When the North and South Korea women’s hockey teams clash in a rare match this week, defector-turned-star-player Young Hwang-bo will cheer for the country that has labeled her a traitor.
The two Koreas are to face off in Group A, Division II of the Women’s World Ice Hockey Championships in Gangneung, South Korea, today.
The meeting will be heavy with symbolism for the 37-year-old North Korean defector who competed in the first North-South women’s ice hockey showdown in 2003 as a South Korean.
Photo: AFP
Young started playing hockey at age 12 after she was recruited by a North Korea national team coach. She made the squad a few years later.
However, when she turned 18, Young, along with her parents and four siblings, made the harrowing journey across the Tumen River in a cramped boat to China before eventually settling in South Korea.
Once in the South she figured she would never play hockey with her former teammates again or even see their faces.
However, a chance for a reunion on the ice came at the 2003 Aomori Asian Games.
“I couldn’t even sleep from excitement,” said Young, who played for South Korea after fleeing from her homeland in 1999.
She quickly got her hands on the roster of North Korean players in the game and found a handful of names she recognized.
“It was more than just a match to me. It was the first time in seven years to see my friends,” Young told reporters.
Once on the ice, Young’s hopes for a warm reunion were quickly dashed.
Her former teammates violently checked her against the boards and called her a “traitor” throughout the game.
When she approached them for a handshake after the South suffered a humiliating 10-0 loss, she was assailed with more insults.
“I broke down and cried. I was sure they would be happy to see me,” Young said.
Although initially hurt, Young says she now understands her friends’ hostility, since breaking the ice with her could have resulted in harsh punishments at home.
More than 900 North Korean women are registered as professional hockey players, nearly four times that of the South, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation.
However, Young said the lack of resources in the impoverished state made for spartan training.
“The ice rink opened only for official games, so for training, we had to freeze up a field by hosing it with water,” she said.
In her adopted country, Young is credited with improving women’s ice hockey, with South Korea ranked 23rd globally.
She led the team to their first international victory at the 2005 World Championships — an 8-2 win against Iceland in which she scored four goals — and was named the team captain shortly after.
Young’s unlikely rise from defector to sporting icon was later portrayed in the movie Run-Off 2 released last year.
Since retiring in 2011, Young has dabbled in coaching children and a sledge hockey team.
She jokes that she “no longer pays attention to women’s hockey games.”
Unless of course, it involves her native North Korea.
“I will go to Gangneung on the game day, quietly without drawing attention,” she said. “I think I will cheer for the North Korean team.”
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