World Cup – Korea vs. Turkey

Months ago I ordered tickets for the 3rd/4th place match of the World Cup, being played here in Daegu. I had no idea when I ordered the tickets I’d be watching Korea play.

The mood all week was one of controlled excitement. One of controlled disappointment. Kind of like being awarded Rice-A-Roni as a consolation prize on a game show. Thanks, but…

Nonetheless, when Saturday rolled around, the streets were filled with red t-shirts. I taught in the afternoon, then hurried home to get ready for the game. I donned a bright red Hiddink “Fighting!” t-shirt, tied a “Corea” bandana in my hair, applied Korean tattoos to my cheeks, and painted my toe nails like the Korean flag. We caught a cab to the stadium; I was overwhelmed by the sea of red that greeted us. We started towards the stadium. I snapped pictures of other people, other people snapped pictures of me. We went in and found our seats. We were in the top tier, but the seats really weren’t bad. We stood and cheered as the players practiced before the game. Shortly after they left, a military band and a traditional Korean band entered the field. The announcer asked everyone to stand for the Turkish national anthem. As people stood, a huge Turkish flag was rolled out in one of the sections underneath us. It covered an entire section. I turned to Sang Jae. That’s really cool. He replied, “Koreans have good manners. We welcome other team.” The Turkish anthem finished, the Korean traditional band began. The largest Korean flag I have ever seen was rolled out over the sections below us. It made the Turkish flag look like a small piece of confetti. It literally covered the entire north side of the stadium. I tried to take a picture and could only get a corner of the flag from where I was seated. Suddenly the gesture of rolling out the Turkish flag didn’t seem so grand.

After the anthems were over, a moment of silence was requested. Earlier in the day, North Korean and South Korean battleships fought in the West Sea. Already 4 South Korean soldiers had been killed. I asked Sang Jae if fighting between the two countries was the norm, or something unusual. He replied that they usually fought once a year, but this was the most serious attack in quite awhile. I felt familiar pangs of sorrow. Even though the countries are different, the empathy for the families of victims is just as strong.

The game began with an entire stadium bedecked in red screaming. Within seconds, Turkey scored a goal. No one could believe it. People turned to one another asking what happened. Sure enough, the Turkish player just zipped down the field and booted a goal before the Korean goalie even knew what was happening. I would venture to say it was the quickest goal ever scored in a World Cup match.

The play continued. Korea scored. It wasn’t counted. Turkey scored. Korea scored. Turkey scored again. I don’t think I sat the entire time. We were right above the cheerleading section. Constant cries of “Dae – Han – Min – Guk!” and “O! Pil-sung Korea!” as well as various other fight and folk songs, all to a funky double time beat, were played. We screamed, we sang, we shouted. We waved flags and twirled Korean scarves. But in the end, even the fanatical support of 64,000 Korean fans wasn’t enough. Korea lost 3-2.

After the game, the Turkish and Korean players interlocked arms and bowed to the crowd. A couple of Turkish players took laps around the stadium, carrying Korean flags. Turkish flags were thrown to them as they ran. It was quite a sight to see them running with the Korean and Turkish flags streaming behind them. I have to admit, I’ve never seen such sportsmanship at a major event. The two teams swapped jerseys, and seemed to pal around on the field while awaiting the awards ceremony. The official for the game was a very happy Kuwaiti chap, with each yellow card he pulled crisply from his breast pocket, he grinned widely. After the game he joked with the coaches. It seemed like everyone was one big happy soccer family.

There’s no more World Cup for Korea. It’s kind of sad. It’s been a fun distraction for the past month. It’s been great to see everyone so excited about a common goal. I’ll miss that.