[Editorial] World Cup: performing our best more important than results

Korea came away with a dramatic tie against powerhouse France in this year’s World Cup. It was a "heroic tie," powered by physical and mental strength and superior tactics.

During the previous match, against Togo, our players demonstrated a fighting spirit and stamina that refused to give up. They were well mannered, too, and no one was unable to play because of fouls. The fact that Korea played a strong, clean game is more important than the fact that we are closer to entering the top 16.

While the actual results have been good, how they were achieved on the playing field is not totally satisfying. We failed to pressure our opponents from the center and we still have an unstable defense. At first, Korea even gave the impression it was confused and timid. That was, of course, because we were facing a strong team, but it could have been because of the excessive psychological burden of being expected to win. In any sport, you are unable to perform if you are excessively oppressed by what the results will be. Did we not reach the top four last time because we played with confidence in our unique color and tactics?

The whole country was unable to sleep while the match against France was going on. Young people who had arrived the previous evening filled the streets and stadiums, and unlike after the game against Togo, people did not leave those areas piled with garbage. That is welcome news, as if the people had communicated their desire to create a socially mature culture of rooting for the national team.

However, the ever-increasing seriousness of the commercialization of the World Cup is really a problem. Companies are desperate to capitalize on World Cup fever, and major media are endlessly repeating mantras of victory as they further the blind enthusiasm. Broadcasting companies, not satisfied with filling their schedules with World Cup programming, are indiscriminately broadcasting meaningless exclamations from entertainment stars at the game venues. The meaning of the World Cup, a festival celebrating the global village, will be lost if the country’s pure passion and sense of solidarity is turned into an irrational craze.

Korea’s team was unlike the others during the final group match in 2002, the game against Portugal that sent Korea to the top 16. We would have moved up if we had tied or even lost, but we struggled for victory until the very end. In the upcoming match against Switzerland, one hopes to see the Korean team fight with everything they’ve got without calculating what would happen according to which possible outcome. The outcome will not matter if the team has done its best. We hope the world sees that Korea has "returned."