Last Friday I was fortunate enough to have a ticket to see an international friendly (exhibition) soccer match between South Korea and Poland. Soccer is an incredibly popular sport in Korea, so I thought it would be an excellent chance to take part in another part of modern Korean culture. A large group of SCH students travelled to Seoul for the occasion, this time taking the Nooriro express train to ensure we arrived in plenty of time to the match. Nooriro only takes an hour and a half to get to Seoul station, and if you have a long night ahead of you it's worth the extra won to ensure you arrive quickly.

The match itself was held at World Cup Stadium, which played host to matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup when Korea and Japan co-hosted the event. Currently it's used for international matches such as this one as well as Seoul FC (Korean League Soccer) matches. It's incredibly easy to get to the stadium once you've arrived in Seoul - just transfer to line 6, and get off at the station bearing the stadium's name. A quick walk out of the station - where portraits of Seoul FC players adorn pillars - and you'll be in sight of the stadium entrance.

This being my first sporting event in Korea, and first soccer match viewed in person, I wasn't sure what to expect. I certainly hadn't expected the structure to be more than a stadium built for soccer matches. What I found was that, like so many other places in Korea, space is at a premium at the stadium. Below the stairs leading to stadium entrances you'll find, of all things, a Home Plus store. This is basically a WalMart like department store where you can find discounts on various items - and 2010 world cup t-shirts for the Korean national team for 1,000 won (less than $1 US!). It has several levels that go underground, and the whole place seemed very peculiar considering its location. Given that my camera's batteries died just as I arrived and I was able to replace them with ones bought at Home Plus, I'm kind of glad it's there.

Around the back of the stadium you'll find a mall as well. The main attraction is the IMAX theater that takes up the majority of the mall space along with its snack bar. Be forewarned that it's a pretty expensive place to shop, so souveniers should probably be bought elsewhere. It presence at the stadium though was an interesting example of the combining different business in the same building that's so common in Korea.

It did take me a little while to find the gate listed on my ticket, so getting to the stadium early turned out to be a very good idea indeed. Just like the subway stations, by following the signs it's pretty easy to get where you need to be. The signs are in English and Korean, so if you're not totally competent with hangul yet it's no problem. Instead of stadium specific snack stands, you can purchase refreshments from little convenience stores on the concourses. They're not as cheap as regular convenience stores, but they are a bit cheaper than stadium food in the USA.

As I ascended to my section, the bright stadium lights shined down the stairs as if I were exiting a shadowy cave. The view from atop the stairs was really something. Having never been to a stadium so large as World Cup Stadium, I hadn't imagined just how many seats the place would have. A large number of the seats were vacant due to the match only being an exhibition rather than bearing the weight of a qualification match. Even still I found myself taken aback at how vast the place felt, and wondering how loud a full complement of fans would make it.

Before the match, another surprise presented itself: a traditional marching band in full regalia. The band entered the stadium from my right and then performed a short routine across the center of the field. I hadn't really expected such a performance, but it was pretty cool to see the musicians in their gold uniforms do their thing. While not exactly the same thing, I was in marching band in high school, and can appreciate the time and effort practicing for things like that requires. In addition, the band leader's uniform was surprisingly colorful - though not so surprising when compared to other traditional Korean outfits.

I also noticed that a tarp covered the circle at the center of the pitch, and was removed by hand before the match began. Protecting that part of the field/pitch I can understand, but at halftime the tarp was set out again. I've never seen a soccer match live, so I can't say if this is standard procedure or a Korea-specific event. It was fairly peculiar given that the halftime intermission was only 10 minutes. On the other hand the tarp bore the name of a sponsoring bank, so it likely could have been just to advertise as much as anything else.

The Korean (left) and Polish (right) national teams emerge.

Presenting the match ball with the Korea team's mascot.

