South Korea’s women’s national team, led by coach Shin Sang-woo, drew 1-1 with North Korea in the third and final Group F match at Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 21.
Both teams finished with two wins and one draw for seven points, but North Korea topped the group on goal difference, with South Korea finishing second. Both advanced to the quarterfinals.
The conduct of the two teams after the match drew as much attention as the result itself.
According to Kyodo News, the North and South Korean players shook hands and encouraged one another after the match. But Park, the North Korean coach, refused to shake hands with members of the South Korean coaching staff.
The issue also came up at the postmatch news conference.
When a foreign journalist asked why he had not shaken hands with the South Korean coaching staff, Park responded sharply, saying, “We came here to play soccer. I have nothing more to say.”
South Korea coach Shin Sang-woo also said after the match that he did not exchange a separate greeting with the North Korean bench.
Shin said, “If they had approached us first, I would have shaken hands, but it has been a long time since we shook hands with North Korea after a match.”
