Other North Korean Championships

This page features an overview of various other ice hockey competitions in North Korea.

Results

2003-04

The Winter games of the 10th People's Sports Contests took place in Pyongyang and Samjiyon of Ryanggang Province, concluding in March 2005. The men's team of the Sports Group of the Pyongyang Railway Bureau and the women's team of the Jagang Provincial Sports Group placed first in the ice hockey matches.

2005-06

The Pyongyang Railway Bureau won the men's event and the Jagang Provincial Sports Group took first in the women's competition of the Mangyongdae Cup, played in April 2006.

2007-08

A youth championship which concluded in November 2007 was held. Men's players of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex and women's players of Kanggye University of Education No. 1 placed first in the events.

The Osandok Cup was staged in December 2007. The Pyongyang Railway Bureay won the men's tournament, and Kanggye University of Education No. 1 captured the women's competition.

2008-09

The Pyongyang City Winter Sports Group won the Osandok Cup men's tournament, staged in December 2008. The winter sports event contest of the 11th National Games was also staged that month. The Pyongyang City Winter Sports Group won the men's ice hockey tournament, while the Jagang Provincial Sports Group claimed the women's title.

2010-11

A national youth championship was held in late 2010. The Pyongyang Railway Bureau Sports Team and the Taesongsan Sports Team won in men's and women's ice hockey, respectively.

Winter Sports Games were also staged at that time as part of the National Sports Festival celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea. In the ice hockey event drawing five men's and five women's teams, the Taesongsan team won the men's title and the Jangjasan team the women's title.

2012-13

Men of the Pyongyang Railway Bureau Sports Team with a record of 4-1 and women of the Taesongsan Sports Team with a record of 5-0 came first respectively in the ice hockey event of the Osandok Prize, staged from December 12-26, 2012. The competition was held on a round-robin basis by six men's teams and six women's teams. Both teams had also finished first in the ice hockey events of the 12th People's Games held in October.

Men's players of the Pyongyang Railway Bureau Sports Team and women's players of Kanggye University of Education No. 1 came first in the ice hockey events of the Mangyongdae Prize Sports Games, held in April 2013.

The National Youth Championship was played from May 15-18, 2013. Men's players of the Sports Team of the Pyongyang Railway Bureau and wome's players of the Taesongsan Sports Team placed first respectively. Men's players of Korea University of Physical Education and women's players of Sajabong Sports Team took the second while men's players of the Taesongsan Sports Team and women's players of the Sports Team of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex came in third.

2013-14

"The ice hockey matches for the DPRK Championships closed on Saturday (11/30). Four teams (men's and women's) which won in the first league matches competed in the second league to decide final standings.

In the men's event the Pyongyang Railway Bureau Sports Team came first and the Taesongsan Sports Team and the Ministry of Fisheries Sports Team second and third.

In the women's event the Taesongsan Sports Team took the first place and Kanggye University of Education No. 1 Sports Team and the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex Sports Team second and third places.

The ice hockey matches that started in the Ice Rink on November 14 were the final event of the championships"

"Ice-hockey matches of the sports contest for Osandok Prize closed on Tuesday (12/24). They started in the Ice Rink on December 5.

Four teams of men and women each which proved successful in the first round of league matches played the second round of league matches for final standings.

In the men's ice-hockey event players of the Pyongyang Railway Bureau Sports Team came first and players of the Taesongsan Sports Team and the Sports Team of the Ministry of Fisheries second and third.

In the women's event players of the Taesongsan Sports Team won the title while players of the Sports Team of Kanggye University of Education No. 1 and the Jangjasan Sports Team placed second and third."

The Paektusan Prize Sports Contest ran from February 4-28, 2014. Men's players of the Sports Team of the Ministry of Fisheries and women's players of the Taesongsan Sports Team came first in ice hockey events. The Ministry of Fisheries beat Pyongyang Railway Bureau 6:1 in the men's finals.

2014-15

"The first division ice hockey competition is running in Pyongyang's Ice Rink as part of the National Championships.

The competition, which began on November 14, draws six male and six female teams from Taesongsan, Ministry of Fisheries and other clubs.

The teams play on a round-robin basis, and the top four are to compete in league matches for final rankings.

Prior to the championships, there were two technical innovation games, which saw an improvement in carrying the puck, skating and other individual skills and a faster play.

