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Team Korea sealed the 120-minute mortal combat with Spain with a penalty kick shoot out. As South Korea captain Hong Myung-bo launched the victory goal, the entire country let out a huge cheer. The Korean squad, which has never got past the group round in its five appearances in the past, miraculously advanced to the semi-final rounds of the World Cup. Energized by six million street cheerers, Korea's eleven wowed the world by staging a real-life Cinderella story.
Some six million soccer enthusiasts gathered in 309 locations nationwide to witness the showdown with Spain, according to the police. The Red Devil crowd is now an indispensable part of the festival, the number growing from 700,000 at the time of the game against Poland on June 4, to one million on the 10th, 3.5 million on the 14th, and 5 million on the 18th.
"Red Belts" were created in the City Hall-Gwanghwamun area with a record-breaking 1.5 million soccer fans flocking there from around 8:00am, and with the official supporter group's lead, the crowd sang together "Victory Korea" and Arirang.
Lee Eun-ju said that she came out because her four-year-old son wanted to come, and despite the sizzling weather, she finds it meaningful to participate in the historical moment. Jang Hyun-cheol, who came with his wife and two daughters, never stopped clapping, and praised team coach Guus Hiddink and the players for invincible play and spirit that overcame their exhaustion.
Over 2.5 million fans were gathered at 37 other locations in Seoul, and whenever a critical moment came to the players in Gwangju, sighs and cheers reverberated in the entire city. Kim Hwa-ja, who watched the game in the Peace Park in Sangam-dong, said that she expects Team Korea to advance to the final.
Gwangju was colored red from early morning, as the city hosted the big match against the Spaniards. Kim Yong-il, head of the Red Devils capital region branch, assured that Korean squad was never defeated when a super-sized national flag covered the spectators' seat. The official supporter group marked the unprecedented success of the home team by writing "Pride of Asia" with color boards. The six-laned Geumman Road, the main street of Gwangju, was filled with some 300,000 soccer enthusiasts, and some 200 Confucian scholars reenacted a traditional ritual wishing for the team's success.
Other cities, Busan, Imcheon, Daejeon and Daegu, were all colored red in downtown areas and local World Cup stadiums with fans watching the game on big screens.
(Mun Gab-sik, gsmoon@chosun.com )
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