{"id":26486,"date":"2014-09-19T23:57:33","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T15:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=26486"},"modified":"2025-01-18T03:40:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T08:40:02","slug":"in-the-land-of-k-pop-and-gangnam-style-north-korean-athletes-strut-their-own-kind-of-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/09\/19\/in-the-land-of-k-pop-and-gangnam-style-north-korean-athletes-strut-their-own-kind-of-cool\/","title":{"rendered":"In the land of K-pop and Gangnam style, North Korean athletes strut their own kind of cool"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo by Paul Ark<\/a> \/ Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

INCHEON, South Korea\u2014North Korea is making a statement on the international sports stage\u2014a fashion statement.<\/p>\n

Standing tall in the land of K-pop and Gangnam style, the North\u2019s top athletes have been looking decidedly sharper than usual at the Asian Games, an Olympic-style regional games hosted by rival South Korea, with pink candy-striped ties, azure slacks and, of course, the accessory that pulls every good North Korean ensemble together, those bright red Kim lapel badges.<\/p>\n

All of it, apparently, with a made-in-the-DPRK label.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just the athletes, either.<\/p>\n

Dressed in the same national uniforms as their athletes and coaches, North Korea\u2019s media contingent is hands down the best-dressed group of reporters at the Games. Though that probably isn\u2019t saying much.<\/p>\n

With teams from 45 countries ready to roll after the games officially open Friday, the North\u2019s sportswear has already created something of a buzz in Incheon.<\/p>\n

buy valtrex online https:\/\/plasticsurgery90210.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/png\/valtrex.html<\/a> no prescription pharmacy <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

According to a major Chinese media outlet, The China Daily, their uniforms were domestically designed and produced, instead of procured from abroad as had been the practice in the past, a sign it says reflects the country\u2019s desire to show off its indigenous textile industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, it shows that Pyongyang is going to greater lengths to revive its light industries such as clothing manufacturing to meet its policy of reviving the national economy and bringing the country back to \u2018normal,\u201d\u2018 the newspaper opined in a piece that said the North\u2019s fashions are one of the \u201chighlights\u201d of the event.<\/p>\n

For sure, North Korea\u2019s young leader Kim Jong Un\u2014whose penchant for basketball is well-known\u2014is hoping the 230-member delegation at Incheon will make a big splash.<\/p>\n

Since taking power after the death of his father in late 2011, Kim has made building up sports one of his top priorities.<\/p>\n

buy elavil online https:\/\/plasticsurgery90210.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/png\/elavil.html<\/a> no prescription pharmacy <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Some 150 athletes from the North\u2014whose official name is the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea\u2014will compete in 14 of 36 sports.<\/p>\n

buy oseltamivir online https:\/\/plasticsurgery90210.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/png\/oseltamivir.html<\/a> no prescription pharmacy <\/div>\n

The team features some very strong contenders, including three Olympic weightlifting champions, two very strong judo contenders and a pair of twins\u2014Kim Hye Gyong and Kim Mi Gyong\u2014who could battle for the women\u2019s marathon championship.<\/p>\n

In that race, too, they might have a secret weapon.<\/p>\n

According the North\u2019s state-run media, the Athletic Apparatus Institute of the North\u2019s Sports Science Academy has developed a new type of marathon shoes, which weigh a mere 139 grams and have soles made of elastic materials with outer rims of \u201cflexible and ventilative materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new shoes, with different styles, colours and patterns, have been proven to be of help in raising marathoners\u2019 capacity for locomotion and bettering their athletic records,\u201d the Korean Central News Agency reported before the games began.<\/p>\n

If all else fails, there\u2019s always the mushroom drink.<\/p>\n

Developed by the Microbiological Research Institute of the State Academy of Sciences, the drink\u2014made of cultivated mushroom fungus\u2014was unveiled recently and promoted as a quick pick-me-up for athletes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis natural drink is very effective in enhancing physical ability of sportspersons and recovering from their fatigues,\u201d the state-media claims.<\/p>\n

No word yet on whether it will cause doping issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

INCHEON, South Korea\u2014North Korea is making a statement on the international sports stage\u2014a fashion statement. Standing tall in the land …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":26490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","mauthors-eric-talmadge","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285233,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26486\/revisions\/285233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}