Okay, so I got this weird idea stuck in my head a while back – I wanted to find a North Korea football jersey. Don’t ask me why, sometimes I just get these collecting urges for odd stuff. Seemed like a simple enough thought, right? Wrong.
The Hunt Kicks Off
First thing I did, obviously, was hop online. Typed it into all the usual places you’d look for sports gear. You know, the big sites, auction places, fan shops. Found pretty much nothing. Like, zero official stuff. A couple of sketchy looking listings maybe, but nothing that screamed ‘legit’ or even ‘reliably available’.
It quickly became clear this wasn’t going to be like grabbing a Brazil or Germany shirt off the shelf. Made sense, I guess. It’s not exactly a country known for its booming international merchandise market.
Digging Deeper
So, I had to get a bit more creative. Started digging around in forums, collector groups online, places where people talk about obscure kits. Asked a few questions, sent some messages. Mostly got shrugs or people saying “good luck with that”. It felt like searching for a ghost.
I spent ages on this, probably way more time than was sensible. Looked at photos from matches, trying to see sponsor logos (or lack thereof) and manufacturer marks. Most seemed pretty plain, often unbranded looking, or maybe some local brand I’d never heard of and couldn’t find anywhere.
- Tried searching in different languages.
- Looked for sellers based in nearby regions, thinking maybe they’d have easier access.
- Considered if maybe replicas were the only way, but even those were scarce and looked dodgy.
A Glimmer of Hope?
After hitting a lot of dead ends, I stumbled onto a contact through a collector forum. Someone who knew someone, you know how it goes. It wasn’t a straightforward ‘add to cart’ situation at all. More like sending messages back and forth, figuring out if this person could actually source one. It felt a bit cloak-and-dagger, honestly.
Communication was slow. Took days, sometimes weeks, to get replies. Had to be patient, which isn’t always my strong suit when I’m chasing something down.
Making the Move (and Waiting)
Finally, we sort of agreed on a process. It involved wiring money in a way that felt a bit old-school and hoping for the best. No tracking number updates every five minutes, no customer service hotline. Just sending the cash out into the void and crossing my fingers.
Then came the wait. And wait. And wait some more. Weeks turned into a month, then longer. I’d pretty much written it off, figured my money was gone and the jersey hunt was a bust. Chalked it up to experience, a lesson learned about chasing unicorns.
It Actually Arrived!
Then, totally out of the blue, a small, unassuming package showed up. No fancy branding, just a plain wrapper. I opened it up, and there it was. A DPR Korea jersey. Simple design, stark red. The material wasn’t like your high-tech Nike or Adidas stuff, felt a bit more basic, heavier maybe.
But it was the real deal, or at least, as real as I was likely to get. Matched the pictures I’d seen players wearing. Holding it felt kind of surreal after the whole drawn-out process.
So yeah, that’s the story. It wasn’t easy, took a weird amount of effort and a leap of faith, but I managed to snag one. It’s definitely a conversation starter, mostly because people are amazed I even managed to find one. It sits in my collection now, a reminder of probably the strangest hunt for a piece of sportswear I’ve ever been on.
