Sports Diplomacy Should Be a Side Menu, Not the Main Dish

By Sangok Jeon, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Greg Scarlatoiu, HRNK President & CEO
 
Introduction
“Welcome! Welcome!” These words were echoed at Incheon International Airport on May 17th, 2026. These were for the Naegohyang (“My Hometown”) women’s soccer club from North Korea, which entered South Korea to participate in the semi-final game against South Korea’s Suwon Women's FC in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition.[1] Naegohyang beat Suwon 2:1, and won the AFC championship title after defeating Tokyo Verdy in the final.[2] These sporting events featuring Naegohyang were remarkable to many people because they happened under high tension in inter-Korean relations, and the change of the content of North Korea’s constitution, which abandoned the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.

Brief History of Sports-Related Events between South Korea and North Korea
            Naegohyang’s visit was not the first time South Korea hosted inter-Korean sporting events. In the past, there were even events featuring mixed inter-Korean teams. First, the World Table Tennis Championship in 1991. South Korea and North Korea’s table tennis teams formed a unified team and took part in the competition held in Chiba, Japan. They played under the Korean Unification Flag, used the name ‘Korea’ and played ‘Arirang,’ which is a Korean traditional folk song, instead of their national anthems.[3] In this event, the women’s team won against the Chinese team and managed to get a gold medal.[4] In 2000, at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, South Korea and North Korea marched together for the first time during the Olympics opening ceremony.[5] In 2002, at the Busan Asian Games, North Korea sent its sports delegation to an international event in South Korea for the first time.[6] In 2005, there was an Asian Athletic Championship in Incheon; North Korea sent cheerleaders. According to the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS), Ri Sol-ju, currently the First Lady of North Korea, was one of the cheerleaders.[7] In Incheon, Ri Sol-ju cheered North Korean athletes and sang. Later, in 2014, against the background of the Incheon Asian Games, North Korea sent high government officials to talk with South Korea, and in 2018, through the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, athletes from the two Koreas marched together in the opening ceremony, did a joint training session, and formed a unified women’s ice hockey team.[8] Despite several sporting events involving joint teams or hosting by South Korea, the current inter-Korean relations are in bad shape. After failing to reach an agreement in the U.S.-North Korean Hanoi summit meeting, the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula drastically changed. North Korea believed South Korea did not devote much effort to mediating between the United States and itself, and complained about the persistence of South Korea-U.S. joint military drills. As a result, North Korea’s negative feelings toward South Korea grew.[9] North Korea directly expressed its discomfort in typical North Korean style by blowing up the Joint Liaison Office in Gaeseong.[10] Because of this high tension between South and North Korea, there were no sporting events between the two between 2018 and Naegohyang’s visit.

South Korea’s Reaction to the Visit of Naegohyang
The South Korean government and some ordinary South Korean citizens thought Naegohyang's visit could be a great opportunity to reconnect with North Korea. Because of this expectation, some civic groups welcomed the Naegohyang players at Incheon Airport by holding cards reading “Welcome Naegohyang Women’s Football Team”.[11] Furthermore, civic groups including Citizens’ Peace Forum, the Self-Reliant Peace and Unification Alliance, and the Hankyoreh Unification Culture Foundation formed the ‘Suwon FC Women-Naegohyang Women’s FC Joint Cheering Squad’.[12] The Ministry of Unification decided to provide funding to this ad-hoc coalition of Naegohyang supporters, amounting to 300 million South Korean won ($202,000).[13]

