I can see millions of Koreans kids saying right now...."I want to be like.........Ahn", twenty years from now we 'll be seeing these Korean kids inspired by the 2002 legends winning more games in the WC...
Have a holiday: South Korea gets Monday off, win or lose
By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer
June 24, 2002
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Already, Monday has been declared a national holiday. The
following day, a national celebration of the World Cup tournament will be held. And even if their
beloved Red Devils were to lose to
Germany in Tuesday night's semifinal, the
millions of fans on the streets of Seoul and
other major cities will politely pick up every
scrap of paper immediately after the final
whistle.
It's just the South Korean way.
``In 1988, the citizens were enthusiastically
participating in the Olympic Games and also
cleaned up every street and every building in
the downtown area and near the stadium,''
Kim Ho-dong, director of the international
sports division of the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism, recalled Monday.
It's far different from four years ago, when the Champs Elysees was a mess after the all-night
party that followed France's 3-0 win over Brazil. And it's a refreshing change from the
violence-filled celebrations that sometimes follow sports victories in Europe, South America and
even the United States.
``Compared to Western countries, it is very peaceful, relatively little violence,'' said Lee
Jang-joung, professor of sociology and demography at Kook Min University. ``That is something
different between Western supporters and Korean supporters. If this was a trivial game between
professional teams, maybe they would leave papers and waste. But they think that the world
watches them, this is a special case, so we must be clean and present a clean image to the world.''
Clearly, holding half of the first World Cup in Asia has boosted South Korean soccer and the
South Korean people. And with their team's unprecedented success, soccer culture has taken
hold among the young.
``Obviously, it's incredible for the people,'' said Guus Hiddink, South Korea's Dutch-born coach.
``Of course it's beyond expectations -- even mine. In May, I got a bit of confidence that they
could do more than just participate.''
Shocking even themselves, South Korean players beat Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain,
becoming the first Asian team in the World Cup semifinals. The winner of Tuesday game
advances to Sunday's final against Brazil or Turkey in Yokohama, Japan.
It remain to be seen how many Red Devils' supporters would make the trek to Japan -- the
nations are separated by the East Sea, according to the South Koreans; the Sea of Japan,
according to the Japanese.
At each South Korean game, the stands have been filled nearly entirely by supporters wearing red
in support of the team. The fan club, the Red Devils, unfurls a 40-by-60-yard, 3,000-pound
South Korean flag during the national anthem.
Then, they use flip cards to spell a message. They started in the first round with ``WIN 3:0''
against Poland, ``GO KOR 16'' against the United States and ``Dae-han-min-guk'' (``Republic of
Korea'') against Portugal. The second-round sign was ``AGAIN 1966,'' a reference to Italy's loss
to North Korea in the 1966 World Cup, and the quarterfinal sign against Spain was ``PRIDE OF
ASIA.''
``It's worth about two goals for Korea,'' U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. ``You'll see when Korea
has to qualify in the next World Cup and play outside of Korea, believe me, it's going to be a
different story.''
Before this year, South Korea was 0-10-4 in World Cup play. With each victory, the throngs
filling the streets increased. Police estimated 7 million of the nation's 47 million people would
watch Tuesday's game on giant television screens at 400 sites, including 3 million in Seoul. The
city government said Monday it planned to deploy 3,384 firefighters at the Seoul World Cup
Stadium and 27 plazas, parks and other public spaces in Seoul, and place 172 ambulances on the
streets.
``We didn't expect this kind of situation, really,'' Kim said. ``For national identity, especially
among young people, Koreans are proud of the success. Our slogan is `Dynamic Korea, the hub
of Asia.' I feel it's really dynamic.''
In 1996, FIFA's executive committee voted unanimously to award the 2002 tournament to Japan
and South Korea, bitter rivals following Japan's colonization of Korea from 1910-45. They
argued where to have the opener and the final, even what the official name of the tournament
would be before settling on ''2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.''
South Korea spent $2 billion to construct 10 new stadiums. Come next week, the teams and fans
will have gone, but the stadiums will remain.
``The facilities of the World Cup stadiums are somewhat overconstructed, we think,'' Kim said.
``Every local city wanted to build such a World Cup stadium, so we built 10.'' Seven are
soccer-only, and three are multipurpose, and the national government wants local authorities to
operate them.
``We are really afraid of what happens post-World Cup,'' Kim said. ``But we are confident we
can use these facilities diversely.''
Coming into the tournament, many South Koreans said it was important to do better than Japan's
team, which reached the second round. The Red Devils did that, and more.
``We have a sad history between Japan and Korea,'' Kim said. ``In my opinion, in the future we
have to have a good relationship between Korea and Japan. It's necessary. This kind of
competitiveness must be ended.'' |
