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Player Park Ji sung.
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Almost all public plazas, stadiums and school grounds became a rallying point with the fans collectively donning red shirts and waving red plastic wands. The crowds quieted down when Togo scored the first goal on the 31st minute. They chanted "Dae-han-min-guk," the name of the country in Korean, and threw their arms high, yearning for an equalizer. The crowds jumped with joy when Lee Chun-soo scored the equalizer and Ahn Jung-hwan followed with another goal. Ever since Korea's unexpected performance in the previous tournament it co-hosted with Japan, the whole nation has been abuzz with anticipation to see the glory again. Prison inmates cheered for their national team, as the Ministry of Justice had the game broadcast on 12,000 televisions installed in correctional facilities nationwide. The decision was to "help alleviate the inmates' sense of alienation" and boost the "national unity." Migrant workers from other Asian countries joined the cheering for Korea. "Their skin color may be different, they may speak different languages. But all of us here are one with our passion for football," pastor Kim Hae-seong, representative of Migrant Workers Center in western Seoul, said after watching the game with some 50 workers from Southeast Asia. The festive mood reached as far as Dokdo, the country's easternmost islets in the East Sea, where three Coast Guard officers stationed there cheered on their national team in the lighthouse. Almost all major universities in Seoul set up giant TV screens on their campuses for group cheering. High schools dismissed students an hour before the game started, while Hyundai Motor suspended the nightshift in its factories. As millions of others tuned in at home, food delivery chains reported record sales. Korea Chicken Food Service Association, a private organization of chicken restaurant chains and manufacturers, said about 1.87 million chickens would be consumed during the night, 2.5 times more than the average daily consumption. The outdoor rallies began five hours prior to the kickoff time of 10 p.m. (Seoul time) in about 187 public places nationwide. About 200,000 fans assembled in public venues in Seoul including the park in front of Seoul City Hall, the Gwanghwamun intersection and the World Cup Stadium. Soldiers rooted for their team at their barracks nationwide, according to the Defense Ministry. "In Incheon, south of Seoul, for instance, about 3,000 soldiers will gather at a public stadium to watch the game together with locals," the ministry said in a statement. About 2,000 soldiers stationed in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil cheered for their national squad in cafeterias and day rooms, it said. The Red Devils, the supporters' group of the Korean national team, staged simultaneously outdoor rallies in Frankfurt, Gwanghwamun and provincial cities in Korea. By Kim Hyun SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap)
