Last night I was thrilled to watch Australia come back from 0-1 in it’s first soccer match against Japan, to win 3-1. However tonight I was thrilled to watch Korea win against Togo in Korea, in the middle of the city amidst hundreds of thousands of Korean fans. It was an awesome spectacle and one which photos can’t do justice.
I was running late for the match actually. I had finished work late and 5 minutes to go before the match, I was nowhere near City Hall. But I had my bike. Keith being away, Juhee (his girlfriend) gave me a call to ask where I was watching the match. Minutes later, she was on the back of my bike and we were racing to the center of town.
The match having already started, Seoul was like a ghost town. There were no cars on the streets, no people walking around. Everyone was in front of a TV, in a bar or in their home, watching a sport that has a 93% following here. I have never seen this city of 20 million people so quiet.
We finally made it to City Hall, twenty minutes into the match. Still no goal scored. We picked up supplies: red devil ears, beer, um… yeah just the essentials. We picked our way through the massive crowds in an effort to see something on one of the big screens. Trouble was, there were so many people watching, it was near impossible to get close to one. Everyone in Seoul was here, watching. Then, just as we had started to move through the crowd, Togo scored. A lot of somber looks were cast.
Finally we got closer, only for it to strike on half time. People got up and started moving, which was good because it meant better seats, but it turned out that as soon as something interesting happened, people in the front stood up and it was again impossible to see anything. However, the fireworks and mad cheering were enough to give it away that Korea had leveled the score. The place went berserk. People were hugging and screaming and cheering and blowing whistles. It was amazing.
The great thing about a goal scored is that people stand up and jump around, leaving their seats for a brief period of elation. We moved closer to one of the screens and were almost in a great area when people started to sit again. We were stuck on the edge, and could only catch glimpses. Even another goal couldn’t get us closer.
I don’t know how it happened, but I ran into a friend there. A year or more ago I went to a winter English camp and I became friends with one of the staff members there. Out of the hundreds of thousands of people there, it was pretty amazing to actually meet her again.
After the match finished, we headed back with the crowds chanting and singing all the way. It was a good night for Korea and a fun experience to have. Ever since seeing the massive crowds which turned out for the 2002 matches, it was great to finally be here and witness the World Cup craze.
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