North Korea’s Reaction to the Visit of Naegohyang
There were no special reactions from North Korea toward Naegohyang’s visit to South Korea. Specifically, Naegohyang players did not react to people who were welcoming them at the airport, and the head coach of Naegohyang mentioned that his team would just focus on the game.[14] The North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) briefly mentioned that Naegohyang won against Suwon in the semifinal match and went to the final; about the final, KCNA discussed that Naegohyang beat the Japanese team 1:0 and won the cup and gold medals.[15] In both news reports from North Korea, they did not mention the joint cheering squad from civic groups.
​
Sports Diplomacy was Effective for South Korea
The reason why the South Korean government and some people expected Naegohyang's visit to help reconnect with North Korea might be that sports diplomacy has been helpful to South Korean diplomatic activities. One famous example is diplomatic normalization with the Soviet Union and China. The late President Roh Tae-woo implemented Nordpolitik (Northern Policy) to connect with traditional allies of North Korea, i.e., the Soviet Union, China, and other former fraternal countries of the East European bloc.[16] Sporting competition was instrumental in South Korea’s establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and China. Regarding relations with the Soviet Union, because of the Soviet Union’s participation in the 1988 Seoul Olympics after two editions that had been affected by boycotts (Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984), South Korea and the Soviet Union could be motivated to further develop sporting, cultural, economic, and other official relations.[17] This led to the summit between Roh Tae-woo and Gorbachev in San Francisco in 1990, when they discussed diplomatic normalization.[18] Regarding relations with China, the 1990 Beijing Asian Games were one the vehicles employed to reach diplomatic normalization. South Korean companies spent $15 million in promotions, and Daewoo Motors provided 150 cars to the games.[19] CSIS estimated that such gestures paved the way to diplomatic normalization between South Korea and China.[20]

South Korea’s Future Sports Diplomacy with North Korea
Since Naegohyang’s visit occurred during a period of high tension between South and North Korea, the expectation that it might change the atmosphere of inter-Korean relations is understandable. However, one must remember that Naegohyang soccer players visited South Korea to participate in an Asian competition, i.e., an AFC match, not to engage in sports diplomacy with South Korea; they were just a soccer squad visiting South Korea for a match, not a North Korean delegation tasked with exchanges with South Korea. Furthermore, even though South and North Korea have held joint sporting events, those were not effective in fostering durable, improved inter-Korean relations. Thus, from now on, President Lee Jae-myung and his government should consider using sports diplomacy as a supplemental method in relations with North Korea, not as a principal one. If one were to compare this to food courses, sports diplomacy should be a side dish, an appetizer or dessert, not the “main dish.” When looking at cases where South Korea used sports in its diplomacy with the Soviet Union and China, South Korea employed sports primarily to expand opportunities for contact to discuss diplomatic normalization. It did not use sports as the main method of achieving diplomatic normalization. Consequently, if President Lee Jae-myung and his government really want to reconnect with North Korea, they must not use sports diplomacy as the “main course.” As the “main dish,” instead of sports diplomacy, they should use communication channels to contact North Korea directly for discussions, or seek support from countries close to North Korea, such as China, to initiate dialogue and build relations. If they mainly focus on the “side dish,” i.e., sports diplomacy, they will not have enough time, resources, or energy to devote to the “main dish.” As a result, the “main dish” is likely to lose its appeal. This will make it very difficult for President Lee Jae-myung and his government to reconnect with North Korea. To prevent this, President Lee Jae-myung and his government should thoroughly review which “main dish” and which “side dish” they need to use in diplomacy with North Korea.
 
​​Sangok Jeon is a master’s student at the George Washington University(GWU), majoring in International Affairs. At GWU, he is a member of the Organization of Asian Studies(OAS), which is a graduate student think tank, under the guidance of the Director of Korea Affairs. In the coming fall semester, he will become a treasurer and executive member of the OAS. He developed an interest in human rights in North Korea after attending a special lecture on human rights violations there during his high school years. Moreover, through Model United Nations Club activities, he had the opportunity to address issues related to North Korea, including nuclear and missile threats. Through these experiences, he dreams of becoming a Northeast Asia expert tasked with handling North Korea-related challenges. Through working with HRNK, he wishes to  gain advanced research experience regarding North Korea. He wishes to conduct informed, well documented outreach activities informing world public opinion on both security and human rights challenges in North Korea.

