The 98-born 'Inmin Ronaldo' Who Disappeared: "Trapped in North Korean Embassy, Trained for 3 Years"

After COVID-19 Border Reopening, North Korea Soccer Team Including Han Kwang-sung Achieves 4:1 Victory via China Route

Han Kwang-song (26), the first North Korean player to score a goal in Europe's top five football leagues and nicknamed the "People's Ronaldo," was reportedly trapped in the North Korean embassy during the week and trained alone for over two years.

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 14th, Ahn Young-hak, a football coach of Korean-Japanese descent who was a player for the North Korean football team, revealed in an interview with CNN on the 11th that "Han Kwang-song was trapped in the North Korean embassy in China and had to train alone for about 2 to 3 years."

Han Kwang-sung, who earned the nickname 'People's Ronaldo' by scoring goals in the top five European football leagues [Image source=Han Kwang-sung SNS capture]

Han Kwang-song was born in 1998 and is a graduate of the Pyongyang International Football School, established in 2013 by Kim Jong-un, the First Chairman of the National Defense Commission, with the goal of nurturing elite football players.

With the support of Chairman Kim and the authorities, he went to study in Barcelona, Spain, and in 2015 participated in the "Italy Soccer Management" (ISM) camp, making a mark locally. In 2017, he joined the youth team of Cagliari, a Serie A club in Italy, and scored a goal just one week after his official debut.

North Korean football player Han Kwang-song. [Photo by Serie A official website]

In 2020, he transferred to Juventus, one of the prestigious Serie A clubs, reaching the peak of his career, but moved to the Qatari professional team Al-Duhail just a week later. However, his career was forcibly ended in March 2021 due to international sanctions against North Korea following its nuclear missile development.

North Korea required players abroad to send a portion of their income as "loyalty funds" to the authorities. When Han Kwang-song signed with Al-Duhail, he signed a document stating he would not remit money to North Korea, but it was revealed that he illegally sent 80,000 pounds (about 130 million KRW) monthly, leading to his inclusion on the sanctions list. After terminating his contract with his club in 2021, Han suddenly disappeared.

Coach Ahn told CNN that it was regrettable Han Kwang-song could not return to the North Korean football team and resume activities sooner.

After North Korea's borders reopened following COVID-19 lockdowns, Han returned to North Korea in mid-August 2023 by boarding a North Korean Air Koryo passenger flight from Beijing, and he has currently joined the prestigious North Korean club 4.25 and resumed his playing career.

On the 11th, the North Korean national football team, including Han Kwang-song, achieved a 4-1 victory in the final match of Group B in the second round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers held in Laos against Myanmar.