The World Cup is almost upon us once again. While people in the United States might not understand Korea’s passion about soccer, anyone in the country for the 2002 World Cup knows that Korean people truly love soccer.
The newfound success of the Korean soccer team in the last World Cup has swollen the ranks of soccer fans, who are collectively known as the "Red Devils". Stores sell accessories like horns, t-shirts, and banners to cash in on the trend. All advertising, no matter how abstract, now refers to soccer in some way. Telephones, skin cream, cars, ice cream bars…everything has soccer related advertising. It’s fairly inescapable at the moment.
The video is the "World Cup Song" that I’ll probably be hearing daily for the next month or so. "Tae-han Min-guk!" is the name of Korea in Korean, and also the rallying cry for the Korean soccer team. It’s chanted endlessly during games at the World Cup to show support for the team.
Korean students idolise Korean soccer stars, and are crazy about the sport in general. Active boys in my classes will probably spend the majority of their free time outdoors playing soccer with their friends whenever possible. All schools have soccer fields (dirt only) where the students can play during their recess or gym class. Even the girls, who tend to shy away from playing soccer themselves, love watching the Korean national team when they play.
My wife was out of the country studying English during the last World Cup, so hasn’t experienced the hype and soccer craze that overtakes people before. I hope the Korean soccer team does well again this World Cup simply because it puts everyone in such a good mood to see their team win. I’ll probably cheer for the American team again too, but really their fate in the games is secondary to how well Korea does. I know that people in America wouldn’t feel passion about the sport even if they happened to win.
