12. Life as an athlete (1)
In June 1983, I officially joined the workplace sports team.
In the 1980s, following Kim Il Sung’s policy of popularizing sports, the whole country was swept up in sports fever. However, from the late 1990s, after Kim Jong Il took power, this enthusiasm gradually cooled. Artists, including those in movies and plays, began to gain prominence, and interest in sports slowly waned.
When I joined the athletic team at work, sports were still very popular. On holidays and anniversaries, not only national institutions but also factories, the military, universities, colleges, middle schools, and even kindergartens held sports events and various games. At that time, being good at athletics, basketball, or soccer could earn you a place at a university and the privilege of a good job.
I didn’t tell my parents that I had joined the sports team at work. I joined the workforce because my father wouldn’t let me go to physical education college. He thought my tomboy personality would make me too wild if I played sports professionally. I knew he would be angry if he found out about the sports team.
The good thing about joining the sports team was that I didn’t have to spend all day working at the lathe and burning my hands with the scattering iron powder.
I also hated accidentally grazing my fingers with the iron sharpening blade. Even though I liked my coworkers and friends in my unit, playing sports was much more enjoyable than working at the lathe.
However, I wasn’t entirely happy about joining the sports team because I had finally settled in with friendly coworkers and friends. I thought my father might have been right to worry about how easily I change my mind.
When I was in school, I joined the literary group in my first year of middle school. When the school split into two, I joined the sports team at the new school and also joined the music group. Seeing me jumping between different activities, my father once told me:
“Good students focus on one thing and are consistent. I’m worried you’ll end up with nothing. There’s an old saying: ‘Many talents, no talent.’ If you’re in the literary group, you should study books and learn about literature. If you join the music club, you should learn a musical instrument and become skilled at it. But you’re just running around now?”
My father was disappointed that I wasn’t sticking to anything. I was a tomboy who didn’t listen well and did what I wanted. I didn’t listen to my parents, didn’t study, and played around instead of focusing on school.
Not long ago, my parents found out that I had been trying to elist in the military on the spur of the moment. I worried that if my father found out I had joined the workplace sports team, he would scold me and maybe even kick me out. So, I decided to keep my involvement with the sports team a secret for now.
The sports team was located in an old building in front of the factory dormitory. The dormitory was about 5 minutes from my house. It housed young workers from different places in Yanggang Province. In the late 1990s, during the Arduous March, the dormitory was closed. The people who lived there turned their rooms into private homes and still live there today.
When I arrived at the sports team in the morning, I entered the building and saw a large open space. There was a cafeteria on one side, and in a room next to it, soccer players were sitting and chatting. Next to the stairs leading upstairs, there was a door with a sign that read “Education Room.”
As I hesitated in the building, someone came out of the warehouse and greeted me warmly, saying, “Oh, you’re here? Come this way.” I followed him into the warehouse. One side of the warehouse was filled with soccer balls and sportswear, while the other side had stacks of rice bags.
The person who had called me introduced himself while looking through the uniforms. “Hi, I’m Eo Jung-gil, the track coach. I’ll be your trainer from now on.”
I then realized that Eo Jung-gil was the person checking the rankings during the 100-meter race on May 8. He gave me two track suits and mentioned that a few more track-and-field athletes would be joining soon. He also suggested that I stay with the kitchen staff for now, even though it might be a bit inconvenient.
Before I joined the sports team, the factory’s primary party secretary (초급당비서) had called me for a meeting. He informed me about a big sports event happening in the province on Liberation Day and the anniversary of the Republic’s foundation. He said the factory would support the sports team generously and asked me to represent the factory well with my athletic skills. He also served as the head of the sports team.
So, it made sense to me that Eo Jung-gil was recruiting new athletes for this upcoming event.
From that day on, I trained with the soccer players on the middle school playground I used to attend. After warming up, the instructor set up a training course. The course involved running several laps around the playground, then leaving it to run on the road towards Samjiyeon, and finally returning to the boundary between Hyesan City and Bocheon county.
