South Korea vs Greece

Saturday night, after dinner, Mr. C and I went to the city to watch the match with his Korean housemates. They decided to go to Han Woo Ri, a Korean Restaurant. We reached before 9pm but the place was already packed.

People or rather Koreans, MANY of them were seated all over the place facing 2 LCD screens and 1 projector screen. There were some non-Koreans there like Mr. C and I. =)

All staring intently at the screens.

See the girl in the middle?!!
She's a real supporter, I tell you.
and one of the more excited ones.

Whenever Greece has the ball... total silence.

BUT...

Every time Park Ji Sung gets the ball... they SCREAM and CHEER!

Every time any Korean footballer gets the ball... they'll SCREAM and CHEER!!

Although their cheers of support are pretty catchy and infectious and applaudable, it can also be SUPER misleading.

What I don't get is... even when Greece scored an offside... they also SCREAMED and CHEERED!!??

Perhaps the louder cheerers don't really understand the game well but just screams where ever the ball goes... even if it's near a Korean footballer's foot.

When Korea scored the first goal, they all went BALLISTIC! Everyone stood up and cheered and clapped and screamed! A pretty overwhelming sight. The love they have for their country is just astonishingly a welcome sight.

I wish that, us, Malaysians would one day be just as patriotic.

We headed to JJ Jackson Restaurant & Bar, a different Korean restaurant at Edward St. as over there, they serve Sul Ju 술주(Alcohol). There have been some decent reviews about this place but too bad we weren't there for the food.

Koreans love pre-mature celebration. Normally, one would celebrate and scream and shout AFTER a goal has been scored NOT before. Like I said, their cheers can be somewhat confusing at times. =p

This four people by the left corner were rather tipsy- giggling among themselves and kept jostling each other. See how patriotic they are to the point of bringing out their Korean flag and waving it.

They have several different cheers but this is the mostly-repeated-cheer of the night...

"대한민국"(Dae Han Min Guk- meaning Republic of Korea)!! accompanied with the clapping of hands.

The euphoria when 90minutes was up and South Korea won Greece by 1-0.

As we were walking to our car, we saw the above scene from a distance at the Myer Centre along Queen St Mall area. It was more of the cheers and celebration shouts that captured our attention and prompted us to walk over to have a look.

The corner street was FILLED with Koreans celebrating and singing their cheers non-stop. Even drunk (or at least I think they are) Aussies joined in the fun! It was an interesting experience to be in the midst of a celebration- the happiness, the unity, the patriotism that my country sorely lacks.

Interesting notes of the night:
Mr. C and I was mistaken for Koreans by an Aussie. Probably cos we were in a restaurant filled with them. =p

Secondly, two guys walking past Mr. C and I and his 2 Korean housemates exclaimed "Chinese!!".

Thirdly, there are a fair amount of drunk/tipsy people in the city on Friday and Saturday nights.