Pak Seung-zin
Personal information
Date of birth (1941-01-11)11 January 1941
Place of birth Wonsan, Japanese Korea (now North Korea)
Date of death 5 August 2011(2011-08-05) (aged 70)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Moranbong Sports Group
International career
North Korea
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Pak Seung-zin
Chosŏn'gŭl
Hancha
Revised RomanizationBak Seung-jin
McCune–ReischauerPak Sŭng-jin

Pak Seung-zin (a.k.a. Pak Sung Jin; 11 January 1941 – 5 August 2011) was a North Korean footballer.[2][3][4] He represented North Korea at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, scoring two goals, against Chile and Portugal. He was the first Asian footballer to score a goal in the World Cup finals.

Career

In his book, The Aquariums of Pyongyang, North Korean defector Kang Chol-hwan claimed that he met Pak in the Yodok concentration camp. He says that Pak and other players on the 1966 team were imprisoned for celebrating the team's victory over Italy in a bar, which was seen as "a sign of bourgeois decadence" by North Korean officials. According to Kang, Pak was in the camp for over 20 years.[5][6] However, in the documentary film The Game of Their Lives, Pak and the other players were interviewed and denied there had been any retribution.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "세계축구선수권대회 ８강 다룬 ＜동방의 첫 축구강국＞ 출판". Korean Central News Agency. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  2. ^ The Game of Their Lives on YouTube
  3. ^ Copa do Mundo da FIFA Inglaterra 1966 Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "E' morto Pak Seung-Zin Chollima Football Fans". Calciocorea.altervista.org. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  5. ^ "North Korean Soccer Unveiled". The New Republic. December 9, 2009.
  6. ^ Socci, Antonio (2001-06-11). "Ricordate la Nord Corea che battè l'Italia? Beh, la squadra finì in un lager perché osò far festa". Il Foglio (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  7. ^ MacLeod, Calum (November 12, 2001). "Korea boys of '66 are alive and kicking". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24.
  8. ^ Demick, Barbara (June 22, 2002). "1966 World Cup Upstarts Absent but Not Forgotten". Los Angeles Times.
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