For a few days, I trained alone on this course under the instructor’s guidance. Soon, Jeong-nam, who used to compete with me in school, joined the athletic team. A couple of days later, several new girls also joined. It was great to have new chat buddies with Jeong-nam around.
Jeong-nam and I were the formal track-and-field athletes, while the others were preparing for an obstacle competition. Starting the next day, we began serious training, running the course twice a day as set by the instructor.
For the rest of the day, we trained on the school playground. After running the course, we’d take breaks and watch the soccer players train. Sometimes, we girls would kick the soccer ball around and hang out together.
One day, while we were playing soccer, my younger sister spotted me. She was out with her friends and stopped to watch us on the playground.
Not knowing my sister was watching, I was having fun playing soccer with the other girls. At that time, TV broadcasters were promoting the women’s soccer team in North Korea, urging that women could play soccer too. We often joked about how things had changed and laughed, saying, “It’s no longer the old days when female athletes were looked down upon.”
In my parents’ generation, people were shocked to see women playing sports or kicking a ball. They thought it was something women shouldn’t do. I hadn’t told my parents about joining the sports team because they shared this outdated view.
That evening, when I got home from work, my mother looked unusually stern. As soon as I walked in, she shouted, “Where have you been and what have you been doing today?”
Confused by my mother’s anger when I got home, I asked, “What’s wrong?” and glanced at my younger siblings sitting in the room. I started to change out of my clothes, looking at my sister for a hint, but before I knew it, my mother came over and slapped me on the back.
“Why weren’t you at work today? Why were you at the school playground? And what’s with the ball? What are you doing kicking a ball around like a boy? If you behave like this, you won’t even be able to get married because your behavior is so improper. How old are you, anyway?” she yelled, hitting me again.
My mother, who usually was quiet, was speaking passionately, which meant I was likely in for a spanking.
“How did she know I was kicking a ball on the school field?!” I thought, glaring at my sister, who was lying on her stomach pretending to study. I shouted back at my mother, who was scolding me not knowing anything.
“Mom! Come on…” I yelled, reaching back to rub the spot where she slapped me. This only made her angrier. “Are you going to keep arguing? You’ll be in trouble if your father comes home and finds out! Where have you been? Why aren’t you working?!”
When she raised her hand to hit me again, I said, “Oh, really… I didn’t tell you because I was afraid of being criticized, but I got selected for the workplace sports team. I’m an athlete now. I’m working with the sports team.”
My mother lowered her hand and asked, looking at me as I rubbed my back, “How did you get selected for the athletic team? Did you join because you didn’t like your job?”
I explained that the factory’s party secretary called me for the team and that they chose me after the sports event on May 8th.
My mother sighed and said, “You’ll be in trouble if your father finds out. Please behave yourself. You’ll be old enough to get married soon, and who would want a girl who acts like a tomboy?”
My mom went to the kitchen, still mumbling, probably exhausted from scolding me.
I gave my sister a knuckle on the head as she lay on the floor pretending to study. “You told Mom, didn’t you?”
She glanced at me and replied, “Huh!” with a dismissive snort.
“Watch it! If you snitch on me again, you’ll regret it!” I warned her and gave her another knuckle before grabbing a towel and soap to wash up by the river.
When I came back, my mother was waiting with dinner ready.
Our home used to be bustling with all the kids around, but now it’s just my parents, my two younger siblings, and me. We used to squeeze around the table for meals, but now it’s quieter. My youngest brother has graduated from People’s School, and as the children married and joined the military, my mother missed the days when our home was full and lively.
My father always came home after 10 p.m., so my mother would set us up for dinner first. While we were eating, I said, “Mom, please don’t tell Dad I joined the sports team. He didn’t want me to go to Physical Education College, and he’ll be really upset if he finds out. I really want to play sports. I promise I’ll stay out of trouble.”
