Jong Tae-se

Jong Tae-se
Born	Nagoya, Japan
Occupation	Professional footballer (retired)
Years active	2006–2021
Known for	Forward for North Korea national football team, participation in 2010 FIFA World Cup

Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox football biography Template:Infobox Korean name

Jong Tae-se, also referred to as Chong Tese (鄭大世; チョン・テセ; Template:Korean; born on March 2, 1984), is a retired professional association football player who operated primarily as a forward. Although he was born in Japan, he chose to represent the North Korea national football team at the international level, including participation in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is among the rare North Korean players to have competed in both Japan’s J-League and Germany’s 2. Bundesliga.

Early life and nationality

Jong entered the world in Nagoya, Japan, with a father holding South Korean citizenship and a mother registered under Chōsen-seki, which is associated with Joseon nationality. At birth, his nationality was registered as South Korean through his father's family registry.

His mother enrolled him in a private educational institution in Japan affiliated with Chongryon, an organization closely connected to the North Korean regime, where he began playing football in elementary school. He subsequently pursued higher education at Korea University (Japan), a Tokyo-based university also supported by Chongryon. As a result, Jong and his family identify themselves as North Korean. Chongryon, acting as North Korea’s de facto diplomatic mission in Japan, issued him a North Korean passport. This status allowed him to be eligible under both FIFA and AFC regulations to represent North Korea internationally, effectively granting him dual nationality.

Jong is proficient in both Korean Language and Japanese Language. Additionally, he acquired conversational skills in Portuguese Language through interactions with Brazilian teammates at Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale and learned some German Language during his tenure playing in Germany.

Following tensions surrounding the match between North Korea and Japan on November 15, 2011, Jong publicly highlighted the importance of distinguishing between sports and politics.

Club career

Upon joining Kawasaki Frontale in 2006, the forward rapidly established himself as one of the club’s standout performers and emerged as a leading striker within the J-League. Early in 2010, Jong underwent a trial period with English side Blackburn Rovers. Following his participation in the 2010 World Cup, he secured a move to German outfit VfL Bochum. After spending one and a half seasons competing in the 2. Bundesliga, Jong transferred to 1. FC Köln competing in the Bundesliga in January 2012, stepping in due to an injury sustained by German international Lukas Podolski. Nevertheless, his tenure at 1. FC Köln was hampered by limited opportunities on the pitch.

On 3 January 2013, Jong revealed plans to join the first-division South Korean K-League team, Suwon Samsung Bluewings. He had shown interest in this transfer for several months prior, with negotiations involving both Suwon and Ulsan Hyundai FC. The striker officially signed with Suwon on 10 January 2013 for an estimated transfer fee of €300,000 from 1. FC Köln. Following review by officials from both K League 1 and FIFA, Jong was classified as a domestic player for South Korea in K-League and AFC Champions League competitions.

Jong opened his scoring account for Suwon on 6 April, netting in a 3–1 home victory over Daegu FC. Just two weeks later, on 20 April, he recorded a hat-trick during a 4–1 triumph against Daejeon Citizen.

On 8 July 2015, Jong was acquired by Shimizu S-Pulse as an urgent reinforcement while the club was positioned in the relegation zone based on cumulative points from both stages of the season. He was immediately placed into the starting eleven on 25 July during Matchday 4 of the second stage, facing his former team Kawasaki Frontale in an away fixture that concluded with a 3–2 loss.

International career

Jong made his debut on the international stage on 19 June 2007 in a qualifying match for the 2008 East Asian Football Championship against Mongolia, where he also netted his first goal for the national team. He finished that game with four goals, contributing to Korea DPR's commanding 7–0 victory. During the 2008 East Asian Football Championship, Jong appeared in three matches and scored twice, earning joint top scorer recognition alongside Park Chu-young, Yeom Ki-hun, and Koji Yamase.

Leading up to the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Jong played a pivotal role in Korea DPR's successful qualification campaign, securing their first World Cup appearance in 44 years. He gained widespread attention when he was seen crying openly as the North Korean national anthem was played before their opening group match against Brazil at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. In that fixture, Jong provided the assist for Ji Yun-nam's goal, although Korea DPR ultimately lost 2–1.

Although English media dubbed him "the People's Rooney", Jong himself compared his playing style to that of Didier Drogba.

Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Kawasaki Frontale	2006	J1 League	16	1	2	2	4	0	—		22	3
	2007		24	12	4	3	5	2	7	2	40	19
	2008		33	14	2	0	4	1	—		39	15
	2009		29	14	4	3	5	2	9	2	47	21
	2010		10	5	—		—		3	1	13	6
	Total		112	46	12	8	18	5	19	5	161	64
VfL Bochum	2010–11	2. Bundesliga	25	10	1	0	0	0	—		26	10
	2011–12		14	4	2	1	0	0	—		16	5
	Total		39	14	3	1	0	0	0	0	42	15
1. FC Köln	2011–12	Bundesliga	5	0	0	0	0	0	—		5	0
	2012–13	2. Bundesliga	5	0	1	0	0	0	—		6	0
	Total		10	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2013	K League 1	23	10	0	0	—		—		23	10
	2014		28	7	0	0	—		—		28	7
	2015		21	6	0	0	—		—		21	6
	Total		72	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	72	23
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Shimizu S-Pulse	2016	J2 League	37	26	1	1	—		—		38	27
2017 J1 League	J1 League	23	10	1	0	2	0	—		26	10
2018 J1 League		18	3	2	0	6	3	—		26	6
2019 J1 League		13	2	1	0	5	0	—		19	2
2020 J1 League		2	0	2	0	0	0	—		4	0
Albirex Niigata	2020 J2 League	J2 League	26	9	0	0	—		—		26	9
Machida Zelvia	2021 J2 League	J2 League	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
Career total			365	137	23	10	31	8	19	5	438	160

International

National team appearances and goals by year

National team	Year	Appearances	Goals
North Korea	2007	3	8
	2008	10	3
	2009	7	1
	2010	5	3
	2011	8	0
Overall total		33	15

The score column displays North Korea's tally first; the score reflects the state immediately following each goal by Jong.

Jong Tae-se's international goal record

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score after goal	Final result	Competition
1	19 June 2007	Macau Stadium, Macau	Template:Fb	2–0	7–0	2008 East Asian Football Championship qualification
2				3–0
3				4–0
4				6–0
5	21 June 2007	Macau Stadium, Macau	Template:Fb	2–0	7–1
6				3–0
7				5–0
8				6–1
9	17 February 2008	Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing	Template:Fb	1–0	1–1	2008 East Asian Football Championship
10	20 February 2008	Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	Template:Fb	1–1	1–1
11	15 October 2008	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Template:Fb	1–2	1–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	27 August 2009	World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan	Template:Fb	1–0	2–1	2010 East Asian Football Championship qualification
13	25 May 2010	Cashpoint-Arena, Altach, Austria	Template:Fb	1–1	2–2	Friendly
14				2–2
15	6 June 2010	Makhulong Stadium, Thembisa, South Africa	Template:Fb	1–2	1–3