Jong Tae-se (romanization used by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, otherwise spelled as in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

;

hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 정대세,

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 鄭大世; born ) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Born in Japan, he represented the North Korea national team internationally, notably appearing at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. He is one of few North Koreans who have played in the Japanese

J-League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 ...

and the German 2. Bundesliga.

Early life and nationality

Jong was born in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, Japan between a father who has South Korean citizenship and a mother who has Joseon citizenship, and became a South Korean national based on the father's family register at the time of birth. Accordingly, his legal

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

is South Korean. But his mother's nationality is

Chōsen-seki is a legal status assigned by the Japanese government to ethnic Koreans in Japan who do not have Japanese nationality and who have not registered as South Korean nationals. The status arose following the end of World War II, when many Koreans l ...

, so he could choose the North Korea national team. His mother sent him to attend a private school in Japan run by

Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan,
" ''

, a group closely tied to the North Korean government – where he started football at its elementary school club. He later attended

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

, a private university in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

also funded by Chongryon. Consequently, Jong has said that he and his family identify themselves as North Koreans. Chongryon, North Korea's ''de facto'' embassy in Japan, issued a North Korean passport to him. This made him eligible, per

rules, to play for North Korea and resulted in ''de facto''

dual nationality Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...

. FIFA and AFC regarded him as ''de facto ''

. Jong is fluent in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. He also knows how to speak

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

which he learned from his Brazilian teammates at Japan's

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara W ...

. He also speaks

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

from playing in Germany. He also speaks reasonable English. Jong publicly emphasized the separation between

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to on ...

and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

after the disputes before and during the match between North Korea and Japan on 15 November 2011.

Club career

After joining

in 2006, the striker quickly rose to become one of Kawasaki's best players and one of the best strikers in the

. Jong went for a trial with English club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

in early 2010. After the 2010 World Cup, Jong joined German club

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

. After one and half seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, Jong transferred to 1. FC Köln in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

in January 2012, following an injury to German international

Lukas Podolski Lukas Josef Podolski (; born Łukasz Józef Podolski, , on 4 June 1985) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze. Known for his powerful and accurate left foot, he is known for his explosive ...

. However, his time at 1. FC Köln was marred by a lack of playing time. On 3 January 2013, Jong announced that after he would start playing for the first-division South Korean K-League club,

Suwon Samsung Bluewings ''(The Blue, White and Reds)''Tricolor'' , short name = SSB , image = , caption = , founded = , ground = Suwon World Cup Stadium , capacity = 44,031 , owner = Cheil Worldwide(Samsung's subsidiary) , chairma ...

. He had expressed interest in the move for several months before the announcement, and the Bluewings and

Ulsan Hyundai FC Ulsan Hyundai FC ( ko, 울산 현대 축구단) is a South Korean professional football club based in Ulsan that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League i ...

had both been negotiating with him. Jong joined the South Korean outfit on 10 January 2013 for a reported fee of €300,000 from 1. FC Köln. After deliberation by

K League 1 The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...

and

authorities, Jong was registered as a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n (domestic) player in the K-League and

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

competitions. On 6 April, he scored his debut goal for Suwon in a 3–1 home win against

Daegu FC Daegu FC (Korean: 대구 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in Daegu. The club was founded as a community club at the end of 2002, and made their K League 1 debut in 2003. Daegu has played mostly in the K League 1 but was re ...

. Two weeks later, 20 April, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win at

Daejeon Citizen Daejeon Hana Citizen Football Club (Korean 대전 하나 시티즌 축구단) is a South Korean professional football team based in Daejeon that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. At the time of its foundation in 19 ...

. On 8 July 2015, he was bought by

Shimizu S-Pulse is a professional Japanese football club. Located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, S-Pulse currently competes in the J2 League (J2). The club was formed in 1991 as a founding member of the J.League (''"Original Ten"''), which began ...

as an emergency signing as Shimizu were in the drop zone after total points calculation from both stages of the season. He was inserted into the starting lineup on 25 July, Matchday 4 of the 2nd stage, away to his former club Kawasaki Frontale which ended in a 3–2 defeat.

International career

Jong's first international appearance was on 19 June 2007, during a 2008 East Asian Football Championship qualifier match against

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and he scored his first international goal in that game. He went on to score a total of four goals which Korea DPR won the match 7–0. Jong also played at the 2008 East Asian Football Championship and scored two goals in three matches for Korea DPR, receiving top scorer honors along with

Park Chu-young Park Chu-young (; ; also romanised as Park Ju-young; born 10 July 1985) is a South Korean footballer who plays for Ulsan Hyundai as a forward. Club career FC Seoul In February 2005, Park joined a K League club FC Seoul with the highest sa ...

, Yeom Ki-hun and

Koji Yamase is a Japanese football player who plays for Renofa Yamaguchi FC. His father Isao Yamase participated in the 1984 Winter Olympics as a biathlete. His brother Yukihiro Yamase is also footballer. Club career Yamase was born in Sapporo on 22 Sept ...

. Before FIFA 2010 World Cup Jong was also the key figure in Korea DPR's

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (O ...

campaign, as they qualified for the World Cup South Africa for the first time in 44 years. Jong had made himself famous for sobbing uncontrollably when the North Korean national anthem was played before the kickoff of Korea DPR's first group stage match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, against Brazil. In that match he assisted

Ji Yun-nam Ji Yun-Nam (; born 20 November 1976) is a former North Korean international footballer, who played for April 25 in the DPR Korea League. International career Ji has appeared for the Korea DPR national football team in eight FIFA World Cup qu ...

's goal in a 2–1 defeat. Although

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d "the People's

Rooney Rooney may refer to: People *Wayne Rooney, English football manager and former player *Rooney family, of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise *Rooney (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Rooney (given nam ...

" by the English press, he likened his style of play to

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...

Career statistics

Club

Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社
2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)
8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 137 out of 289).

International

:''Scores and results list North Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jong goal.''

References

External links

Profile at Instagram
* * *
Jong Tae-Se's blog
* *, from Journeyman Pictures, 19 July 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jong, Tae-se 1984 births Living people North Korean footballers North Korea international footballers North Korean expatriate footballers South Korean footballers Kawasaki Frontale players VfL Bochum players 1. FC Köln players Suwon Samsung Bluewings players Shimizu S-Pulse players Albirex Niigata players FC Machida Zelvia players J1 League players J2 League players 2. Bundesliga players Bundesliga players K League 1 players South Korean expatriate footballers South Korean people of North Korean origin North Korean people of Japanese descent Japanese people of North Korean descent Japanese people of South Korean descent Expatriate footballers in Germany North Korean expatriate sportspeople in Germany South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Germany Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Sportspeople from Nagoya Zainichi Korean people Naturalised citizens of North Korea People's Athletes Association football forwards Association football people from Aichi Prefecture