South Korean civic groups prepare to back North Korean women’s club in Suwon semi-final

SEOUL: South Korean civic groups say they are mobilising hundreds of supporters to cheer for a North Korean women’s football club set to play a rare match in the South later this month.

North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s FC will face Suwon FC Women on May 20 in the semi-final of the Asian Champions League. It will be the first time since 2018 that a North Korean sports team has competed in South Korea.

The fixture comes against the backdrop of unresolved tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The two Koreas are still technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Groups in South Korea that advocate reconciliation between the two sides are organising volunteers to support the visiting team in Suwon. One group predicted that more than 1,000 people could eventually turn out to back the North Korean side.

Support campaign under way

The Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC) told AFP it had already signed up about 300 people. The Korean Sharing Movement said it drew 100 supporters within an hour of posting a notice on Wednesday, while the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture said around 60 people had joined.

The KCRC made that statement while describing the significance it sees in the North Korean club’s visit.

There will be no away supporters travelling from North Korea, as North Koreans are not permitted to enter the South.

Restrictions on symbols and anthems

How supporters will express their backing remains unclear because of South Korean law and political sensitivities surrounding public displays linked to the North.

Under South Korea’s national security laws, possessing or displaying the North Korean flag, or playing its national anthem in public places, is illegal. Even the Korean unification flag — showing a blue outline of the peninsula on a white background — could face restrictions under Asian Football Confederation rules that prohibit political expression inside stadiums.

A South Korean unification ministry official told reporters this month that only club flags would be shown during the match and that national anthems would not be played.

The winner of the May 20 semi-final will move on to the final of Asia’s leading women’s club competition, which is also scheduled to be held in Suwon on May 23. The finalist from this tie will meet either Australia’s Melbourne City or Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza.

The match is expected to draw attention not only because of its sporting significance, but also because it marks a rare cross-border appearance by a North Korean team amid strained inter-Korean relations.