Red Devils roar, once again!

By Park Si-soo, Kang Shin-who
Staff reporters

The entire nation went wild Saturday night as South Korea trounced Greece 2-0 in its first match of this year's World Cup. Undaunted by rain, more than 1 million supporters ㅡ famously known as the "Red Devils" in iconic red jerseys and bedecked with lit-up plastic horns ㅡ went out to the streets to root for the national team in front of giant TV screens nationwide.

The outdoor rallying was a repeat of the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup when Korea reached the semifinals. They went into a frenzy at each goal and their celebrations continued overnight.

"It was like my heart stopped beating when Lee Jung-soo scored the first goal," said Choi Min-hee, a 26-year-old office worker who watched the match at a pub in southern Seoul. "It was absolutely amazing."

The red army of football fans shouted popular slogans such as "Daehanminguk" (Republic of Korea) or "Oh, pilseung Korea" (Oh, victorious Korea) at the top of their lungs. Most people said they were surprised and thrilled at the national team's outstanding performance which raised the hopes for advancing into the next round.

Park Bi-ho, 31, who watched the game with his girlfriend at a soccer stadium in northern Seoul, called the victory "unexpected" and said the match was worth coming out for even in the rain.

"I believe the win provided our national team a great boost that they can even beat Argentina in the second match on Thursday. I believe we will advance to the second round," Park said, yelling: "Argentina, here we come!"

A recent survey of by Gallop found nearly 80 percent of Koreans bet that South Korea will be among the round of 16.


A lot of red-clad people, spotted on the streets Sunday, said the win raised hopes that the team will make history with an advance to the final 16 for the first time away from home.

"It was really thrilling. Park Ji-sung is a genius," said Jung Hee-sun, 32, a resident in Incheon. Park, captain of the national team, doubled the lead in the 52nd minute with a slick solo goal. "Their play was absolutely great so that words were not enough to praise them. I will join a street cheering at the next game."

It was no exception on Ullung Island, nearly 120 kilometers off the eastern border of the country. It had fewer large-scale outdoor cheering due to a lack of equipment offering live coverage of the game in public places.

But the growing enthusiasm led ferry terminal officers to install a large-size screen for the South Korea-Argentina match on Thursday, Ullung residents said.

"I watched the game with a couple of my colleagues at my company," said Kim Shin, 50, a taxi driver on the island. "Some of my peers kept working watching the match through the navigation system with a TV function. If a TV screen for the next match is installed, I'm willing to join the crowd to cheer them on."

Some foreign residents here also joined South Koreans to celebrate the victory.

"Park Ji-sung's goal was superb. It's exactly the kind of goal that shows the real skill and talent of the players. The goal was inspired and Ji-sung's deflection through the foot of the defender and the goal keeper was done with pinpoint accuracy," said Phillip Hartman, an English teacher living in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. "It's good to see that Ji-sung still has that world class talent that South Korea will need to advance further in the tournament."

He said that beating the higher ranked Greek team showed that the South Korean team has what it takes.

"The cheers from outside after the game reminded me of Canada's win over the U.S. in Olympic hockey this year. It's nice to see that everywhere around world people react the same way to pride-inducing victory," he said.

Internet communities regarding football and World Cup were bombarded with messages lauding the Saturday victory. "Congratulations to the South Korean team for a well-earned victory! Park Ji-sung's goal was a thing of beauty," a foreign Internet user said in a message.





붉은 악마 응원 함성이 다시 한번

금년 월드컵 첫 경기에서 한국이 그리스를 2-0으로 이긴 토요일 밤 전국에서 열광의 도가니에 빠졌다.

비가 내리는데도 불구하고 “붉은 악마”로 알려진 100여 만 명의 월드컵 한국팀 지지자들이 거리로 몰려나와 전국에 걸쳐 세워둔 대형 TV 스크린 앞에서 한국팀을 응원했다.

이 같은 옥외 집회는 한국팀이 준결승 까지 진출했던2002한-일 월드컵 때의 복사판이었다. 그들은 골이 터질 때마다 열광의 도가니에 빠졌으며 축하 잔치는 밤새 계속됐다.


서울 강남 생맥주집에서 이 한국 경기를 지켜본 회사원 최민희(26)씨는 “이정수가 첫 골을 넣었을 때 심장이 멈추는 것 같았다”고 말했다.

사람들 대부분이 우리팀이 너무 잘해 놀랐을 뿐 아니라 몹시 흥분됐었다고 말했다.