This year I scheduled my PTO (vacation) time around June so that I can visit Korea and participate in 거리 응원 with other Koreans. Ever since watching 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, I wanted to cheer Korean National Soccer Team at Korea with others on the street and my wish came true...I was in Korea for 3 weeks so I ended up watching all 4 games South Korea played.
On the day of Korea's 2nd match against Argentina, I went to the front of Coex mall ( which is located in 삼성동), 영동대로 앞에서 watched the match in front a big screen. I was there few hours before the match but there were already many Koreans in red were there taking good spots in front of a big screen. I believe there were 3 big screens and there were a center stage where Korean Pop Stars sang to cheer and support Korean National Soccer Team's victory against Argentina Team.
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| 영동대로 앞에서 |
Honestly, as for me, I was hoping for a miracle as Argentina Team was too strong as they were expected to either Win the whole thing or at least advance to Semi-final because they had star players like Lionel Messi (from Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (from Real Madrid), Carlos Tevez (from Manchester City but was 박지성's old teammate & a friend from Man U), Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez (from Liverpool), and Gabriel Heinze (from Marseille but also was 박지성's old teammate from Man U) who used to be my favorite player too so I didn't have a high expectation.
But you know what? I knew my Korean National Soccer Team was not going to give up just because they had many star players who earned more than anyone in Korean Team (except 박지성 maybe) and more experienced in big games in which I strongly believed with an united teamwork and strong mentality along with millions of Korean Supporters' spirits, we will do fine against the Argentina team.
The match finally started and I can hear all Koreans were shouting "대~한민국!!!" including myself. Cheering was very loud. But when Argentina scored thanks to 박주영, everyone was quiet and then I heard some people either crying or whining. And then when Argentina scored again, many people left their seats because of that I was able to move up and sat closely to a big screen but I was a bit sad by many people leaving. Again, when 이청용 선수 scored a goal before the end of 1st half, everyone was happy including me. Everyone stood up and cheered. Hugged each other with a joy. This precious goal gave not just Korean National team but also millions of Korean people a hope that we can score against the Giant!!! Seriously, the match was like David VS. Goliath.
Eventually the match ended up with Argentina's victory (4 - 1) but I thought the Korean National Team played well by putting all their energy and efforts. Yes, there were silly mistakes by some individual players but I think the soccer is a game of teamwork so we lost as a team and not by individual players but as long as they gave their 100% and more, I think they won the game and people's heart. 대~한민국!!!
One thing I learned from 거리 응원 is that you need to have a patience and endurance. Sitting on the cold asphalt for several hours is a killer and if you are not accustomed to squatting down or crouching down on the ground, you will have lots of pain on your butt and legs. Also if you have to go for a pit stop then you need to know how to navigate through many squatting people with no spaces to put your feet. But overall, I had lots of fun at the front of Coex Mall with many 붉은악마들...
The Results of Korean Team
Group B
- Korea 2:0 Greece --> Korea won
- Korea 1:4 Argentina --> Korea lost
- Korea 2:2 Nigeria --> Korea Tied
Round of 16
- Korea 1:2 Uruguay --> Korea lost...참 아쉬운 game 이었음...
