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The Story Behind Naegohyang Women’s FC’s Visit to South Korea

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  * AFC Women’s Champions League semifinal match between Naegohyang Women’s FC and Suwon FC Women is underway.   ⓒ Il Young Jeong Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University This is the story of the AFC Women’s Champions League, which electrified fans at Suwon Sports Complex in May. The tournament, which generated unprecedented sellout crowds, passionate support, and numerous talking points for a women’s football competition, concluded with Naegohyang Women’s FC lifting the trophy. This column seeks to take a calm and measured look at what Naegohyang Women’s FC’s visit to South Korea has left behind. Now that some of the excitement has subsided, it is worth reflecting on the significance of a visit that was as controversial as it was remarkable.   An Unanticipated Trip to South Korea At the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in February, North Korea reaffirmed that inter-Korean relations should be defined as those be...
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Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula? First, End the War

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  * Participants at the Korea Peace  Rally  chanting slogans “NO WAR! YES PEACE!”   ⓒ Il Young Jeong Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University “Are the Two Koreas Still Technically at War?”   Yes. North and South Korea are still in a state of war. The Korean War, which broke out on June 25, 1950, was suspended with the signing of the Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953. Since then, the war has never officially ended. The Lee Jae-myung government is currently pursuing a “Policy of Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.” In essence, the policy aims to create “a Korean Peninsula where North and South peacefully coexist and grow together.” Compared with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration — which heightened tensions with North Korea through hardline rhetoric symbolized by the slogan “Immediate, Strong, and Until the End” — tensions on the peninsula have clearly eased. Yet few would describe the current situation as...
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Welcoming North Korea’s “Naegohyang Women’s FC”

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Suggestions for the Success of the AFC Women’s Champions League Suwon Tournament * A sculpture installed at the stadium of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup held in Australia in March 2026.  ⓒ Il Young Jeong Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University An unexpected match between women’s football club teams from South and North Korea has been arranged — remarkably, in Suwon, South Korea. In other words, a North Korean women’s club team will be visiting the South. Amid the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations, a subtle sense of tension is in the air. This article sincerely welcomes the visit of North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s Football Team and proposes that both Koreas’ authorities actively cooperate with the Asian Football Confederation’s tournament operations — without political considerations — so that the AFC Women’s Champions League can be successfully concluded. * ‘Naegohyang’ is a Korean word meaning ‘my hometown.’ An Unexpected Vis...
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