Taesongsan and Pyongyang Railway Bureau proved themselves as domestic giants in the men’s first-round competition.

Taesongsan’s forwards showcased their high skills like instant strike by two-to-three combination, helping their side cruise to win.

Those of Ministry of Fisheries, which remained little known, performed vigorously against giants, launching tight defence throughout the games.

Taesongsan and Kanggye University of Education No. 1 fought several times in the final at last year’s National Championships and other events this year. Taesongsan took the lead in the first-round competition thanks to its successful tactics that put emphasis on quick strike by medium- and long-distance passes.

Observers say that the final rankings are presumably little different from those in the first-round competition."

In the Osandok Prize Games, which closed around January 3, 2015, Taesongsan scored 42 goals in total to win the men's first division ice hockey competition. Sajabong, fourth placer in the previous competition, defeated all rivals, cruising to victory in the women’s event.

The Taesongsan Sports Team won the women's ice hockey event at the Paektusan Prize Sports Games, which were held in February.

2015-16

On November 27, 2015, it was reported that "The final rankings will be decided by the results of the second round of the league matches which will be played by four male teams and four female teams that advanced from the first round.

So far, frontrunners are the men of the Pyongyang Railway Bureau team and the women of the Taesongsan team who have won all the games by raising the scoring rate through two- or three-person combination.

They are closely followed by the males of the Taesongsan and females of Kanggye University of Education No. 1 who lost one game each."

The Taesongsan Sports Team won the ice hockey event at the Paektusan Prize Sports Games, played in February 2016.

In April 2016 it was reported that "An ice hockey competition is underway as part of the Mangyongdae Prize Games.

The participating teams will play the first-round games and their respective leading four teams fight in the second round, all in round-robin matches.

So far all teams have played four games in the first round.

The Taesongsan’s men and women, Pyongyang Railway Bureau’s men and Kanggye University of Education No. 1’s women are frontrunners with all four wins.

Experts predict the last men’s match in the first round between the Taesongsan and Pyongyang Railway Bureau will be a very close one.

The two teams competed with each other many times. Both of them are sure to advance to the second round. And they are determined to win the match as its result will greatly affect their matches in the next stage.

The Taesongsan, winner of both men’s and women’s ice hockey events at the 2015 Mangyongdae Prize Games, wants to win again this year, while the latter, which finished runner-up last year, is desperate to beat the former this time."

2016-17

The Taesongsan Sports Team won the men's and women's ice hockey events at the 13th People's Games, which concluded in November 2016.

2017-18

"An ice hockey tournament kicked off on November 10 as part of the National Championships, drawing seven teams including Taesongsan, Ministry of Fisheries and Jangjasan. After the first round of league matches, four teams with higher scores will compete in the second one. The first round is at the final stage. There were games between Taesongsan and Jangjasan and between Pyongyang Railway Bureau and Sajabong on November 14. Taesongsan that won the first two games and played the third one with Jangjasan threatened the latter’s goal from the beginning by dint of surprise counterattack and short passes based on two- or three-man combination. The latter put up stubborn defence while watching for a chance for counteroffensive. Detecting its weak point in its defence-oriented tactics, Taesongsan tried long-distance shots and set play, increasing the scoring rate. After scoring 15 points in the first two rounds, Taesongsan got four more points in the third round to overpower its opponent 19-0. And Pyongyang Railway Bureau threshed Sajabong 10-0. Experts and fans expect the match between the two winning teams will be fierce. The tournament will run until November 26."

"Ice hockey matches go on at the Ice Rink in Pyongyang as part of the National Championships. The second-round league matches began on November 21 between Taesongsan, Pyongyang Railway Bureau, Ministry of Fisheries and Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, winning teams of the first-round league matches. The opening match was played between Taesongsan and Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex. Taesongsan, which came first in the first-round league matches, is an odds-on favourite. It won the events in 2015 and 2016. The Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex team strengthened defence from the beginning and sought a chance of counterattack against the defending champion, but in vain. It lost the game 11-0. Pyongyang Railway Bureau also tries to win the event. It fully demonstrated its capacity as a hopeful in the match with the Ministry of Fisheries. As the game started, the latter launched an offensive to open the scoring. The former gave full play to its advantage of powerful offensive capacity and tried to score a point with sudden swift counterattack, continuously threatening the opponent’s goal area. The Ministry of Fisheries switched over to an all-out defence, but failed to defend the continued strong offensive of Pyongyang Railway Bureau that broke through its defence line based on two- and three-person combination. Pyongyang Railway Bureau defeated the opponent 8-1. Experts and fans are expecting the decisive match between Taesongsan and Pyongyang Railway Bureau."

