Dae Ha Min Guk!

The World Cup has started with a bang and despite the fact that Korea is ranked 29th of 32 in the tournament, only a fool would bet against them. The Koreans are a proud people, to say the least. This might be in part to a history of conflict with their neighbours that has forced them to make a concerted effort to maintain their culture and identity, and not have it erased by their warring advisaries. That being said, this passion comes out in every man woman and child when the Korean Soccer team takes the field. When they co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with Japan, Koreans everywhere got the day off to watch the games. Unfortunately, this year we get the shaft, and have to watch the games at ungodly hours, and then limp in to work the next day. At least everyone else is in the same boat.

The Koreans have a Soccer chant – “Dae Ha Min Guk” to which I don’t know the meaning, but it probably borders on “Our team kicks ass”. They also have this catchy song that was written for the 2002 World Cup that I personally love: “Reds Go Together”. You would be hard pressed to go 5 minutes without seeing a red shirt with those words on it.

The Korean soccer mascot is this cute little devil. This devils image was built into the roofs of traditional Korean houses and was used to ward off evil. They now use it to ward off evil teams from foreign countries. Git evil countries!

Each city is holding outdoor parties with giant screens for each game, and a pretty solid line-up of pre-game entertainment. The problem is that the games are at 10pm and 4 am during the group round… but we will still get up early enough to watch the games… just like everyone else in the country. For another Canadians objective view of the tournament, check Virginia’s entry… it’s enlightening!

I don’t think you would see this type of support in Canada.
Go Korea Go!