North Korean Basketball: Forward vs. Attacker – Sports Terminology

The foreign word ‘forward’ is a transliteration of the English word ‘forward’. The dictionary definition is that it means a vanguard in basketball, soccer, etc. Forward comes from the Old English word ‘foreweard’. The original meaning means the front or front area. According to the English Etymological Dictionary, it began being used as a soccer position in 1879. In Korean, we call it ‘attacker’ in Chinese characters. It means a person who strikes (攻) and hits (擊) the opponent. If you search the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, the word attack appears frequently as a military term. However, the word striker does not appear even once. Considering this, it can be assumed that the striker in the same sense as today may have arrived during the Japanese colonial period. Currently, the loanword ‘forward’, as it is pronounced in English, is used more often than the word ‘attacker’, which is a borrowed translation. Even in Japan, the word ‘Hyowaado (フォワード)’, which is a word borrowed from the English syllable, is now commonly used rather than an attacker. In Chinese, it is written as ‘Jeonbong (前鋒)’, meaning that the striker is in front. (Refer to this corner, episode 311, ‘Why do we call a forward an attacker?’)

According to the Naver News Library, the Chosun Ilbo article dated January 13, 1926, ‘Basketball nonsense after a visit to the homeland (fourth)’ reads, ‘Also, during the second war, Ford was an enemy. He said, “The success of defending against Qad’s attack is at the same time the effort is showing its full potential. I cannot help but respect the operation.” This article shows that the mixed terminology of newspaper and basketball in the 1920s is still alive, and forward is written as ‘Ford’. At that time, the forward was not an attacker but played the role of blocking the guard’s attack. In the perception of basketball in the 1920s, a forward was closer to an all-rounder who played both offense and defense by moving back and forth. This is also in touch with today’s small forward concept. (Refer to this corner, episode 398, ‘Why do we say small forward?’)

In North Korean basketball, a forward is called an ‘attacker.’ North Korea has been reluctant to transliterate foreign words and has chosen to interpret the meaning and translate it into Korean. As a result, the function of ‘the player who carries out the attack from the front’ was emphasized, and the forward naturally became an ‘attacker’. This clearly shows that North Korean sports language puts ‘mission’ and ‘role’ ahead of technique or position.

The word striker also has strong influences from soccer and military language. In North Korea, the striker is the most familiar position in soccer, and at the same time, in military terms, it refers to the troops responsible for breakthroughs and attacks from the front. Since basketball is also understood as a battle of group tactics rather than a feast of individual skills, a position is a mission. If the guard is responsible for organization and distribution, and the center takes on the role of central pillar, the forward becomes the main agent of the attack that creates victory by scoring goals.

The purpose of the term striker is clear. Why you run and what you need to do are revealed in your language. On the other hand, forward is a somewhat ambiguous concept in North Korean sports discourse. In North Korean basketball, language is not an explanation but a regulation, and it is closer to a role declaration rather than a technical term.

[김학수 마니아타임즈 기자 / kimbundang@maniareport.com]

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