Oh Yoon-kyung

North Korean footballer
Oh Yoon-kyung
Personal information
Date of birth (1941-08-06)6 August 1941
Place of birth Korea, Empire of Japan
Date of death before 2002
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Defender / midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
8 August
International career
c. 1962–after 1966 North Korea 58+
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Oh Yoon-kyung
Chosŏn'gŭl
오윤경
Revised RomanizationO Yun-gyeong
McCune–ReischauerO Yun'gyŏng

Oh Yoon-kyung (6 August 1941 – before 2002) was a North Korean football defender and midfielder who played for the national team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for the 8 August Sports Club.

Early life

Oh was born on 6 August 1941 in Korea, Empire of Japan, in what became North Korea.[1] In the domestic ranks, he played for the 8 August Sports Club in North Korea's top league.[1] During his playing career, his height was 172 cm (5 ft 8 in).[2]

International career

In 1957, the North Korea national football team was re-organized with the goal of competing at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.[3] In c. 1962, Oh was chosen as one of the best 40 players from the North Korean leagues, whose membership reportedly consisted of over 250,000, to be considered for the national team.[4][5] The 40 players were enlisted into the Army as military officers, under the leadership of colonel and coach Myung Rye-hyun, and went under strict training for the next four years in preparation for the cup.[3][4] Oh and the others trained twice a day starting at 6:00 a.m. and were under other restrictions which included being unmarried, no smoking, no drinking, and (for the last six months) being in bed by 10:00 p.m.[4]

In early 1965, the North Korean leagues were suspended to allow the roster to focus solely on the task of making the World Cup.[4] Oh and the rest of the players gained experience by playing a number of international matches against nations including North Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and China.[5] The team competed at that year's Games of Emerging New Forces (GANEFO) and went undefeated, with a 3–1 win over China in the finals.[5] Later in 1965, they played at the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification and defeated Australia to become the sole qualifier from the African, Asian and Oceanic zone.[6]

Oh, a midfielder and defender, was ultimately chosen as one of 22 players for the World Cup team.[2][7] By that time, he had been capped for the national team a total of 55 times, according to the Evening Telegraph, although the Sunday Mirror reported it to be 102 caps.[4][7] At the World Cup, the North Korean team played their home games at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, England, as part of the Group 4 in the tournament which included the Soviet Union, Chile and Italy.[8] Projected as having little chance of success, the team lost their first match, 3–0 against the Soviet Union, before tying Chile 1–1.[8] Oh was inactive for the first game against the Soviet Union but started against Chile and played all 90 minutes.[2] The team then played against heavily-favored Italy to determine the qualifier to the next round.[9] The Guardian noted that despite how heavily favored Italy was, "Shin Yung Kyoo, Ha Jung Won and Oh Yoon Kyung were the equals of Mazzola, Perani and Barison."[10] In a massive upset, North Korea won 1–0 on a goal by Pak Doo-ik.[8][9] They eventually lost 5–3 in the quarterfinals to Portugal.[8] Oh appeared in the last three games of the tournament for North Korea, starting each while playing all 270 minutes in those games.[2]

Later life

For the team's performance at the World Cup, all the players were given the honor of Merited Athlete.[11] Oh, however, was one of three – along with Pak Do-ik and Shin Yung-kyoo – to be given the honor of People's Athlete, the most prestigious title awarded to North Korean athletes.[11] After the World Cup, it was rumored that the North Korean squad was imprisoned for celebrating the win over Italy in a bar; however, when interviewed in 2002, several players denied this.[12][13]

In 2002, the surviving members of the 1966 North Korean World Cup team were interviewed for the documentary film The Game of Their Lives; Oh was deceased by this time.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Yoon-Kyung Oh (Player)". National-Football-Teams.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Oh Yoon-kyung Stats". FBref.com.
  3. ^ a b Barham, Albert (January 6, 1966). "England are hosts to the elite". The Guardian. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c d e "No squad better prepared than North Korea". Evening Telegraph. May 21, 1966. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c "Wizard dribbler with strong shot". Evening Chronicle. June 23, 1966. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Han Bong Jin–he dribbles like Garrincha, shoots like Charlton". Liverpool Daily Post. July 8, 1966. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ a b "Meet The Twenty-Two Football Wizards From Pyongyang". Sunday Mirror. May 8, 1966. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ a b c d "When Middlesbrough hosted the 1966 World Cup Koreans". BBC. 15 June 2010.
  9. ^ a b White, Jim (18 October 2002). "North Korea in town to relive game of their lives". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Lacey, David (19 July 1966). "North Koreans profit by Italy's misfortune". The Guardian.
  11. ^ a b Chol-hwan, Kang (4 March 2001). "수용소에서 만난 축구영웅". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean).
  12. ^ Macleod, Calum (12 November 2001). "Korea boys of '66 are alive and kicking". The Independent.
  13. ^ Demic, Barbara (22 June 2002). "1966 World Cup Upstarts Absent but Not Forgotten". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ "북한 월드컵 8강주역들 영국 방문". NK Chosun (in Korean). 16 October 2002.
  • v
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North Korea squad – 1966 FIFA World Cup
North Korea