Inside out

Through the lens of 1966, a different North Korea emerges

PANMUNJOM, Korea -- What does the "Axis of Evil" look like? Well, if you're here at the DMZ, where the U.S. soccer team made a visit on Friday, it looks like the most dangerous place on earth. At least that's what President Clinton called the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea a few years ago. Even though Kashmir is now No. 1 (with a warhead) in that department, the last active monument to the Cold War is still in fine form, replete with machine gun-toting guards, endless coils of barbed wire and North Korean soldiers who make throat-slitting gestures in the manner of NBA stars.

Of course, this is 2002, which means tourists on both sides of the border get to witness the whole spectacle, happily waving at each other from 75 yards away before boarding their respective freon-cooled tour buses.

As I learned on Thursday, however, there's more to North Korea than a bunch of faceless enemies whom President Bush famously lumped into his "Axis of Evil" alongside Iran and Iraq. I'm referring to a fascinating hour-long British documentary that aired on Korean TV, detailing the Miracle on Grass exploits of North Korea's 1966 World Cup team.

For a soccer nut it was priceless stuff, including rare footage of the North Koreans' stunning upset of Italy (eliminating the Azzurri, who were pelted with garbage upon their return to Genoa) and their quarterfinal loss to Portugal, in which North Korea somehow blew a 3-0 lead to fall 5-3. In the darkest days of the Cold War, the North Koreans played with such attacking zeal that the English fans adopted them as their own, swarming them for autographs and waving North Korean flags at stadiums in Middlesbrough and Liverpool. The North Koreans responded in kind, returning their smiles and pulling off what Europeans consider the greatest upset in the history of the World Cup. (Greater, even, than the U.S.'s 1-0 win over England in 1950.)

Soccer diplomacy is what it was. And thanks to the filmmakers, we got to see all of the North Koreans' genuine emotions (Newsflash: They're human!), not just through the 1966 footage, but also through recent interviews with the players from the team. There, in the flesh, was Pak Doo-ik, the North Korean dentist who scored the winning goal against Italy. There were his teammates, laughing and crying, reminiscing about one of the greatest moments in World Cup history and even knocking the ball around a little bit themselves. Even for an American, it was enough (no lie) to bring tears to your eyes.

Look, we should all appreciate the military personnel who put their lives on the line at the DMZ, particularly after 9/11. But every once in a while it's good to be reminded that sports has the power to transcend even the world's most dangerous borders. Consider a recent article, in which ordinary North Koreans were asked which team they would be rooting for during this World Cup.

Their overwhelming choice was South Korea.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl covers soccer for the magazine and will contribute frequently to CNNSI.com throughout the World Cup tournament.

 

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