[1] Kim Hyung-jin, “North Korean women’s soccer team arrives in South Korea for regional tournament,” AP News, May 18, 2026, https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-south-women-soccer-tensions-d3a3262a056a605b0009dd5b551e8690
[2] Lee Seung-ku, “Naegohyang wins AFC women’s title on South Korean soil,” The Korea Herald, May 23, 2026, https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10754952
[3] Yoon Min-sik, “How athletes have helped bridge the inter-Korean divide,” The Korea Herald, May 20, 2026, https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10742225
[4] Yoon Min-sik, “How athletes have helped bridge the inter-Korean divide.”
[5] Yoon Min-sik, “How athletes have helped bridge the inter-Korean divide.”
[6] Yoon Min-sik, “How athletes have helped bridge the inter-Korean divide.”
[7] Lee Young-jong, “North’s cheerleaders toe treacherous line,” Korea JoongAng Daily, August 10, 2014, https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/norths-cheerleaders-toe-treacherous-line/11236751
[8] Yoon Min-sik, “How athletes have helped bridge the inter-Korean divide.”
[9] PBS News, “What ‘s behind North Korea’s latest act of aggression,” June 16, 2020, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whats-behind-north-koreas-latest-act-of-aggression; Choe Sang-hun, “New North Korean Missile Comes With Angry Message to South Korea’s President,” The New York Times, July 26, 2019,. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/world/asia/north-korea-missile-moon-jae-in.html
[10] Laura Bicker, “North Korea blows up joint liaison office with South in Kaesong,” BBC, June 16, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53060620
[11] Kang Woo-seok, “North Korean Women’s Team Arrives for 12-Year Inter-Korean Clash,” The Chosun Daily, May 17, 2026, https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/05/17/ULTVUSRJQBHLFEBTGANXPC73CA/
[12] Jeong Seung-woo, “Suwon FC Women Seek Revenge Against North Korea in Champions League Semifinal,” The Chosun Daily, May 20, 2026, https://www.chosun.com/english/sports-en/2026/05/20/5OEGGUT5CVEDLP5P2B4MIXLKMM/
[13] Chung Yeong-gyo, “Seoul to foot 300 million won bill for Pyongyang women’s football team at AFC semifinals,” May 12, 2026, https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/sports/seoul-to-foot-300-million-won-bill-for-pyongyang-womens-football-team-at-afc-semifinals/12568758
[14] Park Lin, “North Korean footballers all smiles at first open training session in South,” Korea JoongAng Daily, May 19, 2026, Yoon Min-sik, https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/north-korean-footballers-all-smiles-at-first-open-training-session-in-south-in-pictures/12539052; “S. Korean captain vows to stand firm against NK’s Naegohyang,” The Korea Herald, May 20, 2026, https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10741957
[15] Woo Jae-yeon, “N. Korea briefly reports on women’s football team’s AFC final bid,” Yonhap, May 21, 2026, https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260521001451315?section=nk/nk; Kim Seung-yeon, “N. Korea reports women’s football win, makes no mention of S. Korean venue,” Yonhap, May 24, 2026, https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260524000700315
[16] Kim Jong-chan, “Legacy of Nordopolitik,” The Korea Times, February 17, 2010, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/20100217/legacy-of-nordpolitik
[17] Kim Hak-joon, “The Process Leading To The Establishment Of Diplomatic Relations Between South Korea And The Soviet Union,” Asian Survey, 1997, P. 7, https://online.ucpress.edu/as/article-abstract/37/7/637/23470/The-Process-Leading-to-the-Establishment-of?redirectedFrom=PDF
[18] Kim Hak-joon, “The Process Leading To The Establishment Of Diplomatic Relations Between South Korea And The Soviet Union,” P.12
[19] David Holley, “S. Korea Businesses Score Points in Beijing: Seoul hopes that support for the current games will speed economic and diplomatic ties with China,” Los Angeles Times, September 21, 1990, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-21-mn-716-story.html
[20] Victor Cha & Andy Lim, “Can Sports Diplomacy Open a Door on the Korean Peninsula,” CSIS, May 4, 2026, https://www.csis.org/analysis/can-sports-diplomacy-open-door-korean-peninsula