Reported on Chosun Joongang TV
North Korea labeled the South Korean team as 'goerye' while broadcasting the Asian Games women's soccer match between the two Koreas.
North Korea's Korean Central TV reported on the women's soccer quarterfinal match between South Korea and North Korea at the Hangzhou Asian Games held on the 30th of last month, on the 2nd, referring to South Korea as 'goerye'.
The Korean Central TV announcer said, "The women's soccer quarterfinal match between our country's team and the goerye team took place on September 30. The match ended with our team overwhelmingly defeating the goerye team by a score of 4:1." The subtitles also used 'goerye' instead of 'Korea' or 'South side'.
North Korea has usually referred to South Korea as 'Namjoseon' (South Joseon). This was also the case in sports competitions.
'Goerye' refers to various puppets used in puppet plays. It is a metaphorical expression for people who move as others incite them. The North Korean dictionary defines goerye as "national traitors or political groups who are subordinated to imperialists and other foreign invaders, acting as their lackeys while betraying the homeland and the people."
Earlier, after winning the quarterfinal match against South Korea on the afternoon of the 30th at Wenzhou Sports Center Stadium in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, North Korea showed displeasure when a South Korean reporter referred to them as 'North Korea' or 'North side' during the press conference and requested to be called 'Joseon'. North Korean women's soccer team coach Ri Yu-il firmly said, "Not 'North side' but the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," adding, "Let's get that right."
The day before, after the women's basketball match between the two Koreas in which North Korea was defeated, a North Korean official reacted strongly when a reporter used the term 'North Korea' while questioning North Korean women's basketball team coach Jeong Seongsim during the press conference.
The official said, "We are the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). Do not call us North Korea. That is not good. You must call us by the correct name."
North Korea often requests to be called the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea' in international competitions. Since the name 'North Korea' is based on a South Korean perspective, North Korea finds it uncomfortable.
These actions by North Korea appear to reflect the recent sharp deterioration in inter-Korean relations. It is reported that the North Korean team showed a cold attitude not only to the press but also to South Korean players with whom they had friendly relations in the past through the 'unified team' experience.
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