Jong Tae-se, also known as is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Japan, he represented the North Korea national team internationally, notably appearing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is one of few North Koreans who have played in the Japanese J-League and the German 2. Bundesliga.
Early life and nationality Jong was born in Nagoya, Japan to a father who has South Korean citizenship and a mother who has Joseon citizenship, and became a South Korean national based on the father's family register at the time of birth.
His mother sent him to attend a private school in Japan run by Chongryon, a group closely tied to the North Korean government – where he started football at its elementary school club. He later attended Korea University, a private university in Tokyo also funded by Chongryon. Consequently, Jong has said that he and his family identify themselves as North Koreans. Chongryon, functioning as North Korea's de facto embassy in Japan, issued a North Korean passport to him. This made him eligible, per FIFA and AFC rules, to play for North Korea and resulted in de facto dual nationality.AFC 정대세 이중국적 허용, ACL 출전 길 열렸다
Jong is fluent in Korean and Japanese. He also knows how to speak Portuguese which he learned from his Brazilian teammates at Japan's Kawasaki Frontale, and German from playing in Germany.
Jong publicly emphasized the separation between sportsmanship and politics after the disputes before and during the match between North Korea and Japan on 15 November 2011.
Club career After joining Kawasaki Frontale in 2006, the striker quickly rose to become one of Kawasaki's best players and one of the best strikers in the J-League. Jong went for a trial with English club Blackburn Rovers in early 2010. After the 2010 World Cup, Jong joined German club VfL Bochum. After seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, Jong transferred to 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga in January 2012, following an injury to German international Lukas Podolski. However, his time at 1. FC Köln was marred by a lack of playing time.
On 3 January 2013, Jong announced that after he would start playing for the first-division South Korean K-League club, Suwon Samsung Bluewings. He had expressed interest in the move for several months before the announcement, while the Bluewings and Ulsan Hyundai FC had also both been negotiating with him. Jong joined the South Korean outfit on 10 January 2013 for a reported fee of €300,000 from 1. FC Köln. After deliberation by K League 1 and FIFA authorities, Jong was registered as a South Korean (domestic) player in the K-League and AFC Champions League competitions.
On 6 April, he scored his debut goal for Suwon in a 3–1 home win against Daegu FC. Two weeks later, 20 April, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win at Daejeon Citizen.
On 8 July 2015, he was bought by Shimizu S-Pulse as an emergency signing as Shimizu were in the drop zone after total points calculation from both stages of the season. He was inserted into the starting lineup on 25 July, Matchday 4 of the 2nd stage, away to his former club Kawasaki Frontale which ended in a 3–2 defeat.
International career Jong's first international appearance was on 19 June 2007, during a 2008 East Asian Football Championship qualifier match against Mongolia and he scored his first international goal in that game. He went on to score a total of four goals which Korea DPR won the match 7–0. Jong also played at the 2008 East Asian Football Championship and scored two goals in three matches for Korea DPR, receiving top scorer honors along with Park Chu-young, Yeom Ki-hun and Koji Yamase.
Before the FIFA 2010 World Cup Jong was also the key figure in Korea DPR's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, as they qualified for the World Cup South Africa for the first time in 44 years. Jong had made himself famous for sobbing uncontrollably when the North Korean national anthem was played before the kickoff of Korea DPR's first group stage match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, against Brazil. In that match he assisted Ji Yun-nam's goal in a 2–1 defeat.
Although nicknamed "the People's Rooney" by the English press, he likened his style of play to Didier Drogba.
Career statistics Club Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK), 7 February 2018, Japan, (p. 113 out of 289).Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, 2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK), 8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 137 out of 289).
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKawasaki Frontale2006J1 League1612240—223200724124352724019200833142041—39152009291443529247212010105——31136Total1124612818519516164VfL Bochum2010–112. Bundesliga25101000—26102011–121442100—165Total391431000042151. FC Köln2011–12Bundesliga500000—502012–132. Bundesliga501000—60Total100100000110Suwon Samsung Bluewings2013K League 1231000——2310201428700——287201521600——216Total72230000007223Shimizu S-Pulse2015J1 League13400——1342016J2 League372611——38272017J1 League23101020—261020181832063—26620191321050—1922020202000—40Total10645711330012649Albirex Niigata2020J2 League26900——269Machida Zelvia2021J2 League0000——00Career total3651372310318195438160
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNorth Korea2007382008103200971201053201180Total3315
Scores and results list North Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jong goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Jong Tae-seNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition119 June 2007Macau Stadium, Macau2–07–02008 East Asian Football Championship qualification23–034–046–0521 June 2007Macau Stadium, Macau2–07–163–075–086–1917 February 2008Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing1–01–12008 East Asian Football Championship1020 February 2008Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China1–11–11115 October 2008Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran1–21–22010 FIFA World Cup qualification1227 August 2009World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan1–02–12010 East Asian Football Championship qualification1325 May 2010Cashpoint-Arena, Altach, Austria1–12–2Friendly142–2156 June 2010Makhulong Stadium, Thembisa, South Africa1–21–3 See also
References
External links
FIFA.com – Jong straddles the 38th parallel Jong Tae-Se's blog
, from Journeyman Pictures, 19 July 2010