Local Koreans catch World Cup fever
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
In a city with one of the largest Korean populations outside of Seoul, a soccer tournament that most Hawai'i residents barely knew existed had Honolulu's Korean community in a frenzy last night.
Jeff Widener ð The Honolulu Advertiser
Thousands of Korean soccer fans converged on bars, churches and living rooms statewide to watch the South Korean national team take on the United States. Their interest was fueled by South Korea's shocking 2-0 win Tuesday over Poland — its first in 48 years of World Cup play — and many Koreans' perception that South Korea was cheated out of a gold medal at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics when a speedskater was disqualified and the medal awarded to a U.S. skater.
Korean soccer fans enjoy the U.S.-South Korea match at Christ United Methodist Church.
The game, intense for 90 minutes, ended in a 1-1 tie, with South Korea coming back with a second-half goal.
In a second-floor room at the predominantly Korean Christ United Methodist Church in Makiki, about 50 Korean soccer fans gathered to cheer on the South Korean team.
"This is a very big deal for Koreans, especially after Salt Lake," said Hana Kim, who watched the game last night with her friends.
It was a big deal for the Americans, too, whose 3-2 upset of Portugal last week was its biggest World Cup victory in 52 years.
Hana, 23, said she is not normally a fan, but everyone in the Korean community had been talking about the game, and she wanted to see what all the excitement was about. Evidently many others felt the same way.
In shopping malls, grocery stores and other businesses typically open on Sunday evenings, Korean merchants tried to close early so they could watch the game.
"Americans don't seem so interested in soccer," said Manyoung Kim, owner of Young's Kal Bi restaurant in the Aiea Town Square. Kim wanted to close his restaurant before the normal 8:30 p.m., but his wife volunteered to stay behind and close up on time.
In South Korea, schools were closed early and businesses sent workers home so they could watch the game, said Hyoncha Koga, principal of the 'Aiea Korean Culture School. She is in South Korea working as an interpreter for the World Cup accreditation office in Suwon, near Seoul.
"I really don't know much about soccer, but their confidence level here is very high," Koga said.
In Hawai'i, about 25 people packed into Won Lee's Pearl City home to watch the game.
"After we won the first game against Poland, everybody got excited," Lee said. "If you pass by a condominium where a lot of Korean people live, you can't help but hear all the yelling."
About 25,000 strong, Honolulu's Korean population has high hopes for South Korea's chances for this World Cup, said Lee, who owns a small upholstery shop near the airport.
And those weren't diminished by last night's draw.
"The next game is scheduled for June 14 at 1:25 a.m. and we're all going to watch," Lee said.