The Taesongsan Sports Team won the men's and women's ice hockey events at the Paektusan Prize Sports Games, held in February 2018.

2018-19

"[December 2018] The ice hockey tournament of the Osandok Prize Games is running at the Ice Rink in Pyongyang amid the interest of local professionals and fans.

Men’s and women’s first-division clubs including Ministry of Fisheries, Taesongsan, Kanggye University of Education No. 1, Sajabong, Jangjasan, Pyongyang Railway Bureau and Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex will compete in the first stage on a round-robin basis and top four placers are to play in the second-stage league matches to decide final rankings.

In the first stage, Pyongyang Railway Bureau’s male and Taesongsan’s female teams took the first place by thrashing all their rivals, and the next three places went to the men of Taesongsan, Ministry of Fisheries and Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, and the women of Ministry of Fisheries, Sajabong and Kanggye University of Education No. 1.

Pyongyang Railway Bureau clashed with Ministry of Fisheries on December 18 as the first match of the second-stage men’s league.

The two teams are known to be neck and neck as they recorded seven wins and seven losses respectively in the recent 14 matches. The former beat the latter at the DPRK National Championships.

Taking advantage of having more experienced and veteran players, Pyongyang Railway Bureau employed close teamwork centring on them, while Ministry of Fisheries came out with a tactic of fast transition to counterattack from defence.

In the fierce seesaw battle for taking the initiative, the former saw off the latter 6-5.

There was a second-stage women’s match on the same day between Ministry of Fisheries and Sajabong.

The match impressed the spectators deeply as it showcased the importance of goalkeeper’s role.

Staffed with veterans known on domestic and overseas fronts and skilful young players, Ministry of Fisheries is known to have great offensive power among women teams.

Unfortunately however, it lost the match even though it took over 70 percent in puck possession and surpassed Sajabong in the number of shots by 42:23."

On December 24, the Taesongsan Sports Team defeated the Pyongyang Railway Bureay 6:2 in a men's ice hockey game.

2019-20

"The ice hockey tournament of the Osandok Prize Games kicked off at the Ice Rink in Pyongyang on Dec 5 amid the interest of experts and fans.

The men’s event brought together the sports clubs of Taesongsan, Pyongyang Railway Bureau, Ministry of Fisheries, Jangjasan, Sajabong and Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, while women’s event drew the teams of Taesongsan, Ministry of Fisheries, Sajabong and Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex.

According to new rules, if two teams tie in a game, the match is to go into extra time to decide a winner, said Paek Yong Nam, department director of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports.

That day, there was a match between Sajabong and Ministry of Fisheries.

The ministry team opened the scoring with three-men combination in the 2nd minute.

Sajabong players tried to mount counterattacks as they strengthened defence, but failed to make up for loss.

In the women’s match between Taesongsan and Sajabong on Dec 10 the former outrivalled the latter.

Every team has so far had two matches and men of Taesongsan, Ministry of Fisheries and Pyongyang Railway Bureau and women of Taesongsan have notched six points respectively to lead other teams.

'All the teams have achieved remarkable progress as compared to before. For example, whereas the ratio of the numbers of goals scored to those of attacks of Taesongsan was at the 40 percent level in previous games, it has now reached 60 percent,' said Ro Min Gyu, official of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports."

2023-24

The 2024 National Winter Sports Games opened with a ceremony at the ice rink in Samijyon on February 4. After it was completed, a men's ice hockey match between the Taesongsan and Pyongyang Railway Bureau sports clubs was staged.

2025-26

On December 27, an ice hockey match was held to celebrate Constitution Day. The Pyongyang Railway Sports Bureau defeated the Taesongsang Sports Team. It was part of a winter sports championship.

The 2026 National Winter Sports Games opened with a ceremony at the ice rink in Samijyon on February 4. A men's ice hockey match between the Taesongsan and Pyongyang Railway Bureau sports clubs was then held.