Those are Korean jerseys under the ponchos. You can buy them everywhere.
First, the wonder of the Korea game. We went to a place called the Coex. It’s basically a spot in Seoul where there are conventions and things. There’s a mall, theatres, and exhibition spaces (the definition of which eludes me). Anyway, during the World Cup they play the games outside and people gather to watch. Some of my friends have been going since they were kids, and they said we had to experience it.
I took one picture and then turned around and took the opposite direction. People are standing in a street that got blocked off.
They didn’t disappoint. It had rained all day, and as a rule that makes me miserable. But it was impossible to be unhappy there. One thing I’ve always admired about Korea is their uninhibited, deeply rooted patriotism. Every South Korean I’ve gotten to know, including my kids, has been really proud of his or her country. And to be perfectly frank, I envy that. Yes, Americans love their country. But patriotism is such a tricky thing for us. We have strange associations with what makes someone a patriot, not to mention all sorts of political and social ties mixed in. It’s hard to have the pure kind of pride and patriotism that I’ve seen.
Okay, that was a little bit of an aside. Anyway, the point is, South Korea takes such pride in their country that it doesn’t matter if you don’t care at all about soccer: you still go and cheer on the team. Everyone in Korea knows Park Jisung, regardless of how interested they are in soccer. (For those of you who don’t follow soccer and don’t live in Korea, Park Jisung is a South Korean midfielder who currently plays for DC United. He’s really good.) DC United fans sing a song when Park scores a goal for them, and people at the game knew and sang it. I’m kind of impressed that they sang it, because it’s all in English.
Park, Park, wherever you may be,
You eat dogs in your home country!
It could be worse, you could be Scouse,
Eating rats in your council house!
The final score was 2-0 in Korea’s favor, and the celebration was intense. I think I hugged more random strangers at the end of the game than I ever have any given family member. Oh, and one thing about being a foreigner in that crowd is that we kind of stood out (we weren’t the only foreigners, but white faces/height always stand out). As such, a friend and I got interviewed by a Korean news channel, and I think we posed in a couple dozen photos with strangers and their children. But the atmosphere was so contagious it made perfect sense when one of my Korean friends said “I feel dizzy.” The Roman candles, improvised marching bands, and costumes may have contributed.
That's H and me getting interviewed.
The Korea game was at 8:30 pm our time. Unfortunately, the US England game was at 3:30 am here. As you can imagine we got a little tired and cranky in the interim, plus we had to go to Itaewon to watch the game. I was excited, as I mentioned, because I actually care about soccer. I won’t pretend that I know everything about the US team, but I love the sport and felt pretty patriotic. Living in a foreign country does that to me. Anyway, we found a bar in Itaewon (that’s the foreigner area in Seoul, and it’s kind of like a Little US, or Americatown). One of my friends knew some Brits at this place, so the three Americans I was with (plus me) were prepared for some good natured insults ahead of time and intense competition during the game.
The shortest phrase I can think of to describe it is “powder keg.” England cares a lot about soccer, as anyone knows, but Americans are really good at loud, opinionated cheering. I saw two almost fights within a yard of me. Both of them were belligerent drunks. One of them was an argument with a bouncer. Which brings me up to another lovely part of my night; I got locked out of the bar. The crowd was kind of intense and I was a little hot, so I volunteered to make a convenience store run (Mentos, Combos, Kimbap etc). When I got back, I found out that they had decided no one could come in anymore because of the crowd. My phone had died during the Korea game, so I basically just stood out there until one of my friends, we’ll call him SC, went for a cigarette break. He argued (respectfully because that’s the way he is) with the bouncer for about ten minutes, until the guy tried to kick him out. I’d like to take the time to say that SC is Korean, and so is the bouncer, so there wasn’t any language barrier. At the point where the bouncer tried to push him out the door, I told him to just go upstairs and tell our friends. Eventually a couple people left the bar and I pushed my way back in.
I had pretty low expectations for the American sportsmanship at the bar. I went to the US Canada hockey game of the Olympics (another intense experience) and kind of figured what we’d be like. I was a little disappointed by the Brits, because they booed so loud during our national anthem (after we were quiet for theirs) that I couldn’t tell when the song started. During the actual game, people got a little more creative with their chants. I won’t share them because they’re pretty x-rated and my grandparents sometimes read this blog ;)
I have to say, the difference in play for the two games also reflected the situation. Korea vs. Greece was a pretty clean match. Korea looked good, and had possession most of the game. US vs. England was ugly. England’s early goal reflected how the US was playing (look before you pass and good first touches, dammit!) , and the US’s goal was… well it wasn’t a powerhouse and I feel for the keeper. I don’t think either team came out looking good, and the audience I was with reflected that perfectly.
Aish.
Well, there’s no doubting that in one day (okay, technically two) I had two unforgettable experiences. I’m still happy the US tied (especially after certain people said that the US team was a joke and England would kick our asses), and it was an interesting game to say the least (4 or 5 yellow cards and four minutes of overtime for injuries?). Thank goodness for Tim Howard.
So who’s going to watch the next game? Who’s got the Park Jisung song in their heads?
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