"I Took a Day Off to Be Here": Gwanghwamun Erupts in Joy Following Comeback Victory

[Anchor]

Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul has turned red once again for the first time in four years. Despite it being a weekday morning, some 20,000 citizens filled the square, cheering for our national team with one voice.

Reporter Cho Min-ki was on the scene.

[Reporter]

Gwanghwamun Square, the mecca of World Cup street cheering, was packed with "Red Devils" wearing national team jerseys and holding Taegeukgi (the Korean national flag), even in the morning hours.

[Jung Ji-won, Na Young-gil / Yongsan-gu, Seoul & Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do: We took annual leave to be here. (We plan to take leave next week as well.) Sorry, boss.]

[Park Si-yoon / Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do: I love soccer, so I took an experiential learning day off from school to come out here.]

As the kickoff whistle blew and our players' shots failed to find the net, sighs could be heard from all around.

Although the first half ended in a scoreless 0-0 draw, the passion of the Red Devils in Gwanghwamun Square only grew hotter.

[Kim Jun-hyung / Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do: The atmosphere is just so intense right now, I feel like it's boiling over.]

In the 14th minute of the second half, the square fell silent for a moment after conceding the opening goal to the Czech Republic, but the crowd soon rallied with even louder cheers.

Eight minutes later, when Hwang In-beom scored a picturesque equalizer, everyone jumped to their feet and embraced one another. As Oh Hyeon-gyu’s go-ahead goal hit the net, the square turned into a scene of pure ecstasy.

[Kim Ga-hyun / Jangseong-gun, Jeollanam-do: I was so, so happy when Hwang In-beom scored that first goal. As expected of South Korea, I never doubted that we would score.]

[Son Tae-rim / Seongdong-gu, Seoul: Oh Hyeon-gyu is so cool! I believed in our South Korea. I knew we would win. This is it!]

Up to 18,000 people gathered at Gwanghwamun Square alone, while Red Devils also sent their energy in unison from Yeouido Park and Ttukseom Hangang Park.

With the national team’s strong performance, it is expected that even more citizens will join the street cheering for the remaining two matches.

[All the people of our nation are cheering for you. Go South Korea!]

(Video coverage: Lee Sang-hak | Video editing: Park Na-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.