Welcome!

I was there when it happened–in the morass of humanity near Pusan National University’s subway station in the summer of ‘02 when the Republic Of Korea registered its first win against Poland. Like everybody in the street (some 5,000 kids; mostly students), I cheered for the home team, except unlike the lot of them, I was wearing some hardcore colours; namely, the old, ballsy RED national team jersey, complete with the black bands across the sleeves. A bunch of guys hauled me onto their shoulders, all the while shouting at top volume:

dae-ha-mi-guk!!!

Easily one of the most extraordinary times in my life. Subsequent celebrations following their victories over Portugal, Italy, and Spain weren’t nearly as impressive. As soon as I get the pictures scanned, I’ll post ‘em to the site.

Another strong memory was my failure to convince the elementary schoolers that the new Nike jerseys were pink. Check this link out if you’re not convinced.

Over the next few days, I’ll be talking a lot more about what it was like to be here at that time, including racial problems that resulted from this fever pitch of nationalism, the great big ‘clean up’, the all-too temporary goodwill that the team’s success inspired amongst the people, and the aftermath of the CinderAsia story of World Cup 2002.