Facebook
Friday was the announcement of the drawings for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. South Korea is in Group B and they will play against perennial powerhouse Argentina, Nigeria and past Euro champs Greece. However, does the South Korean soccer team really matter to Korean-Americans? Who would they root for: the U.S. or South Korea? We know they’re not rooting for North Korea, who happened to make the World Cup as well. This is an opinion and there is no empirical evidence of this, but I would suggest that the Korean-Americans who end up watching the World Cup games will have a stronger interest in the performance of the South Korean team than the U.S. team. Though anecdotal, I take you back to 2002 when South Korea progressed to the semi-finals, its greatest performance ever in a World Cup. It not only captivated the Korean peninsula with masses of South Koreans watching games on massive TVs in public venues, but you could also see the excitement and support here in the U.S. Our parents were talking to us about it and not about school or marriage. They would share how proud they were of the South Korean team doing so well. Many of us are immigrants to the U.S. and the World Cup created a tangible connection to our Korean heritage. I personally remember staying up till the wee hours of the morning to watch the games at a Korean restaurant in Ktown New York. When the South Korean team won a game, West 32nd street would get flooded with people (at 5AM!) cheering. That was a cool scene and a moment to remember. In almost six months, the most popular game on earth will stage its biggest event and I hope you all can root for both South Korea and the U.S. I paraphrase a famed Korean senator by saying that South Korea is our mother and America is our father. We can have our cake and enjoy it to so have fun rooting for both South Korea and the U.S. when the World Cup arrives in June.
Related posts:
- Is Group B Tough for the South Korean Team? You could possibly be rooting for three teams at the...
- Drats! Another Disqualification for the South Korean Short Track Speed Skating Team It happened again at the Winter Olympics, but this time...
- Why do you pitch to Ichiro? In a rare sports editorial, I’m writing this quick postmortem...
- Korean Beacon Sports: Party Like it’s 2002! Many Koreans and Korean-Americans only just became fans of...
- History Made in Soccer this Week Park Ji-Sung of South Korea made soccer history by becoming...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
December 6th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I am Korean. I was born in Seoul and lived there for several years before moving to the U.S. I am an American citizen, and while I can speak Korean and have fully experienced Korean culture, I grew up in American culture.
I will be absolutely and wholeheartedly rooting for the United States National Soccer Team.
December 14th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I’m a Korean and moved to US in 2001, a year before South Korea-Japan world Cup 2002.
Although I wasn’t able to experience the true Korean Soccer Fanatics and stuff, I was able to experience it here in New York. My family and I watched soccer early in the morning in the restraunts. It was great.
Although I am totally Americanized and all my friends are typical Americans, I will have to cheer for South Korean Team. For few reasons.
1. Americans do not care much for soccer, they would rather cheer for American football, watching big guys fight over a ball.
2. Americans will typically label you ASIAN regardless of your citizenship, thus,I will proudly root for South Korean team
and as for North Korean soccer team. I want to root for them too. Because they’re forced to train themselves to play soccer in the harsh environment. We do not know how bad the situations are in North but I consider them our brothers. So I will not mind rooting for them either.