North Korea has a lot of problems — desperate North Koreans have been crossing into China and killing Chinese for their food, for instance — and among the less serious ones is the dearth of fans at its international soccer games. Before the ongoing Asian Cup in Australia, organizers tried to drum up support among any North Koreans living in the country, "but the lines of communication quickly went dead," says Joe Gorman at The Guardian. He continues:
To fill the void, the North Koreans are being supported at the Asian Cup by a motley crew of inner-city hipsters looking for an appropriately ironic team to follow, whack-job communists still raging against the dying light of Marxism-Leninism, cheapskates taking advantage of the cut-price tickets (and I mean cut-price — you can get into North Korean group matches for a tenner), and, most curiously of all, the South Korean reunificationists. [Guardian]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Is Cop29 a 'waste of time'?Today's Big Question World leaders stay away as spectre of Donald Trump haunts flagship UN climate summit
-
The rise of the celebrity chef tourThe Week Recommends Chefs and food writers are hosting sell-out live events around the world
-
'Thank you for your service'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
