CHRISTOPHE ENA / AP

PANTS >>>> A fan protests in Seoul against what he considers to be poor refereeing after the South Koreans' loss to Switzerland.

Web Exclusive | The World Cup | Korea Koreans Find The World Cup Tough Going It's late nights and (very) early mornings for fans intent on keeping up the momentum of a former host nation By JENNIFER VEALE | Seoul subscribe to TIME Printable Version email this story France: Laboring Through To New Challenges

Posted Saturday, June 24, 2006; 20.19BST
Given the events of the past two weeks here — as millions of South Koreans turned their lives upside down to get behind the national squad — residents wouldn't be out of line for thinking it's tough work being an enthusiastic World Cup fan.

In 2002, when Korea co-hosted the competition with Japan, locals filled stadiums and amassed in front of large TV screens around the country, cheering relentlessly for the Asian Tigers. For their efforts, Korea ultimately wound up with a fourth place finish — a record for an Asian nation.

Hopeful that they could build on their 2002 success, hundreds of thousands of supporters with their signature red T-shirts, painted red faces and red horns, rocked up to outdoor screenings around South Korea to watch their side defeat Togo, then draw with France and finally lose 2-0 to Switzerland.

The games were thrilling, the venues a sea of red and the chant was Dae Han Min Guk ( Republic of Korea). But the matches cost hundreds of thousands of spectators precious sleep: the last two matches started before dawn — 4am to be exact. Even the first game, against Togo, kicked off at 10pm Korea time. Free events, fans had to stake out patches of grass or concrete as much as 10 hours ahead of kick-off to get a decent view. "It's worth it," said Sook Jung Oh, an elementary school teacher in the city of Ilsan. "Koreans think if we stick together, we'll do well."

Celebrated pop singers did their best to ramp up national pride, singing ditties and leading choreographed dance performances during pre-game concerts. Factories and offices indulged supporters, tweaking the rules so that workers could show up late after cheering on the team through the wee small hours.

On game days, the government extended its subway and bus services, while churches held pre-match prayer services in the middle of the night and broadcasters ditched popular TV shows for round-the-clock coverage of the tournament. Employers asked staff to don red T-shirts as a show of support for the national side.

Korea's state-run Yonhap news agency reported that around a million fans flooded the nation's streets at 4 a.m. on Saturday for the crucial match against Switzerland, the game which ultimately eliminated them from the tournament. Fighting back the tears moments after the game finished, university student Yun Ho Jeun told Time: "The team worked as hard as it could and it is terribly sad, but we will be better for the next Cup."

Theories abound as to why Koreans have embraced the Cup with such alacrity. "They've waited for a long time for the rest of the world to give them some kind of recognition," says Hank Morris, a resident of Korea since the 1970s. "As they've climbed the economic ladder it's been disappointing that foreigners have not noticed them more."

For Korean youngsters, who came out in surprisingly large numbers to watch the matches, the tournament has clearly been more of a festival than a serious sporting competition. Ee Bo Eun, 16, has no appreciation of the finer points of the game, but sports a huge smile when she explains why she and her four middle school friends trekked across Seoul around midnight to secure a patch of pavement for a game that wouldn't begin for another five or six hours. "It is just exciting to be here," says Eun, who had earlier watched the Togo and France matches at home with her parents.

Obviously, Korea was under enormous pressure to build on its surprising 2002 World Cup performance. Anything less, it feared, soccer aficionados might bill that Cup performance a fluke.

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