World Cup 2010 - a photo journey

Not every Korean may be a soccer fan the other three years and eleven months, but this is World Cup season. This post is a look back at the three first-round games, plus Korea's second-round game - attended in four different places.

Game 1: South Korea vs. Greece, City Hall Plaza, downtown Seoul:



Thanks to the rain that night, few of my pictures came out acceptable. You can see the red horns for the 'Red Devils' fans; red ponchos covering red shirts were equally as common.



The fierce look of determination by sidewalk sellers, along with plenty of horns, raincoats, and inflatable stuff. When cans of beer cost 3,000 won, however, I headed to the nearest convenience store:



This place was prepared for the crowds - unfortunately the staff seemed as enthralled with the crowd as the rest of the crowd was.

Game 2: South Korea vs. Argentina, Itaewon:



The scene just outside of a bar - the screen and outside patio were nicely added on to the rest of the establishment.



Time to get out of the rain - like most bars, this one was packed. Some chicken fingers and beer later, I looked up to realize Korea was getting beat pretty badly. That didn't stop the crowd - mostly foreigners - to continue the same shouts and chants heard when Korea was doing well.

Game 3: South Korea vs. Nigeria, Nowon



Seeing as how the game started at 3:30am local time, there was no need to go too far from home. Within walking distance were enough places to eat meat, drink beer, and watch the game on several screens - without having to get up.



The outdoor restaurants were by far the busiest, while the bars kept pretty busy as well. Because of the hour, however, I didn't see too many people drinking...

Game 4: South Korea vs. Uruguay, Hongdae:



Ahh, Korea - land of hyper-fast internet and technical malfunctions. The crowd stuck around, however, and 10 minutes into the game the crowd cheered to see the pitch.



Considering most eyes should have been on the game, I was surprised to get a few people posing.

South Korea, you did good. You advanced to the second round and got beat by a superior team. That's just the way it goes sometimes. Your fans - including quite a few foreigners - chanted, sung, ate, drank, and were merry whether winning or losing. See you in four years, soccer - the interest level is likely to go way down now that you're out.

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