Women Footballers Return with Ticket to Asian Cup

The women's national football team returned from North Korea on Thursday after qualifying for the AFC Women's Asian Cup, which will be held in Jordan in April 2018.

Most of the players immediately rejoined their home teams, as Friday sees the Korean women's league kick off a new season, which will last until November.

Only two of the 23 national team members play overseas -- Hong Ji-hye of Japan's INAC Kobe and Ji So-yun of Chelsea in England.

The players hope fans will continue to support women's football, which received extra attention during the qualifiers in Pyongyang.

"Fans can see these players, who showed such fighting spirit in Pyongyang, at their home grounds," a football insider said. "The more fans there are in the stadiums, the better the games will be."

In a bid to boost attendance, Friday matches are added this season.