Fun With Sports!

Some Koreans -- both North and South -- have had a rough go of it recently in the sports world.

The North Korea soccer team didn't arrive to a hero's welcome, as they had hoped. On the contrary, they got a scolding from about 400 people.

The team -- minus the two Japan-based players -- were forced to endure 6 hours of ridicule upon their return.

'Sports Minister Pak Myong Chol was among some 400 government officials, athletes and others at the six-hour-long closed-door session, the report said.

Team members were forced to reprimand their coach at the end of the gathering, the report said.
Japan-based players Jong Tae Se and An Yong Hak were exempted from the meeting, RFA said.

Competing in its second World Cup finals after an absence of 44 years, North Korea exited at the group stage, beaten 2-1 by Brazil, then lost to Portugal 7-0 and to Ivory Coast 3-0.'

I understand they wanted to be represented well by the team, but look at that group. It was ridiculous. I suppose they're just fortunate to still be alive. You know, if they are.

Here's a second story about the public shaming.

Sticking with soccer, South Korea's U-20 women's team added insult to injury in their crushing 5-1 loss to Germany last week.

With the score 4-1, a German player rang a shot off the crossbar. Instead of playing it out of bounds or controlling it, a South Korean player absentmindedly caught the ball and laid it down to her goalie. She clearly was under the impression that the ball went out of bounds. But it's still not a move you'd expect from someone in an international tournament. Make sure to watch that video.

Now, onto the wonderful world of fishing!

A cheating scandal has hit the U.S. Open hard, as a fishing pro was caught weighting his catches in order to win. So how is that bad for Korea. Well, the "Triple-A" fisherman he was sharing his boat with was a South Korean.

The South Korean was cleared of any charges and given a refund on his entry, but still lost out on a percentage of the winnings the two would have taken home. Pretty rough waters, I'd say.

'WON Bass determined that Hart acted alone, even though he had a lower-tier "Triple-A" fishing partner aboard his boat during each of the three days of the U.S. Open.

Naslund explained that the Triple-A partner fishes from the back of the boat while the pro stands at the bow, driving and steering with a foot-powered trolling motor.

On the third day of fishing, Naslund said, Hart was said to have asked his partner -- who had flown in from South Korea -- to change places while he rigged some tackle and checked on the fish in the live-well.

"The same scenario existed on Day 1 and Day 2 of the U.S. Open," Naslund said.

The South Korean angler, who would have shared part of whatever purse Hart had been entitled to after the third and final day, was given a refund for his entry fee.'

And the last story I have for you isn't really bad in any way. It's just funny. Apparently, there's a Korean MMA fighter nicknamed 'The Korean Zombie.' Apparently, he's pretty popular.

That's the sports update for now. Koreans are hoping things turn around for them soon.