans in Seoul’s World Cup Stadium, including 500 North Korean supporters. At the final whistle, fans applauded both sets of players.

Both teams finished with 12 points, though South Korea took the top spot in Group Three due to superior goal differential.

The draw for the final round of Asian qualification will be made on June 27 and matches begin in September.

UPDATE 2: North Korea tops Jorday 2-0, next stop Seoul!

From the Associated Press (via Herald Tribune):

North Korea reached the final stage of Asian qualifying for the 2010 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Jordan on Saturday, ensuring neighbor South Korea also progressed.

Two goals from Hong Yong Jo gave North Korea 11 points from 5 games, meaning it can finish no lower than second in Group Three, and therefore progresses to the final 10-team round that will decide Asia’s berths at South Africa 2010.

North Korea travels to Seoul for the final match to take on South Korea on June 22.  The match had been in some doubt as North Korea officials demanded that the game be held in a third country or on the southern island of Jeju. The Korean Football Association refused to compromise and North Korea finally agreed Friday to play the match in Seoul. The team will arrive in the South Korean capital on June 19.

Read the full story here:
World Cup: North Korea beats Jordan 2-0, puts North and South Korea in last qualifying round
Associated Press (via Herald Tribune)
6/14/2008

UPDATE 1: North Korea’s World Cup Football shenanigans made headlines earlier this year when Pyongyang refused to raise the South Korean flag and play its national anthem in a regulation match.  FIFA responded by moving the game to Shanghai, China, where North Korean Economy Watch was able to attend.  Well the DPRK men’s team has risen to second place in its qualifying bracket (see original post below), and now that it has only two games left, Pyongyang again inserts politics into sport.

From the Korea Times:

The South’s Korea Football Association (KFA) had a meeting with its North counterpart in Gaeseong Tuesday, and the North side asked the KFA to host their match, scheduled for June 22 at Seoul World Cup Stadium, in another country due to a cold relationship between the two sides and ongoing rallies in Seoul.

The North Korea Football Association also asked Mohamed bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), last month to change the site of the June 22 match.

However, FIFA, which has already selected referees and match supervisors, ignored the North’s pleas, and the KFA also stated that it would stick with the original schedule.

South Korea’s action compelled the North to propose Jeju Island, where the North’s under-17 squad participated in the U-17 World Cup last year, as an alternative. But the original plans were not changed.

ORIGINAL POST:The North Korean national men’s team toppled Turkmenistan 1-0 last week in the 2010 World Cup qualifier.  With the game heading toward a goalless stalemate, Choe Kum Chol scored with 19 minutes remaining to put the North Koreans in sight of a place in the final round of qualification.

North Korea now has 8 points, putting the team at the top of group 3. 

On June 14, North Korea will host Jordan in Pyongyang.

On June 22, North and South Korea will meet in Seoul.  For coverage of their March game in Shanghai, click here.

Read the full stories here:
North and South Korea draw 0-0
Associated Press
6/22/2008

North Korea downs Turkmenistan 1-0 in World Cup qualifier
Herald Tribune (via Associated Press)
6/7/2008

N. Korea Disputes Match Location
Korea Times
Kang Seung-woo
6/11/2008

From Yonhap:

The British Football Association has donated some 600 items of sportswear such as gym suits and sweat pants to North Korea, a pro-Pyongyang daily in Japan said Tuesday.

The sportswear was delivered to the North Korea’s football association in a ceremony held in Pyongyang on Thursday with the British Ambassador to the country John Everard attending, the Choson Sinbo newspaper said.

Read the full article here:
British football association donates gym suits to N.K.: report
Yonhap
6/17/2008

(Click on image for larger view)

Using Naenara and a Chinese language news broadcast, I pieced together Pyongang’s 2008 Olympic torch relay route.

UPDATED: 6/25/2008
The relay began at the Juche Tower and passed by the Golden Lanes Bowling Alley, East Pyongyang Theater (where NY Phil played) and crossed Chongnyu Bridge to West Pyongyang.  Here it passed the Friendship Tower (commemorating Chinese support in the Korean War), Chinese Embassy, Immortal Tower of Kim il Sung, Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, Pothong River Gate, Central Train Station, Kim il Sung Square, Mansu Hill, Chollima Statue, Arch of Triumph, and finished at Kim il Sung Stadium where the relay ended. 

More on the torch relay can be found here.

This will be included in the next version of North Korea Uncovered (Goolge Earth).

UPDATE: Associated Press (via Herald Tribune) 

North Korea won the 2008 Women’s Asian Cup with a 2-1 win Sunday over defending champion China.

Two second half goals in 10 minutes saw the North Koreans come from behind in the final to beat their neighbor and win their third Asian crown in the past four tournaments.

Bi Yan opened the scoring for China with a long-range shot in the 11th minute, and it held that advantage to halftime.

North Korea drew level in the 57th minute with a header from Asian player of the year Ri Kum Suk, who scored a hat trick in the semifinal win over Australia.

The North Koreans went ahead in the 66th when China goalkeeper Zhang Ranyu was only able to block a shot into the path of Kim Young Ae, who put the ball into the net.

