The buzz out of North Korea is that Kim Jong Il was so embarrassed by the losses at the World Cup that the soccer team was subjected to public humiliation.
Radio Free Asia and South Korean media outlets have reported the entire squad was forced onto a stage at the People’s Palace of Culture and subjected to criticism from Pak Myong-chol, the sports minister, as 400 government officials, students and journalists watched the six-hour ordeal.
Also, coach Kim Jong-hun reportedly has been relegated to a construction job and expelled from the Workers’ Party of Korea. (They make him a blue collar guy, but won’t let him be in the Workers’ Party? Go figure.)
Sales of condoms jumped five-fold in South Korea as fans celebrated after the nation’s football players rose to the occasion in their opening World Cup game against Greece.
About a million red-shirted fans nationwide, including 200 000 in Seoul, packed boulevards, stadiums and parks on Saturday to cheer the side’s 2-0 win over Euro 2004 champions Greece.
The biggest winners were convenience stores and fried chicken outlets as fans took to the streets, the JoongAng Daily reported on Monday.
It said Bokwang Family Mart chain stores saw a near doubling of sales in spots where fans had gathered.
Stores in residential areas also did well as those tuning in at home bought three times the beer and more than twice the number of snacks.
After the game, fans in celebratory mood bought five times more condoms than during the team’s lacklustre 2006 World Cup performance, the paper said.
South Korea’s tie with Nigeria coupled with Argentina’s win over Greece ensured South Korea advancing to the knockout rounds for only the second time in their World Cup history. We all vividly remember the last time in 2002 when they co-hosted the World Cup with Japan and advanced all the way to the semi-finals before falling to Germany. That riveted an entire nation and bonded many Koreans living around the world. It also bonded parents with their children.
Yesterday was a hard fought game that required some luck for them to salvage a tie. Nigeria had great opportunities to score goals but in the end, the soccer God’s were smiling on South Korea as they secured the tie and advanced to meet Uruguay on Saturday morning.
Korea Republic recovered from the loss of an early goal to draw 2-2 against Nigeria in a gripping contest at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Tuesday. The result sees the Asians through to the Round of 16 as second-place finishers from Group B behind winners Argentina, and they will meet Group A winners Uruguay in the first stage of knockout play on 26 June in Nelson Mandela Bay. Nigeria, with just one point from their three matches, are heading for home to ponder what might have been.
The Nigerians, in dire need of a win to stay alive, dodged a bullet in only the second minute, when big Danny Shittu’s horrid clearance fell to the feet of Park Chu-Young in a dangerous position on the right. The Monaco man’s low cross was picked out well by the sliding Lee Chung-Yong, who sacrificed his body in a collision with Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama only to stroke wide of the near post.
After that early scare, Nigeria began to boss the play with their best moments of these finals. Coach Lars Lagerback opted for four attacking players in his starting XI, including Nwankwo Kanu, used for the first time in South Africa. The positive approach paid off, the Super Eagles taking a lead in the 12th minute. Chidi Odiah wriggled his way up the right side with a classy piece of approach work and his low cross was nailed into the corner by Kalu Uchu, who had snuck around his marker. The goal was met with a roar from the home crowd, in need of a boost after their beloved Bafana Bafana were eliminated earlier in the day.
Nigeria continued to push forward as the half wore on, with Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi going close and Kanu and Yakubu Ayegbeni combining well in the advanced positions. The Koreans – who looked so organised in their first match – were getting pushed around and losing their shape as the half wound down. Uche nearly doubled his tally in the 36th minute, only to see his shot from distance slam off the upright to a groan from the crowd. The Asians, against the run of play, took full advantage and drew level with their first shot on goal, Lee Jung-Soo heading home while unmarked at the back post after a free-kick delivered by Ki Sung-Yueng seven minutes from the interval.
The Koreans came out in the second half looking lively. After Lee Young-Pyo tested Enyeama in the opening seconds, danger man Park Chu-Young curled his direct free-kick around the wall and inside the back post from the corner of the penalty area to put the Taeguk Warriors on top 2-1 with just minutes gone. Pockets of lively Korean fans were growing in confidence and voice, singing the anthems that propelled their men to the semi-finals as hosts in 2002, but they were nearly silenced when Yakubu was clear in on goal in the 59th minute. Only a last-ditch tackle from Cho Yong-Hyung kept the big Everton man from a certain equaliser.
‘Yak’ was at the heart of the action again shortly after, missing a sitter from six yards in the 66th minute, before showing the guts to step up to the spot three minutes later and draw his side level after Obasi was felled in the area. A frenzied half-hour followed, with both sides going agonisingly close to tipping the balance and substitute Obafemi Martins missing a golden breakaway chance. But it was the Korean players celebrating at the final whistle while Nigeria became the third of six African participants to fall at the first hurdle.
