Promising

No regrets whatsoever for Korea following its most predictable defeat to uber favorite Brazil in the round of 16: the team held their ground with a very decent possession time and spectacular opportunities, even during that merciless jogo bonito / realism lesson of the first half, and made almost the best of their World Cup.

After an uninspiring draw against a very weak Uruguay, the Taeguk Warriors lost what was supposed to be their easiest game (allowing far too many goals from Ghana) before slaying Portugal's B team at the buzzer. If they came back twice from behind to survive their first round, they didn't collapse following Neymar Jr and friends' festival, which no team could have recovered from anyway.

Except for the first game, Paolo Bento's side built its opportunities and goals in a much more diverse and entertaining (not to mention less controversial) way than Guus Hiddink's commando*. For the first time in the ten World Cups I've been following Korea, I saw more style and confidence than resilience, the promises of an ambitious, sustainable playing identity. And I loved the way Bento, even as he knew he wouldn't stay, provided priceless experience to young talents in the second half. PAIK Seung-ho's awesome goal crowned perfectly Korea's 2022 World Cup, and if SON Heung-min may not join the party in 2026, KIM Kang-in,  HWANG Hee-chan, CHO Gyu-sung, and others already proved they could be leaders on the pitch.

Yes, this World Cup remains a total nonsense, an insult to sports, environment, human rights, you name it. And like every World Cup, this one remains opium for the people. But Korea badly needed this chase of the 2002 dragon right now. And it felt good to see its struggling youth party joyfully outdoor just weeks after the abominable tragedy in Itaewon.

"A SuperSonnyc #SonHeungmin (a #BBC meme)" (@theSeoulVillage - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1598992987618684928)

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* which I absolutely adored, don't get me wrong!

World Cup v. Korean Keg

It's World Cup time again. Which image of the nation do you want to share? These days, I've been given the choice between the worst of Korea's drinking tradition with PSY's Hangover, and the best of Korea's festive culture with a cheerful 'Daehan Minguk'.

*

After 'Gangnam Style' and 'Gentleman', and before 'Daddy' this Summer, PSY released 'Hangover', an abject object compared to which his previous hit almost looks like a work of art (and my take at "Gentlemanslaughter" was already not very kind).

Still not sobering up in its 3rd day, the Park Jae-sang - Snoop Dogg duo reaches 41,339,792 views, 409,066 likes, and 143,408 dislikes on YouTube. This 26.0% "dislike ratio" comes after Gentleman's 16.3% (674,716,081 views so far), and Gangnam Style's 11.1% (2,012,404,672 horse burgers served, and counting).

I don't recommend watching this pathetic video that not only lists all the possible disgraces and 'DON'Ts' in etiquette, but also drills nastily through your eardrums for 5 interminable minutes.


I forced myself to down it in one shot. Shortly after, I had to throw up this tweet:

Embarrassing, annoying, headache guaranteed... PSY's "HANGOVER" with Snoop Dogg even worse than expected twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/475800094483034113

I guess @DanaDeMercurio nailed it by writing "I need those 5 minutes of my life back" in a tweet listed, along with mine and a few others, in an article aptly titled "Psy’s Hangover Gives Some Nausea" (Jeyup S. Kwaak - Korea Realtime / Wall Street Journal 20140609).

Anyway, life goes on in the Peninsula. Between graphic videos down South and colorful propaganda up North:

Hangover, the North Korea edition (feat. neither PSY nor Snoop Dogg)
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/476207535544733697

*

Needless to say, I prefer the more positive image Korea sends to the world every four years: a cheerful community, united not against anyone or anything, but in a peaceful celebration. And particularly a few weeks after the Sewol tragedy, it was great to see Korean youth take the streets of Jeonju hanok village to perform this friendly flashmob:



At the end of the video, there's an interview of Park Je Chun*, who composed this welcoming 'daehan minguk' with festive Korean rhythms, ideal to alternate with the more 'taeguk warrior' / Western rhythm version made popular in 2002. 

I'm making two cameo apparitions in the same video: at the end for my two cents, and at the beginning, seen shooting the flashmob with my smartphone. Here's the short scene I took:

*

Anyway, go Korea! And please, support responsibly.

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* who was recently named General Commissioner of the Jeonju International Sori Festival, after 3 years as its Creative Director (see "In the zone with Miyeon and Park Je chun")

May 31, 2002 - May 31, 2012

Ten years ago this very day, 2002 FIFA World Cup kicked off in the brand new Seoul World Cup Stadium. Defending champions France lost to Senegal 0-1, before drawing 0-0 with Uruguay in Busan, and conceding 0-2 to Denmark in Incheon.

I had tickets for each station of the cross, including ICN and CDG: Les Bleus and I shared the same flight back to France. But I never felt sad, because this excuse for a team didn't deserve to go any further.

Furthermore, there was happiness all around. With that growing red wave about to engulf the whole country.

Frankly, in the years and even in the months ahead of that kick off, I really doubted the event could turn out to be a major popular success. Soccer was by no means the national pastime, and you couldn't feel any fervor build up.
Then, on June 4, South Korea won its opening game against Poland - the country's first victory ever in a World Cup. Massive celebrations followed, each time greater and more impressive. Far beyond victories and qualifications, a complete nation was on the streets, sharing moments of pure happiness for the whole world to see.




