North Korea vs. South Korea

This post is long overdue. Because of the loads of photos taken on Jeju – I’ve been behind on a few things that have been happening. One of these was a very special soccer game between North and South Korea. Even though the next World Cup is away off (2010), many countries have started playing qualifying games. Coincidently enough, both North and South Korea are in the same qualifying group. Both teams are well rounded and efficient soccer machines.







In fact, at the time of this match, both teams were already guaranteed into the next round. Consequently, it set up somewhat of a stalemate of a contest. Both teams played defensively to be sure – although that’s not to say there weren’t moments of drama. It was really North Korea’s keeper that was the star as he made a handful of exceptional saves to make sure the score stayed nil-nil. To be fair, North Korea threatened a few times – but nothing consistent.







For me though, it wasn’t just about the final score line. I had never been to a Korean national game – and I wanted to absorb the entire atmosphere. There were occasions were I could feel the energy of thousands of Koreans shouting together but, truthfully, it was all quite tame. I’m not sure if was the fact they were playing the North or maybe just that the game itself wasn’t all too important. One of the highlights came at halftime when the crowd broke out in an enormous wave. Certainly brought some festiveness to the whole spectacle.



As I was thinking back, this may have the largest amount of spectators I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve been to numerous sports games over the years – but I can’t recall anything quite on this scale. Maybe it was just the uniformity of it all – because they were national teams as opposed to club teams. There were loads of other foreigners there as well – we were actually sitting with a small group from Bundang. Some were dressed up quite elegantly – with homemade Korean costumes and body paint. It’s too bad we didn’t have a whole lot to cheer for…



I think I was pretty fortunate to have to chance to witness the clash of these two opposite nations. I’m not sure how many times these two have met in the past – but I’m glad to be a small part of this intense legacy. Before the game, there was some talk of North Korea pulling out – due to fears for their players’ safety. However, it was all speculation in the end. As dull as the game may have been, there was surely tension going into it.



I’ll be sure to be back soon – with more soccer stories!

-Paul