Bleary-eyed South Korean fans erupted with joy early yesterday as their team won through to the second round of the World Cup for only the second time in eight attempts.
Undeterred by the 3:30am kick-off, an army of red-shirted supporters packed venues nationwide to watch the Red Devils draw 2-2 with Nigeria in their final Group B match.
Police said 500,000 fans nationwide, more than half of them in Seoul, watched the game in public on giant TV screens, with countless others tuning in at home.
Fans, many sporting red plastic horns, packed City Hall plaza in central Seoul and surrounding streets.
Some wore business suits or school uniforms so they could go straight to work or school afterward, and the cheering for the national team began well before the game.
Fans held placards reading “You will lose” in Korean script, a phrase which sounds similar to “Nigeria” in Korean.
They fell silent after Nigeria’s first goal. But when Lee Jung-soo equalized, ecstatic fans jumped up and down and hugged. Others let off fireworks on the road.
The crowd cheered and sang at half-time, their confidence boosted in the second half when Park Chu-young scored from a free kick to put the Koreans ahead. Even when Yakubu Ayegbeni converted a penalty with 20 minutes to play, the optimism remained undimmed.
A huge cheer went up when the giant screen at the City Hall plaza showed Argentina scoring against Greece in the other Group B game — easing South Korea’s own path to the next round for the first time away from home.
With the Argentina-Greece game winding up just before South Korea-Nigeria, the crowd began hugging each other and singing even before added time had been played out.
Fans put their arms around each other and danced before trailing away sluggishly but cheerfully to sleep, work or study.
“It’s a sensational moment. I’m so overwhelmed,” said university student Jung Sae-han, 20. “I am so proud of them and of 50 million Koreans.”
Woo Da-un, 27, said she was happy Park scored his first goal of the tournament.
“We’ve achieved the round of 16. I hope we go to the round of eight and even the semi-finals,” she said.
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