Women's Football and Political Propaganda in North Korea: Socialist Patriotism, Communist Feminism, and State Patriarchy

In 2024 the North Korean women's football team achieved a significant milestone by winning four international cups. This study discusses how the despotic communist regime in North Korea exploits such sporting triumphs to promulgate its ruling ideologies, especially through political messages embedded in domestic newspaper coverage of women's football. This state's production and articulation of political propaganda through sports is second to none in the world. From the reinforcement of socialism to the idolization of the political leader, the case of North Korea offers the prototype of the intersection of politics and football under authoritarian regimes.