ORIGINAL POST:
Women’s Asian Cup: Ri Kum Suk hattrick sinks Australia, puts North Korea in final
Associated Press
6/5/2008

Ri Kum Suk scored a hattrick to power North Korea into the final of the Women’s Asian Cup with a 3-0 win over Australia on Thursday.

North Korea will meet the winner of Thursday’s later semifinal between China and Japan.

Ri, the reigning Asian Football Confederation women’s player of the year, opened the scoring in just the second minute, and doubled the lead four minutes before halftime when she blasted home after a pass from Ri Un Suk.

Australia, which only lost the 2006 final by a penalty shootout, pushed hard for a goal to get back into the contest, but Ri sealed the result on the hour when she shot between the goalkeeper’s legs.

North Korea is a two-time winner of the Women’s Asian Cup, with titles in 2001 and 2003.

The DPRK’s golf facilities are all easily recognizable from Google Earth:  There is the 18 hole course half-way between Pyongyang and Nampo; there is a smaller 9-hole course next to the Yangakdo Hotel; there is a driving range in the Sosan sports district; and there is even a three hole course east of town just south of the Ponghwa Barrage on the Taedong River (This area could be the Ponghwa Executive Apartments mentioned in Kim il Song’s North Korea).

According to Yonhap, the DPRK has successfully expanded their number of golf holes by 60%–increasing them from 30 to 48:

The “Kumgang Ananti Golf and Spa Resort,” including a 18-hole golf course, will open to the public Wednesday after nearly four years of construction, Emerson Pacific Group, a Seoul-based leisure firm, said.

Built on about 1.7 million square meters of land, the resort also has a spa, a hotel and restaurants that provide nice sea and mountain views, according to Kim Min-jeong, a publicity official of the company.

The golf course has already drawn media attention over its 929-meter number three hole, the world’s longest.

The facility, however, will be operated on a membership-only basis for the time being, Kim said, adding that the company plans to open the facility to individual tourists around next year.

Emerson Pacific is waiting for Pyongyang to give the company permission to employ about 200 North Koreans, including 60 caddies, at the resort, the official said.

Read the full story here:
Golf course to open at North Korea’s Mt. Geumgang
Yonhap
5/27/2008

The most authoritative map of North Korea on Google Earth
Download it here

This map covers North Korea’s agriculture, aviation, cultural locations, markets, manufacturing facilities, railroad, energy infrastructure, politics, sports venues, military establishments, religious facilities, leisure destinations, and national parks. It is continually expanding and undergoing revisions. This is the tenth version.

This version includes: Expansion of infrastructure (railroads, electricity grid, elite areas, political monuments, burial mounds, dams, military facilities, and factories) in Hamhung, Chongjin, Sariwon, Raijin-Songbon (Rason) and other cities. Updates in Pyongyang: Pothonggang Exhibition Hall, Ssuk Island, Patriotic Martyrs Cemetary, Ostrich Farm, Kang Pan Sok Revolutionary School, Kumsong School, Manyongdae 1,000 Seat Restaurant. Specific manufacturing facilities and companies: Wonsan Rolling Stock Factory (RR manufacturer), Songnim-Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex, Bukchang Thermal Power Plant, Sunchon Cement Factory, Namhung Youth Chemical Complex, Feb 8 Vinalon Complex, Hamhung Wood Carving Factory, Chongjin Chemical Fiber Complex, Unjong-ri Cooperative Farm, Sariwon Chicken Farm, Kanggye Chicken and Duck Farm, Hungju Youth Power Station, Korea Rason Taehung Trading Corporation. Updated Cultural Locations: Paeksang Pavilion (Anju), site of the DPRK’s first cricket game (2008), Sariwon Folk Village, Sinpha Revolutionary Site, International Friendship Exhibition, Paeksang Pavilion, Lake Sijung. Other locations: air force test bombing range, Kyo hwa so 1: Kaechon (overlay). Additinoally, most canals were eliminated from this version except the major projects on the west coast.

Disclaimer: I cannot vouch for the authenticity of many locations since I have not seen or been to them, but great efforts have been made to check for authenticity. These efforts include pouring over books, maps, conducting interviews, and keeping up with other peoples’ discoveries. In many cases, I have posted sources, though not for all. This is a thorough compilation of lots of material, but I will leave it up to the reader to make up their own minds as to what they see. I cannot catch everything and I welcome contributions.

Koryo Tours Press Release
5/12/2008

British run Koryo Tours have just been informed that this year’s Mass Games in North Korea have been expanded to include two different events, both staged in Pyongyang’s May Day stadium with a full compliment of 100,000 performers. Running from August 4th until the end of September every day bar Sunday will see a 100 minute afternoon performance of an all-new Mass Games show named ‘Prosper the Motherland!’ staged specially for the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 9th September 1948. The classic ‘Arirang’ an 80 minute gymnastic and socialist realism extravaganza will be performed in the evening.

Koryo Tours are running their usual full compliment of tours during this time and details can be found on their website.  Koryo Tours offer regular group tours, tours for US citizens (only possible during the Mass Games), specialized trips including to Mount Paekdu, independent tours for small groups, as well as many others. This will likely be a bigger opening event than the Olympics and on a larger scale than ever before.