Kim Jong-hun (; born September 1, 1956) is a retired North Korean

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 ...

and football manager. He served as head coach of the North Korea national team, and managed them 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 ...

in South Africa.

Biography

As a player, Kim Jong-hun has spent his career at

April 25 Sports Club April 25 Sports Club (, ''Sa i o ch'eyuktan''), or 4.25 SC for short, or sometimes April 25 National Defence Sports Club (4.25'국방체육단', ''Sa i o ch'eyuktan "Kukpang ch'eyuktan"''), is a multi-sports club based in P'yŏngyang, North Ko ...

. He was capped four times for North Korea during the qualifications for the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

s. After ending his player career, Kim became a manager. He managed April 25 Sports Team until 2007, when he became the manager of North Korea national team. In 2009, he led the team as it qualified for the

, their first since

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. After a disappointing showing at the World Cup, Kim faced harsh criticism upon his return to North Korea.

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editoriall ...

reported that he was publicly shamed and condemned for hours in front of 400 people, including the North Korean sports minister. At the same event, the team members were commanded to individually criticize their coach, who was accused of betraying General

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

, the country's

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

. The report also mentioned that he had been stripped of his membership in the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

and forced to work hard labor on a construction site as punishment. It is however unknown whether Kim was really faced with such a violating punishment, as far as DPRK has its information mostly closed from the other world. Little is known about Kim Jong-hun's current (by July 2022) occupation, probably due to the same reason.

References

1956 births Living people North Korean football managers North Korea national football team managers 2010 FIFA World Cup managers April 25 Sports Club players April 25 Sports Club managers People's Athletes North Korean men's footballers Men's association football defenders North Korea men's international footballers {{NorthKorea-footy-bio-stub