Former K League player Ahn Young-hak makes surprise Asian Games appearance to support NK team

Former member of the North Korean national football team Ahn Young-hak, who also played in the K League, made a rare appearance in Japan to watch and support his former teammates and younger players at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Ahn attended the men's Group B opening match between China and North Korea on Wednesday at Wave Stadium Kariya in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture.

Born in 1978 in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, near Hiroshima, Ahn is a third-generation Korean resident of Japan. Ahn, who played for North Korea at international tournaments, made 40 appearances for the national team between 2002 and 2012, scoring three goals.

He made his professional debut with J.League club Albirex Niigata in 2002 and later played for Nagoya Grampus. In 2006, he joined K League club Busan I'Park, beginning his football career in South Korea. He spent two years with Suwon Samsung Bluewings from 2008 before returning to the J.League with Omiya Ardija in 2010.

Ahn, who met with Xportsnews at halftime, said he has been working as a youth soccer coach since retiring as a player.

"I run football classes for elementary school students in Tokyo and Yokohama, and I also travel to Korean schools across Japan, where I play football with the students and talk with them," he said.

Explaining why he came to the match, Ahn said, "I came to support my younger teammates because they are participating in a tournament in Japan for the first time in a while."

He added, "The current coach, Ri Kwang-chon, was a teammate of mine when I was on the national team, so I also came to support him as he coaches the team."

Ahn and Ri were both regular starters for North Korea during the final qualifying rounds and the finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

After watching the younger players' first-half performance, which ended 1-1, Ahn said they were "playing better than I expected."

"They are calmly keeping possession and creating chances. It's unfortunate that they conceded a goal, but I think a lot of the younger players have developed more than I expected," he said.

The stands on one side of the stadium were packed with members of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, known as Chongryon, who came to support North Korea.

The supporters formed a cheering section, displaying banners reading "Win, Korea" and North Korean flags. They chanted slogans such as "Win, Korea," "Our country, win" and "One heart, one mind, Korea," while singing North Korean songs they learned at Korean schools in Japan.

Ahn said many elementary school students and teachers from the area had come to the match, along with other Korean residents in the region.

"Normally, we don't get many chances to see the players from our own country playing like this," he said. "There aren't many opportunities like this. They came together to support the players, seeing them play hard and compete in a match in Japan after such a long time."

Watching the supporters, Ahn said he felt "very happy and proud."

"It made me happy to see everyone cheering for the players from their own country right in front of them, in our own language and with our own songs, while sharing that sense of identity as Koreans," he said.

This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.