For most footballers, the World Cup is the pinnacle of personal achievement, but for Jong Tae-se it is so much more than that as the North Korea striker hopes to inspire generations in the country of his mother's birth.
North Korea will be making their first World Cup appearance since a fairytale run to the quarter-finals in 1966 in England that captured the imagination of a footballing public.
"Going to the World Cup is a huge achievement for the people in our country and the Korean residents in Japan as well as myself," Jong told Press Association Sport.
"I think our success in the qualifiers has brought a big power and energy to our people and also has given a dream and a clear direction for those who want to be a footballer in the country."
Jong played a big part in North Korea's success as they negotiated a tough final qualifying group that contained South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran, his all-action playing style and goals helping them to claim the second automatic spot behind their neighbours.
Jong, who was born in Nagoya to a mother from North Korea and a father from South Korea, opted to play for North Korea and has developed as a player during his three-year spell with J.League club Kawasaki Frontale, who he joined after graduating from the Korean University in Tokyo in 2006.
"I never thought of playing in the World Cup," said Jong, who has 20 caps and 11 goals since making his international debut in June 2007.
"To me, that was a tournament to watch, not to play. I've just worked on the sport I like and that has paved my way.
"A person like me, who has grown up in Japan as a Korean resident there, can make it to the World Cup. I would like to keep working hard as a pathfinder for our people."
Although his dreams of playing for the national team came true, Jong disclosed that it was a struggle for him to get used to their playing style, which is more defensive than Kawasaki's attacking game, and also a different culture.
"I was hoping to bring something from what I have learned with Frontale but that didn't apply as the national team plays quite defensively and I had to play with more patience," Jong added.
"In a way, it's to accept a different culture."
As the World Cup qualifiers unfolded, however, the 26-year-old noticed the changes in his team-mates' performance and their potential.
"I just noticed that the players were developing their game by importing something from their opponents such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Korea Republic," he said.
"The more they played, the more they developed their skills, strategy and tactics.
"Originally, the Koreans have a very strong mentality, which can be as strong as the Germans.
"We have high agility, too. If we could combine that with tactics and skills we had picked up, I thought our team could be quite good and competitive.
"I was thrilled with this thought and was convinced that we would be able to go to the World Cup."
In South Africa, North Korea are in a tough group alongside five-time world champions Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal, who finished fourth in 2006.
But rather than be overawed, Jong is relishing the challenge of facing the very best.
"I was excited so much with the draw results," he added.
"It couldn't have been any better. It's much better to play against the very strong sides than so-so teams, even if you lose to them.
"I was hoping to play Brazil, Ivory Coast and England in the World Cup. Although we didn't get England, we still have the two others in our group.
"Portugal have Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco, too. This is great."
Jong revealed Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba is a player he admires and tries to model himself on, while Brazil striker Adriano is another player he likes. Clearly, a big, powerful target man is how he sees his role.
Asked about the objectives in the 2010 finals, Jong said: "Our objective in the World Cup is to get through the group stage and set a path for our coming generations so that they can qualify for future tournaments.
"As a personal objective, I would like to find out how far I can go and what I can or cannot do against the world's top players.
"Unlike other teams, we won't get many chances, one if you are lucky, in the World Cup, so we should fully use that single opportunity.
"Whether you can make it then or not depends on the ability of your forwards. It is going to test my ability."
"Going to the World Cup is a huge achievement for the people in our country and the Korean residents in Japan as well as myself," Jong told Press Association Sport.
"I think our success in the qualifiers has brought a big power and energy to our people and also has given a dream and a clear direction for those who want to be a footballer in the country."
Jong played a big part in North Korea's success as they negotiated a tough final qualifying group that contained South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran, his all-action playing style and goals helping them to claim the second automatic spot behind their neighbours.
Jong, who was born in Nagoya to a mother from North Korea and a father from South Korea, opted to play for North Korea and has developed as a player during his three-year spell with J.League club Kawasaki Frontale, who he joined after graduating from the Korean University in Tokyo in 2006.
"I never thought of playing in the World Cup," said Jong, who has 20 caps and 11 goals since making his international debut in June 2007.
"To me, that was a tournament to watch, not to play. I've just worked on the sport I like and that has paved my way.
"A person like me, who has grown up in Japan as a Korean resident there, can make it to the World Cup. I would like to keep working hard as a pathfinder for our people."
Although his dreams of playing for the national team came true, Jong disclosed that it was a struggle for him to get used to their playing style, which is more defensive than Kawasaki's attacking game, and also a different culture.
"I was hoping to bring something from what I have learned with Frontale but that didn't apply as the national team plays quite defensively and I had to play with more patience," Jong added.
"In a way, it's to accept a different culture."
As the World Cup qualifiers unfolded, however, the 26-year-old noticed the changes in his team-mates' performance and their potential.
"I just noticed that the players were developing their game by importing something from their opponents such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Korea Republic," he said.
"The more they played, the more they developed their skills, strategy and tactics.
"Originally, the Koreans have a very strong mentality, which can be as strong as the Germans.
"We have high agility, too. If we could combine that with tactics and skills we had picked up, I thought our team could be quite good and competitive.
"I was thrilled with this thought and was convinced that we would be able to go to the World Cup."
In South Africa, North Korea are in a tough group alongside five-time world champions Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal, who finished fourth in 2006.
But rather than be overawed, Jong is relishing the challenge of facing the very best.
"I was excited so much with the draw results," he added.
"It couldn't have been any better. It's much better to play against the very strong sides than so-so teams, even if you lose to them.
"I was hoping to play Brazil, Ivory Coast and England in the World Cup. Although we didn't get England, we still have the two others in our group.
"Portugal have Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco, too. This is great."
Jong revealed Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba is a player he admires and tries to model himself on, while Brazil striker Adriano is another player he likes. Clearly, a big, powerful target man is how he sees his role.
Asked about the objectives in the 2010 finals, Jong said: "Our objective in the World Cup is to get through the group stage and set a path for our coming generations so that they can qualify for future tournaments.
"As a personal objective, I would like to find out how far I can go and what I can or cannot do against the world's top players.
"Unlike other teams, we won't get many chances, one if you are lucky, in the World Cup, so we should fully use that single opportunity.
"Whether you can make it then or not depends on the ability of your forwards. It is going to test my ability."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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