People's Athlete () is a North Korean honorary title awarded to sportspeople. It was created in 1966. It is usually reserved to those who have won in the Olympic Games or have won a world championship, as it is the most prestigious award for North Korean sportspeople. The title is closely connected with the North Korea national football team. The title was instituted after their achievements in the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

. Victories in the FIFA World Cups are rewarded with the title, as well as the right to live in the capital Pyongyang, including to one's family members. Because of this and since the women's football team has done better recently, the more experienced coaches prefer to work with them rather than with the men's football team. Another similar award is the Merited Athlete.

History

The title was instituted on 8 October 1966 by the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

. Its establishment was prompted by the North Korea national football team's

success Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person mig ...

in the

, where it had reached the quarter-final stage in July. The first people to receive the title were members of the team Pak Doo-ik and Shin Yung-kyoo, as well as

Sin Kim-dan Sin Kim-dan or Shin Keum-dan (; romanised Sin Kim Dan in English in the 1960s) (born 30 July 1938) is a North Korean former track and field athlete who competed in the 1960s in the women's 200 m, 400 m and 800 m, setting disputed world records i ...

, a runner. It was rumored in 2010 that football coach Kim Jong-hun's award was rescinded for losing a game against Portugal in the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 ...

finals. Cho Dae-won became the first '' baduk'' (Go) player to receive the award in October 2013. , a People's Athlete is paid a 200-won monthly wage. The sum is far greater than that of an ordinary office worker who was typically paid around 70 won. , around 200 people have received the title during the 45 years that had passed since its establishment. Whenever the title is conferred, the recipient also receives the Order of the National Flag, first class. Overseas Koreans have received the award, too. For instance Hong Chang-su, Jong Tae-se and An Yong-hak are North Koreans living in Japan who have been named People's Athletes.

List of People's Athletes

* An Yong-hak ( footballer) * Cho Dae-won ( Go player) * Choe Chol-su (boxer) *

Choe Kwang-sok Choi is a Korean family surname. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were around 2.3 million people by this name in South Korea or roughly 4.7% of the population. In English-speaking countries, it is most often anglicized ''Choi'', a ...

(coach) * Han Pil-hwa (speed skater) * Hong Chang-su ( boxer) * Hong Un-jong ( gymnastics) * Jong Song-ok (

marathoner The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

) * Jong Tae-se (footballer) * Kim Chun-phil (coach) * Kim Chun-hui (weightlifting coach) * Kim Il ( wrestler) * Kim Jong-hun ( football coach) * Kim Gwang-suk (gymnastics) * Kim Kuk-hyang ( diving) * Kim Kwang-min (football coach) *

Kim Myong-nam Kim Myong-nam (born 8 February 1969) is a North Korean male weightlifter, competing in the 70 kg category and representing North Korea at international competitions. He won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the 75 kg event and the ...

(weightlifter) * Ku Yong-jo ( boxing) * Kye Sun-hui (

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

) * Mun Ung-jun ( taekwondo coach) * Pae Gil-su (gymnastics) * Pak Doo-ik ( footballer) *

Pak Hyon-suk Pak Hyon-Suk (; or ; born August 4, 1985) is a female weightlifter from North Korea. She ranked 6th in the Woman's 58 kg category at the 2004 Summer Olympics, lifting 217.5 kg in total. At the 2007 World Weightlifting Ch ...

(weightlifter) * Pak Seung-jin (football coach) * Pak Yong-sun ( table tennis) * Pae Gil-su (gymnastics) * Ri Hak-son(wrestler) *

Ri Ho-jun Ri Ho-jun (, born 1 December 1946) is a sports shooter and Olympic Champion for North Korea. He won a gold medal in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the country's first ever Olympic gold. In August 1972 h ...

( shooting) * Ri Kum-suk (

women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football (hannah jones ). Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's ...

) *

Ri Song-hui Ri Song-Hui (born December 3, 1978) is a North Korean weightlifter who competed in the women's 58 kg at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the silver medal with 220.0 kg in total. She repeated this in the 2004 Summer Olympics ...

(weightlifter) * Shin Jong-rim (diving coach) *

(runner) * Shin Yung-kyoo (footballer)

References

Works cited

* {{cite book , ref = CITEREFNorth_Korea_Handbook2002 , author = Yonhap News Agency , title = North Korea Handbook , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JIlh9nNeadMC&pg=PA132 , date = 2002 , publisher=M.E. Sharpe , location = Seoul , isbn = 978-0-7656-3523-5 Civil awards and decorations Society of North Korea

History

List of People's Athletes

See also

References

Works cited