If you woke up early this morning or stayed up all night to watch the South Korea game against Argentina, you’re probably feeling depressed or starting to feel a bad hangover. South Korea lost or should I say got demolished by the very talented Argentinians in the second game of their World Cup. I was at Circle Nightclub in New York where I reveled with my fellow Korean-Americans and JYP. Yes, the music man JYP was in the house with a bevy of ladies at his corner table, but no Wonder Girls. We were awash in a sea of red but there was one daring young Argentinian girl who showed up with her country’s jersey. Daring but everyone was cordial to her, except when the drums went off and we all clapped and shouted “DAE HAN MIN GUK!” The buzzkill started early when Argentina scored early but the last minute goal in the first half by South Korea erupted the Circle nightclub, giving us hope that we were still in it to win it. Early in the second half, the Koreans got off their defensive butts and started to press the ball forward but in the end, it was the very talented Argentinians that showed us and the rest of the world, they have the best player in the world on their team as well as many other talented (Gonzalo Higuain) futbol players. We still have hope to get out of group matches and to advance to the knockout stages if Nigeria and Greece can toil.
The Brazilians are considered the team to beat along with Spain in this year’s World Cup, and today they begin the quest for their 6th World Cup against North Korea in the group of death. North Korea is the lowest ranked seed in the tournament but they have an interesting history, having defeated the Italians in 1966 for one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history. Could history repeat itself against the almighty Brazilians? Odds are no but commentators have suggested that there is a sliver of hope for North Korea to pull it off with their recent performances the last couple of years. We’re not suggesting you root for North Korea. Though some friends have said they would because the North Koreans have the same ethnicity as the South Koreans…. true. However, politically and historically, we are diametrically opposed and therefore it complicates our feelings towards North Korea. The New York Times gave us a quick history lesson about North Korea and the men that conquered Italy in 1966. The BBC actually profiled them and it revealed personalities that we would not expect from men under a suppressive regime.
That 1-0 victory for North Korea stands alongside the United States’ 1-0 win over England in 1950 as one of the two biggest upsets in World Cup history. And there is something else about that famous result from 1966, something that runs counter to many commonly held perceptions of North Koreans as a people. The men who won that match were funny, dignified and, above all, just like the sportsmen of any other nation — as we learn from a remarkable 2002 BBC documentary called “The Game of Their Lives.”
ESPN decided to do a poll on the best World Cup inspired song since every country has one and guess who ended up #1 by an overwhelming majority. When I mean overwhelming, they had over 90% of ALL VOTES!!! That would be Super Junior’s “Victory Korea.” The next closest song only had 2% of the vote. Wow! Check out Super Junior’s “Victory Korea.” For the results, go to ESPN.com.
What a way to start the weekend! It’s hard to wake up early on a Saturday morning, but a lot easier when South Korea is playing in the World Cup. The Red Devils came alive and dominated Greece. Yeah I said it, they dominated Greece: the game commentators and the ESPN analysts admitted such. The fun got started early with Lee Jung Soo’s goal off a corner kick in the 7th minute. The Korean team kept picking off the balls from Greece and countering with their speed, putting constant pressure on their goalie and defense. And early in the second half, the captain Park Ji Sung stole the ball deep in Greece’s territory and made a sweet kick across and past the goalie and trailing defender. It was 2-0 and game over. However, let’s not forget that South Korea has won its previous two opening games and failed to advance to the second round in 2006. South Korea is in a tough group with powerhouses Argentina and Nigeria, but they picked up 3 points to give them momentum. Let’s Go Korea! DAEHAN MINGUK!!! Fighting!
Oh those South Koreans! They’re psyched as the World Cup has kicked off into high gear. So how excited are they across the Pacific? Here’s a few pictures and videos of Korean celebs supporting the Red Devils of Korea. ”Be the Reds!”
This is rather funny. A friend of Korean Beacon had this on his Facebook. A company is selling t-shirts that has printed the names of players that are participating in the World Cup for a particular country. So the U.S. shirt has the names Beasley, Altidore, Dempsey and Donovan listed. But for the fun of it, someone created a faux shirt of what the Korean team’s t-shirt would look like. The Choi’s, Lim’s and other roots are pissed off for being excluded.
It’s the start of the biggest sporting event in the world and are you ready for the World Cup? Billions of people will have their eyes glued to their television sets for the next month, ready to root for their country. The question is, who are you rooting for as a Korean-American? We have a Korean heritage and ancestry, but we’ve grown up in the United States. Are you conflicted? In my personal opinion, we have the freedom to cheer for either South Korea or the U.S, hence the beauty of being a Korean-American. And why not cheer for both, because we have grown up with the values of both cultures, inside and outside of the house. The beauty of the World Cup is the passion and pride of one’s identity, and the freedom to celebrate it. I hope you can enjoy this great sporting event and appreciate that you are a Korean-American!
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The buzz out of North Korea is that Kim Jong Il was so embarrassed by the losses at the World Cup that the soccer team was subjected to public humiliation.
