Jong Tae-se

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. 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.

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. 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

International

Scores and results list North Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jong goal.