S. Korean fans hail better-than-expected result against Russia

The street cheering squads erupted with joy and yells when South Korean substitute Lee Keun-ho scored the match’s first goal in the 68th minute after a scoreless first half. (Park Sang-hyuk / The Korea Times)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — Groans and sighs of relief were mixed among South Korean fans on Wednesday as their national team played to a 1-1 draw against Russia in their first World Cup Group H match, a better-than-expected result.

Despite the early commute hours, nearly 50,000 South Korean fans gathered in front of giant outdoor TV screens set up in the central Gwanghwamun Square and southern Yeongdong Boulevard areas, two major street cheering spots in Seoul.

The street cheering squads erupted with joy and yells when South Korean substitute Lee Keun-ho scored the match’s first goal in the 68th minute after a scoreless first half.

South Korean soccer fans react after Russian soccer team scored a goal against South Korea during the group H World Cup soccer match between Russia and South Korea, at a public viewing venue in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The festive mood gave way to groans when Russian player Aleksandr Kerzhakov leveled the score only six minutes after.

Without further goals, the game ended in a tie, letting South Korea and Russia both stand second in the Group H standings in football’s quadrennial showcase.

South Korea will next face Algeria in Porto Alegre on Sunday, while Russia will take on Belgium on the same day in Maracana.

South Korean fans tried to put up with a sense of frustration, saying the 1-1 draw against Russia is a result better than expected.

“I had imagined a scoreless tie, but both teams played really hard,” Kim Dae-whan, a 62-year-old small business owner who joined the street cheering, said. “It’s not a disappointing result and I believe we will win the next game without fail.”

“It seems our team put up a good defense. I hardly expected any goal would be scored,” Lee Bo-ram, a college student who took to the street with her younger sister, said. “This game even more increased expectations for the next game,” she said, hurrying to go to school after the game.
A score of star entertainers and cultural figures joined the cheering squads on social network services, sending out messages of support and encouragement.

Lead vocalist Minah of the four-member Girls Day said in her posting after the game that “Korean players have done their best. They were fabulous. I will cheer for you more and more,” chanting the popular cheering slogan of “Dae-han-min-guk!”

Miss A’s Suzy said in a release through her agency, JYP Entertainment, that “I hope our team will succeed in scoring a victory in the next two games through the fighting spirit we saw today. Take care of your health in the hot weather there.”

Best-selling novelist Lee Oi-soo also commented in his posting that “The game finally ended in a 1-1 draw. Team Korea fought really well.”

No particular commotion or heavy traffic congestion was reported during the street cheering, which started early Wednesday morning.

Firefighting authorities said 14 people sustained minor injuries during the cheering event and some of them were driven to their homes, but that was modest compared to four years ago, when some fans took part in group street marches and violent car parades after cheering for the South Africa World Cup.