THE story of an unlikely international connection between Middlesbrough and North Korea is to feature in a two-day long festival.

It will form part of an exhibition to coincide with a visit by the South Korean Ambassador to the UK and will provide an insight into life in North Korea.

University of Huddersfield academic Dr Tosh Warwick, who has a strong connection with Middlesbrough, will reveal findings from his latest research on legacies of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Finals as part of the event to be held at the International Institute of Korean Studies at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) which opens tomorrow.

The new research explores the links harnessed between the north east town and DPRK since the underdogs famously beat much-fancied Italy at Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park during the group stages of the 1966 World Cup to produce one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history.

Dr Tosh Warwick said: “The links between Middlesbrough and Pyongyang highlight some of the ways in which sport and football in particular can help bridge international divides and bring together communities who otherwise would not have interacted.

“Pak Doo-Ik’s match-winning strike against Italy not only secured the team’s place in footballing history but has also led to a fascinating, lasting bond between the north-east and North Korea.”

Dr Niki Alsford, Reader in Asia Pacific Studies and Director of the International Institute of Korean Studies, said: “By exploring stories such as this, it helps to frame North Korea as multi-layered and away from the single narrative that is often mediated.

“It might be contended that some tropes of the North Korean ideological concept of ‘juche’, or self-reliance, are very much transferable to the everyday person of Middlesbrough.”

The talk features material from the collections of Middlesbrough Football Club, Middlesbrough Reference Library, Teesside Archives and private collections, and also draws upon recollections by those involved in organising the 2002 return to England by surviving members of the 1966 team as well as accounts of the Middlesbrough Ladies’ 2010 tour of North Korea.

The seven surviving members of the North Korea team attended a Middlesbrough FC game at the Riverside stadium, when they visited the installation at the town’s former Ayresome Park stadium.

There is also a bronze casting marking the exact spot where Pak Do-Ik scored the winning goal against Italy in 1966.

More information on the IKSU Annual Korean Festival can be found at www.uclan.ac.uk