Dae-han-min-guk. Korea, united in peace. This side of the DMZ at least.

That was 10 years ago.

Whatever happened to that 2002 spirit?

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FC Seoul Expats Day

A perfect weather, a friendly atmosphere, a lively game with five goals... total success for this second edition of the FC Seoul's Expats Day !

Thousands of expats were invited by the club, Seoul Global Center, and 10 Magazine for an afternoon of animation and a K-League clash between FC Seoul and Daejeon Citizens at the Seoul World Cup Stadium (a very special place for me : I attended its inaugural game, the 2002 FIFA World Cup opener - a stunning but well deserved victory of Senegal over France -, or the last confrontation between ROK and PRK) :

Gathering all communities for a festive moment, there's no better way of promoting the club, the league, and the game. The club hosted the event wonderfully, from the organizers backstage to the fans in the tribunes to the players on the field.

Beyond Seoul's own trio of Expats Dejan Damjanovic (three goals for the Montenegrin), Adilson (impressive coverage by the Brazilian), and Mauricio Molina (even in a mediocre day, the Columbian managed to score the final goal), the whole team delivered a very convincing game, leveraging on a strong defense, a swift midfield, and diversified attacks. Daejeon players too felt in a giving mood, offering a few gifts, starting only a few minutes after the kick off with an assist to Damjanovic for his first goal. Park Sung-ho could have played a bit faster to bring more danger, but the Citizens never gave up. Even a little tension at the end of the game didn't spoil the mood : the referee promptly exposed a few cards matching his yellow jersey, and after all, the game itself was not supposed to be friendly.

4-1. This glorious day brings FC Seoul closer to the play-offs (preferably with a ticket for next AFC Champions League - and another K-League title ?), and to a more than ever international audience.

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PS : thanks to Korea4Expats for the tickets !

It's raining

A textbook Korean summer if I ever saw one : first the rain, then the heat... after weeks of continuous downpour, the sun is starting its merciless hitting streak, batting a steady 30°C+ for as far as forecasters can see.

But even at the driest peak of the season, soccer players will keep warning me of rain coming : "Bi onda ! Bi onda !" (비온다) is the - very - informal way of saying it's raining, but also a widespread way of alerting a teammate that opponents are coming from behind to try and steal the ball from him.

Korean language can be highly poetic under any circumstances. And very refreshing.

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NB: note that suspensions are still raining on Korean soccer : over 10% of all K-League players have been already involded in a massive fixed games scandal.

Twice red-faced, after hours

This morning, my neighborhood rooster sang something closer to "go Korea" than to the French National Anthem. He probably caught the rythm during the night : the World Cup gathering at Seoul Plaza was as loud as expected.

Relieved from the shame of watching my fellow citizens reaching the bottom and digging even further with their bare hands (please, President Elect Laurent Blanc, tell me 'change is coming'), I managed to sleep a little bit between the merciful elimination of Les Bleus and the lucky yet logical qualification of the Taeguk Warriors.

It's great to have two national teams to support : like 1994 and 2002, 2010 is a red-face edition for France but a red-devil year for Korea*.

Frankly, I expected either Nigeria or Cameroon to reach the semis or even the final this year, but both wasted their great potentials. A classic for Nigerians in World Cups I'm afraid. Koreans deserved finishing ahead because they played their game and made much fewer mistakes... except of course for the non-game against Argentina.

Even if they only managed to draw against les petits Bleus, Uruguayans will be a tough cookie to crack. And they certainly won't forget to put someone on the far post on free kicks or corners.

Relieved from the "16 강" pressure, I hope Park & co will give it all, have no regrets whatever the result. And that on monday morning, the rooster will wake me to the tune of "saturday night fever".

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* note that both 1998 and 2006 were red-card years for Zidane.

"Be The Reds", But Not Too Red ?

I was maybe a bit too optimistic when I rolled out the "Red carpet for the World Cup" a couple of weeks ago : since then, the North Korean team has probably lost a few supporters in South Korea (and beyond), and Seoul Plaza might not turn out to be the most popular venue.

Following a clash with SK Telecom and other sponsors of downtown World Cup venues, The Red Devils, Korean national team's main supporter group* and a key ingredient to successful World Cup events, decided to focus on only one site : Samseong-dong in Gangnam-gu. Sponsors wanted to regulate the songs (both the timing and content), supporters freedom of speech and independence from sponsors. Ironically, several songs are associated with other sponsors, and the 2002 "Korea Team Fighting" slogan was at the beginning an ad for KTF, SKT's direct competitor. One of the outcomes of this clash could be the creation of a rival group of supporters.

Anyway, World Cup broadcasters SBS accepted the Red Devils' terms, to the risk of inviting more partisans of freedom of speech. And since the venue, in front of Bongeunsa, has become a converging point for demonstrations against LEE's conservative government, political recuperation seemed inevitable. As expected, candlestick vigil organizers instantly called for combo events, like 'come to our demo at 7 PM, enjoy the game at 8'... and shortly after that, Red Devils whistled them offside, like 'true supporters come for football, please don't mix this event with politics'.

I suggest a red card to all players : organizers, sponsors, supporters, broadcasters, and demonstrators.

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* that's the South Korean national team. It always struck me as funny how this nickname for North Korean 'commies' in 1960s ROK propaganda became a symbol of 2000s ROK.