World Cup Mania In Korea
02:14 Mon 26th Jun 2006 (GMT +9 Seoul)
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Korea is not the place for you if you aren't a soccer fan. On Friday night at about 11pm I jumped a Subway headed for Seoul City Hall where a party that would blow anyones mind was about to take place.
On the 24th Korea played Switzerland for a place in the next round of the Fifa World Cup, and Koreans know how to get behind a team. At about midnight my friend Suzie from Camp Korea and I walked out of the City Hall subway stop to a mass of red. It is a sight that I will never forget. The LA Times reported that around 700,000 fans were in the area we watched the game. Yep, most of the South Island in one place. I used to think that going to sold out All Blacks game was something special, but until you cheer with Koreans from 12am to 6am in the morning I'm sad to say you haven't lived.
While I was at the epicenter of the festivities listening to the top rock, rap and boy bands in Korea every soccer stadium, baseball stadium, and movie theater was packed throughout Seoul and the Satellite cities, including Incheon World Cup stadium where my coworkers Tom and Sarah spent the night. They said the stadium which holds about 70,000 was full including the field.
Sadly to say the partying ended on a low note when Switzerland beat Korea 2-0. To have been privileged enough to support the Korean Red Devils with the rest of the nation is a memory that can never be taken away.
The picture with this blog was taken from a Korean news article and only shows a portion of the fans in the area. I was sitting in the bottom-left of this photo.
