Koreans hope for domestic boost
It may just have been the third/fourth place play-off, but over four million South Koreans still took to the streets to watch the match.
Police estimate around 500,000 people gathered at City Hall Plaza in Seoul alone to watch South Korea lose 3-2 to Turkey.
K-League officials are hoping Korea’s new love for football will continue when the 2002 campaign kicks off on July 7.
The league has suffered from poor attendances since it started a decade ago and officials would love the Korean people to pack their grounds for matches.
The Red Devils, the national team’s official supporters’ club, did its part yesterday when it displayed the message ’CU K-League’ before the start of the third/fourth play-off in the Daegu World Cup stadium.
K-League sides will use four of Korea’s 10 World Cup venues, which will go some way to solving the problem of what to do with the costly stadia.
Suwon, Jeonju, Daejeon and Ulsan will all become the new homes of four clubs, while the Incheon stadium is to be turned into a theme park.
