20,000 Fans Pack Jeju World Cup Stadium for Bayern Munich Visit

FC Bayern Munich, a powerhouse of the Bundesliga widely regarded as one of the top clubs not only in Germany but across Europe, visited Jeju Island, sparking a wave of football fever that overshadowed the intense heat wave.

Around 20,000 people flocked to the Jeju World Cup Stadium today (the 4th) for the Audi Football Summit friendly match between K League 1 side Jeju SK and FC Bayern Munich.

Led by manager Vincent Kompany and featuring South Korean national team defensive mainstay Kim Min-jae, Munich visited South Korea for a pre-season tour two years after their matches against Tottenham Hotspur (England) in 2024.

While their first visit to South Korea two years ago was to the capital city of Seoul, this time they spent a meaningful time on Jeju Island, known for its unique scenery and distinctive culture within South Korea.

As the highest-profile European team to ever play a football match on Jeju Island, numerous fans poured in from both inside and outside the region.

It was difficult to find a vacant room at hotels near the stadium, and long before the match kicked off at 8:00 p.m., fans wearing football jerseys were spotted at nearby restaurants and cafes.

Starting about three hours before kickoff, fans in various attire gathered at the stadium, including Jeju and Munich jerseys, South Korean and German national team kits, and even jerseys of clubs entirely unrelated to the two teams.

At the entrance of the main plaza, emblem sculptures of the two clubs stood side by side to welcome fans, and Dol Harubang statues lined up in the plaza wore mufflers featuring a half-and-half design symbolizing Jeju and Munich to highlight the meaning of the friendly match.

Despite the scorching heat with peak temperatures hovering around 35°C (95°F), the photo zone where fans could take pictures with Munich trophies was popular enough to draw dozens of people waiting in line, and fans also headed to the beer garden to quench their thirst with cold beer.

To prepare for the heat wave, a cooling zone equipped with air conditioning units was set up in the main plaza so fans could temporarily escape the heat, and hydration breaks were implemented for players to replenish fluids as temperatures remained above 30°C (86°F) even during the match.

The match began with a joint ceremonial kickoff by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Governor Wi Sung-gon and FC Bayern Munich President Herbert Hainer. Although it could have felt somewhat anticlimactic with both teams resting many of their key players, it drew cheers from fans with a fierce pattern of play from the very beginning.

Naturally, the loudest cheers were reserved for Kim Min-jae, who started as a central defender for Munich wearing the captain's armband, and applause of encouragement continued when Kim was substituted early around the 37th minute of the first half.

During halftime, an induction ceremony was held for goalkeeper Hur Jae-won, who previously played for Jeju and whose loan transfer to FC Bayern Munich was recently announced.

A number of prominent figures also attended the match today, including Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min, K-Football Innovation Committee Co-Chair Park Ji-sung, Innovation Committee Member Lee Young-pyo, and broadcaster Tak Jae-hoon.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.