North Korea

North Korea is a country in East Asia. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.
==Overview==
===National Teams===
===Domestic Teams===
See :Category:Ice hockey teams in North Korea
===Arenas===
See :Category:Arenas in North Korea 
===Competitions===
Competition 	Founded	Folded	Notes
North Korean Championship 	1956 	- 	National championship
North Korean Women's Championship	 	- 	National women's championship
==History of hockey in North Korea==
Ice hockey in what is now North Korea was first played in the 1930s by students of the Pyongyang Foreign School, the elementary, middle, and high school that served Americans living abroad in the city. They played on the frozen Taedong River, and often faced the Kwangsung School of Pyongyang and the Chosun Christian College of Seoul. In 1933, the Pyongyang Foreign School thrashed Kwangsung 37-0 in their first meeting, and again defeated them 16-2 later in the year. They also beat their counterparts in Seoul, Seoul Foreign School, 8-0, but fell 5-2 to Chosun Christian College. 
Kwangsung improved rapidly, and in 1934 they only lost to the Foreign School by scores of 8-1 and 2-0. The Foreign School and Chosun Christian College played to a 0-0 draw in snowy conditions that winter. In 1936, it was noted that “though fighting a hard, and sometimes brilliant game,” Pyongyang Foreign School “succumbed to the superior weight and experience of the [Chosun Christian] college men, and lost by a wide margin.” World War II brought an end to these activities, and the Pyongyang Foreign School closed in 1940.Miracle on Ice: The American Ice Hockey Team of Pyongyang
Hockey was reintroduced in North Korea in the 1950s when Soviet and Chinese workers demonstrated the game in Pyongyang. The Ice Hockey Association of the DPR Korea was founded in 1955, and the country joined the IIHF on August 8, 1963.IIHF.com - North Korea
The North Korean Championship was first contested in 1956. There were around 30 active North Korean clubs during the mid-1980s, with the top eight competing for the national title. The Pyongyang and Pyongchol teams have dominated the championship over the years. 
The men's national team made its international debut at the 1974 World Championship Pool C, finishing in last place. They lost their first game to Italy 11-2, but managed to defeat China 3-2 for their first international win. Their best finish was fifth in Pool C in 1990. North Korea has competed exclusively in the lower pools, winning the Division III tournaments in 2008, 2010, and 2015.National Teams of Ice Hockey - North Korea 
The women's national team first participated in the IIHF World Women's Championships in 1999. They won the Division IIA tournament in 2012. The North Korean women played in the Asian Winter Games in 2003, 2007, and 2011, finishing in fourth place in all three of their appearances. They participated in the IIHF Women's Challenge Cup of Asia in 2010, finishing third. A unified Women's Korean National Team competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The junior national team appeared at the IIHF World U20 Championships for the first time in 1988, finishing seventh in Pool C. Their best finish was eighth in Pool B in 1992. The U18 national team regularly participated in the IIHF Asian Oceanic U18 Championships, which existed from 1984-2002. They won gold in Division I in 1987 and 2000, and in Division II in 1999.
==Images==
1933 PFS-CCC.jpg|Pyongyang Foreign School and Chosun Christian College on the Taedong River in 1933.
1933 PFS-CCC 2.jpg|"
1934 PFS.jpg|Pyongyang Foreign School in 1934.
1936 PFS-CCC.jpg|Game action between Pyongyang Foreign School (blue) and Chosun Christian College (white) from 1936. All images from Archives of the Presbyterian Historical Society.
==References==
 
Category:Countries