While I could write at detail about the match events, I find it better to summarize the experience of being at the stadium instead. This is so that you can kind of get a feel for what it was like to be there. Below and to the left of my section was a sea of red, with waving Korean flags at its base. This raucous section was the main Korea support section, and all of the chants during the match began from it. Just listen for a new cadence being clapped (or sounded out by inflatable sticks), and you'll be able to tell what chant is coming. The most popular is 'Dae-Han-Min-Guk!', the equivalent of a 'U-S-A!' chant; others include one set to Beethoven's Ode to Joy, oddly enough. Following the lead of this section, even if you're not sitting near it, is the best way to get into the spirit of the match.

Younger fans seemed more motivated and loud in their support of Korea's team through the chants. I was seated with middle aged spectators to my left and fans in their 20s and younger to my right. This made the difference in volume quite stark - the girls to my immediate right launched into the chants immediately, while the older fans to my left took a beat to do so. All the same, joining the chants (even if you're making words up) is a great way to be part of the crowd and to support Korea's team.

Sitting next to the girls also brought something else to my attention - they all had 'their' player. Whenever said favorite player's name was announced, image shown on the LED screen or was subsutituted in, the girls would go nuts. There's something to be said for being a player for the Korean national team then, even if it's just to have groupies. Many of the girls had signs in support of their favorites, as did the ones seated next to me.

The loudest section in the stadium - a sea of the Reds, just visible behind the goal. Above, Poland celebrates a first half goal.

At a soccer match a lot of the excitement is over anticipation of what's about to happen. As you watch a play develop, you look for openings where someone might slip in to get a good shot. Or wonder where the ball might be passed to set the attack up. When a shot is fired off it gets very tense as you hope that either your keeper will stop the shot or the opposing team's will guess wrong. Near cheers come collectively as a shot on goal is made, with a collective gasp of relief if the opposing team's misses. Cheers for the effort are made for home players whose shots don't quite go in. Once you learn to appreciate these sorts of things, the match becomes even more fun to watch; it also goes by surprisingly fast.
Poland ended up scoring in the first half, which added to the tenseness every time Korea got close to goal afterwards. Unfortunately no goals were forthcoming in the first half, so we were all left hoping that the home team would come back stronger in the second. Not unlike a less than stellar showing by the home team in a basketball game, really. Just with less points on the board.
This made it all the more special when Korea finally managed to score a goal in the second half, breaking a stubborn Polish defense. I found a new favorite soccer player that night too - Park JuYoung, who scored both of Korea's goals in quick succession in the second half. Both scores brought our far off section to its feet, roaring in approval as it looked like Korea would win the day. Young and old, it didn't matter - Korea was winning. It was a lot of fun to take part in the celebrations of the goals - occasionally I'd meet the eyes of a Korean fan, nod and smile, and continue applauding. It was our team winning.

Park JuYoung scores the equalizing goal, and the crowd goes wild!

The second Korean goal is scored, and again we give the Red Devils a standing ovation.

Views of the stadium and match in the second half of play.

The girls who sat next to me and the signs they made for the match.

Poland ended up scoring on a breakaway goal to tie the match, which ended in a 2-2 draw. The experience of the match was something I'll remember long past my return to the US, though. I've always wanted to attend a match between national teams in soccer, but hadn't expected to have an opportunity like this in Korea. It's hard to put into words what it feels like to be there with thousands of other fans in support of a nation rather than just a franchise. Even if Korea is my adoptive home for 4 months only, it's home all the same right now. And to join with native Koreans, cheering, chanting at the top of my lungs, tensing up whenever a team got close to goal and celebrating a score? That was, in so many words, amazing.

One other thing worth noting is that there was a KFA program with a booth aimed at recruiting foreign resident fans. In exchange for signing up for the KFA mailing list, you could get a free ticket to the match. Had I known this I would have been able to just hop on the train to Seoul and get into the game without paying for the pleasure. Something to remember if you do have the chance to see a match in Seoul.

A blurry look down the stairs as I exited World Cup Stadium after the match.