“Just eat your meal,” my mom said firmly. “I won’t tell your father, but please behave like a girl.”
Mom was always worried about me not being able to find a good spouse in the future. Back then, people didn’t approve of women playing sports and thought that women who exercised were too tough.
I was previously nervous that I was hiding my sports team involvement from my parents. I now felt better after finally talking about it, even though my sister snitched.
On August 15, just a month after joining the sports team, the city held a sports competition. Jeong-nam and I had been training hard on the course set by our instructor. The event began with a simple commemorative ceremony for Liberation Day.
I won the 100-meter race, and Jeong-nam took first place in the 200-meter. We both competed in the 400-meter and 800-meter races. In those races, Jeong-nam came in first, and I finished third. Alongside the track and field events, there were also basketball and volleyball games.
The Sarambak Stadium downtown was packed, and the cheering for the athletes was so loud that it felt like the stadium might burst from the excitement.
My factory’s agitprop (agitation and propaganda) squad brought musical instruments to cheer us on, and the welfare department supported us with boxes of eggs. Each time we came off the field, the factory people cheered and applauded.
Even the workers from my old unit cheered for me and called out my name. Their praise felt even more rewarding than when I was cheered by all the students at school.
After each game, the ladies from the welfare department would hand me eggs, urging me to eat. Since I couldn’t eat raw eggs, I kept them in my meal box instead.
The sports competition in Hyesan City, held for factories and enterprises to celebrate Liberation Day, concluded at 5 p.m. with an award ceremony. I won five plastic basins and a wall clock as prizes.
After the Liberation Day games, the winners were selected to represent Hyesan City in the Yanggang Province Sports Competition, which would be held on the anniversary of the founding of the Republic.
Our sports team, including soccer players, Jeong-nam, and I, were chosen to compete for Hyesan City. The other girls who had participated in the obstacle course returned to their original units.
After the games, we had a review session, where we discussed the upcoming training plans. Then, we headed home in the dark. When I arrived with the big basins and a wall clock, my mother was thrilled. It was as if she had completely forgotten her earlier scolding about me playing sports.
She told me to keep the prizes well and take them with me when I got married, saying I had earned them. I agreed, as all these items were valuable in North Korea.
My father didn’t oppose my participation this time because I did well, earned prizes, and was set to compete at the provincial level. He simply advised me to behave properly now that I was 19 and considered an adult, not a student.
After two days off, our athletic team started training at the city stadium. The city sports committee took over the training for athletes representing the city.
From then on, Jeong-nam and I trained at the stadium every day. We were so exhausted that, after training all day and returning home late at night, we could barely walk.
I brought my lunch from home, and my mom packed me a rice box every day with delicious side dishes because she knew I was working hard. The soccer players also brought their lunches from home.
Pork was served only once a week by our sports team. Jeong-nam often complained about the meal her aunt packed for her. Her father, who had joined the North Korean military as a volunteer during the Korean War, had been sent to Yanggang Province after the war. He was later accused of being a spy and taken by the National Defense Department, and her mother died from the shock.
After that, Jeong-nam and her older sisters were cared for by their aunt. Jeong-nam eventually married but sadly passed away from a liver infection just ten days after giving birth, at the age of 28.
I asked my mom to pack more side dishes while talking about Jeong-nam. The meal we enjoyed by the Aprok River after training was really delicious.
Soon, it was September 9th, the day of the Yanggang Province sports competition. Our instructor, Eo Jung-gil, told us that if we won, we would have the chance to compete in the National Workers’ Sports Competition in Pyongyang next year.
Eo Jung-gil used to be a track and field athlete with the Pyongyang Sports Team. He returned to his hometown and now works as a sports and welfare instructor for our factory. He also participates in soccer games occasionally.
He emphasized the importance of doing well in the provincial competition to qualify for the Pyongyang games. I was determined to win and represent our province in Pyongyang.