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Some seven million people all over the country came out on the streets to cheer for Korean in its semifinal match against Germany, Tuesday, with great waves of red forming around 400 locations nationwide where large screens had been set up. Many foreigners also joined the crowd, shouting "Dae-Han-Min-Guk!" (Republic of Korea!).
Seoul's Gwanghwamun and the plaza in front of City Hall, which has grown to be the "Mecca of Korean soccer" teemed with hundreds of thousands of people. From 2:00pm, cheering began with singing, clapping and shouting of the slogan, "Oh, Pilseung Korea" (Oh, Victory, Korea) and most of the buildings in the area had large banners wishing Korea good luck. Also, an Internet cheering group the 'Taeguk Warrior Cheering Club' ran a petition-signing session for the "contract renewal of coach Hiddink" in front of the Korea Press Center, acquiring 1,500 signatures in just one hour.
In Gwanghwamun and the City Hall Plaza, there were high school girls with scores of comic books and middle school students with textbooks studying for their finals. At the outdoor stage at the Coex Mall in Gangnam, some people pitched tents and waited for the game to begin. Lee Hee-jae (24) who had been waiting with three others since 8:00am inside a tent said, "Until we entered the second round, I almost turned purple while cheering, but since the quarterfinals I've been watching the games with a more leisurely state of mind. Even if we lose today, I'm going to wait for the 3rd and 4th place match with an easy mind."
Residents of Busan, Incheon, Daejeon and Gwangju said, "We hope the energy of victory from our region can be delivered to Seoul," and crowd the streets. The plaza in front of the provincial office and the World Cup stadium in Gwangju were filled with a sea of people and hundreds of thousands gathered at the Asiad Stadium and Haeundae Beach in Busan.
There are also more foreigners than before. Some 200 members of the "Seoul-Japan Club," a group of Japanese people working in domestic companies, cheered Korea wearing red T-shirts at Lotte Hotel and a Netherlands veteran who fought in the Korean War came to Gwanghwamun. Schukermans Yann said, "I cannot stop being surprised at how much Korea has developed compared to 50 years ago. I am proud to have participated in the Korean War, seeing how Koreans love coach Hiddink."
(Paik Seung-jae, whitesj@chosun.com )
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