“People’s Rooney” Jung Dae-se is angry at his remarks, “North Korea is rough?

Jung Dae-se (40), the “People’s Rooney,” is making headlines.

Chung Dae-se, a former striker of the North Korean national soccer team, appeared on Japan’s Yomiuri TV “Miyaneya NEWS” on the 19th to refute the negative image of North Korean soccer. In the broadcast, Chung said, “I don’t agree with the opinion that North Korean soccer is rough,” adding, “North Korean players play fiercely and purely within the rules.”

This seems to be a remark conscious of the fact that the Japanese national team recently excluded key players such as Takehiro Tomiyasu Asnal from the list for fear of injury ahead of the North Korean away match while North Korea’s rough team color rises to the surface every day ahead of the World Cup qualifying round.

In 2019, the Korean national team led by head coach Paulo Bento also suffered from an away match in Pyongyang. At that time, the team was under great stress due to the unexpected seizure of electronic devices and the match without spectators. Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham Hotspur) also said, “I am glad that I came back safe and sound.”

In particular, the Asian Games in October was the decisive moment for the deterioration of North Korean soccer’s image inside Japan. North Korea, which faced Japan in the quarterfinals, was complained by its act of protesting the decision and pushing the referee and assaulting Japanese staff, not even receiving six yellow cards.

“I don’t know what happened. However, North Korean players are violent and play purely within the rules. I don’t try to hurt others,” he said, pointing out that there seems to be a “bias” in his perception of North Korean soccer.

“If Japan dismisses fierce Asian soccer as dirty, it will be difficult to continue to win in Asia,” Jung said. “If Europe’s fierce play is praised as ‘Europe,’ it is difficult to develop if it expresses Asian soccer as dirty.”

In addition, Chung also mentioned the controversy over the North’s mistreatment of away teams. “When I was a member of the North Korean national team, it took three to four hours for me to enter and exit Japan. The road to Saitama Stadium was also different. As I am from the J-League, I know how to get there the fastest,” he said, pointing out that Japan also discriminated against the North Korean national team.

Such comments are receiving heated responses from Japanese netizens as well. Many of the comments by Yahoo Japan criticized Saitama for being crowded at a national team match, saying, “It is sometimes faster to get off at a different place because it is too crowded than the J-League,” “It is unfair that Japanese away fans cannot go to North Korea already,” and “It is the first time that a national team player has tried to assault an opposing staff.”

Chung was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, and was a third-generation Korean-Japanese. He started his career as a pro soccer player at Kawasaki Frontale in the J-League, played for VfL Bochum and FC Cologne in the German Bundesliga, and gained fame by playing for the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K-League from 2013 to 2015. Back then, Chung had 23 goals in 72 games over the past two years.

As a striker for the North Korean national team, he proved his killer instinct even in Asia and earned the nickname “People’s Rooney.” After playing in the K-League for two years, he returned to the J-League to finish his career in Gelbia in 2022. After his retirement, he has been active as a broadcaster in Korean entertainment programs such as Dongsang Imong 2, You Are My Destiny, and They Hit the Goal. 토토사이트