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The capital is gearing up for World Cup fever 2006. Three bridges across the new pride of Seoul, the Cheonggye Stream, will be transformed into World Cup Bridges for the looming football championship in Germany, while the Seoul Square, Cheonggye Square and Gwanghwamun areas will see the nation¡¯s key games for the round of 16 on June 13, 19 and 24 broadcast on giant screens.
SK Telecom, which sponsors the broadcasts in Seoul Square and Chenggye Square, vowed Wednesday it will transform the areas into the site of a festival bringing together ¡°all Koreans¡± including members of the Korean team¡¯s official fan club, the Red Devils.
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An artist¡¯s impression of Seoul Square in front of Seoul City Hall in June, when Korea¡¯s World Cup football games will be broadcast live from Germany.
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From early May, the three Cheonggye Stream bridges will see World Cup-related events. Bridges will be themed on the nations Korea goes up against in the first round - Gwang Bridge for Togo, Jangtong Bridge for France and Samil Bridge for Switzerland -- complete with spectacles, ethnic displays and other events. The areas near Cheonggye Square, where the stream starts, and nearby Seoul Square, will be turned into a German Town, with street performances of oompah music and traditional dance. There will also be an exhibition of caricatures of famous football players and photos capturing the excitement of the 2002 World Cup.
Korea¡¯s first game against Togo kicks off at 10 p.m. on June 13 by the Korean clock, while the matches with France and Switzerland will be broadcast live at 4 a.m. on June 19 and June 24. SK Telecom promises a party atmosphere through the night with a variety of traditional performances, e-games and movies playing starting at midnight.
The street events for the matches against France and Switzerland are to introduce a new - read less rowdy - ¡°culture of cheering¡± focusing on games and films rather than hollering and drinking. Supporters will be pitched against one another in an all-night competition of the venerable and oddly soothing game Starcraft, while a stage in Seoul Square will feature ¡°wake-up concerts,¡± followed by after-parties and street parades at dawn.
Korean supporters will cheer their team together by live video link between Seoul and Frankfurt.
Overseas Korea supporters launched a fan club on March 10 at the World Cup Stadium in Frankfurt, where Korean team plays Togo. Some 1,000 Korean residents in Germany from 38 Korean Associations in Berlin and elsewhere together with Korean diplomats attended the launch and expressed their faith in victory.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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