2002:

Mike Yi wearing the Mosquito Association cap (July 2002)
(Courtesy Kalani O'Sullivan)

Mike's Story: The story begins in December 1950. Mike was a 7-year old orphan from Kaesong, North Korea whose parents had been killed by the North Koreans. After the Chinese entered the fray, Mike was evacuated to Seoul when the Allies fell back across the 38th Parallel. The Chinese onslaught continued and when the Chinese were on the doorsteps of Seoul, Mike remembers hearing the sound of bombs landing nearby. At Kimpo, he was found half-frozen in a snowbank by three troops of the 6164th Tactical Control Squadron, including a young airman named Ellis Forgy. He was loaded onto their jeeps and taken with them to Taegu where he was adopted as a "mascot."

Click on image to enlarge.
(Courtesy Mosquito Association)

T-6 "Mosquito" of the 6147th TCS at Chunchon (1952).
This is the type of aircraft Mike remembers.
Click on image to enlarge.
(Courtesy Mosquito Association)

Mike fondly remembered a lot of things even though he was only 7-8 years old. At that time in Taegu, he was given the name "Bobby" and he has many memories of the GIs fixing radios on the jeeps and the T-6 aircraft they flew as Forward Air Controllers (FAC). On the back of one of Mike's old photos, the words "Bobby" and "1951" are written.

When talking of the unit, Mike's eyes light up as he recollects his experiences while sheltered by the unit. Ellis Forgy's parents sent him a cowboy holster and guns which he wore every night to the movies. He also remembers the other gifts that the folks in the unit brought back for him after their mid-tour R&Rs. He came to think of these men as his adopted parents.

After the Chinese were pushed out of Seoul, the unit moved to Pyongtaek (K-6). The unit soon received order to move up closer to the front at Chunchon (K-47) near the DMZ. After the unit was relocated, he was placed into an orphanage at Pyongtaek. He related crying and crying over the loss of these folks as they had become his parents.

Click on image to enlarge.
(Courtesy Mosquito Association)

At Pyongtaek, he came in contact with Dr. McGurry of the 76th AAA from Miami, Florida. The doctor wanted to adopt him legally, but problems at home in the states prevented it.

Later, he somehow became "attached" to Battery B of the 76th AAA. He only remembered a few names from this unit. One he remembered was a Lt. Coolidge of Pyongtaek from battalion-level. When the unit moved to Kunsan (K-8), he moved along with them. This was around June 51. The section he stayed with was Battery B. It was positioned on the south end of the base near the present C-pad throughout 1952. After he got sick at Kunsan AB in 1953, he was sent to the International Orphanage (Catholic) downtown. This orphanage still exists today.

In 1955, Mike was transferred to the Orphanage of Korea in Cheju Island, but because of over-crowding and poor conditions, Mike opted to return to Kunsan's International Orphanage. In 1957, he secured an assistant's job at the Base Hobby Shop in the Photo Section. He attended elementary school and worked at the Hobby Shop at the same time -- fondly recollecting that he has a picture of himself in his school uniform while at work in the Hobby Shop. He worked at the Hobby Shop until he entered the ROK Army in 1959.

Between 1959-1962, he was in the ROK Army. After his discharge, he returned to Kunsan and got his old job back from Mr. Young at the Base Hobby Shop. He has remained with the same job in the Hobby Shop as a lapidary teacher and manager.

He was married in 1970 and has five daughters. One is married, two have jobs, one teaches piano lessons and the last is a college student studying International Affairs. A devout Christian he praises God for his salvation...and of course, continues to be grateful to the GIs who saved his life.

The Miraculous Search: This story actually started when Kalani O'Sullivan received a request from Dean Welter of Texas, formerly of the 8th CES 78-79, to find his old friend from the Lapidary Shop, "Mike Lee" (Mike Yi). Dean mentioned that Mike told stories of being an orphan who was "adopted" by GIs and brought to Kunsan from Pyongtaek. This whetted our interest as we have been involved in a program for years to reunite the American veterans and their Korean friends.

We found Mike Yi was at the Base Skill Development Center. It was surprisingly easy as Kalani O'Sullivan walked into the Skills Center door and asked if there was a "Mike Lee" there and the man behind the counter answered, "I'm Mike." We delivered Dean's message to put the two in contact again. We then offered our services to start a search for his lost benefactors because of our contacts with veteran groups. We felt we might be able to help, but we made him aware that finding his benefactors after so many years was like finding a needle in a haystack. We didn't want to get his hopes up.

In the past, the site has attempted to find Koreans for Americans from the Korean War. Unfortunately, we have had limited success with many disappointments as these older folks had either passed away -- or had reached the age where they moved in with their sons/daughters and could not be found. But the few successes we have had have kept us going. Just one reunion nullifies all frustration of the innumerable dead-end searches.

For all these years, Mike has called the unit the 6164th "Communications Squadron" -- but the key figure was that he remembered the unit designator, "6164th," which made this search feasible. This is amazing as this was 50 years ago. This pinpointed his unit. We made writeups on behalf of Mike in the Korean War Project under the 6147th TCG, 6164th TCS and 76th AAA (SP) Bn and sent out email to various organizations to solicit help. The search for 76th AAA personnel has been negative thus far, but we still have hopes that someone may see the KWP entries. The problems are that finding folks without a first name are near impossible.

However, the contacts with the Mosquito Association took on a life of own. We asked Mike Yi the right questions, followed the leads and asked the right people who asked the right people who asked the right people. We contacted Dick Souza, the locator for the Mosquito Association who was nothing but outstanding in his efforts. Using the time frames we established (Dec 50-Dec 51), Dick went through his membership records and found potential candidates and sent out email or made calls. He researched the yearbook and sent us the photos of "Bobby" in those early years.

Kalani O'Sullivan (Courtesy Kalani O'Sullivan)

Dick Souza of the Mosquito Association (Courtesy Dick Souza)

Ellis Forgy is standing to the far right. (Courtesy Mosquito Association)

Then Ellis Forgy wrote, "Dick, the orphan that I knew and we kept was named Bobby by us guys. He was found in a snowbank in December, 1950 near Kimpo Airbase by myself and 2 other guys. His Korean name was Rehee Yon Goon (sic). He was about 5 years old when found. He said, that his parents were killed in Kaesong by the N.K. The last I saw of him was Dec. 51. He always wanted to go to Texas-America. My parents sent him a cowboy outfit. He would put that on every night and go to the movies. He loved westerns."

We corroborated that Mike was indeed the same orphan they knew as "Bobby" and contacted Dick Souza. He in turn contacted Ellis Forgy. The emotions felt on both sides of the Pacific were maxed out. Both parties, Mike and Ellis, were in telephone contact with each other for the first time after 50 years.

We recommended that Mike be made an honorary member of the Mosquito Association. We mentioned jokingly that he "had already served a year with the unit at Taegu." The response was immediate. In September 2002, Mike will be sponsored as an honorary member (associate member) of the Mosquito Association by Dick Souza and seconded by Ellis Forgy. The action was voted on before the reunion as a formality -- and the vote was unanimous. Mike was inducted as an honorary member of the Mosquito Association. This action further cements the bonds between Mike and his former buddies from the 6164th TCS. At the Mosquito Association Reunion, Ellis Forgy was presented a Humanitarian Award for this belated act of compassion back in Dec 50 and Dick Souza was honored with a presentation for his part in reuniting Mike and Ellis Forgy. Dick Souza stated, "The next thing we have to figure out is how to get Mike to our next reunion."

Mike's search for other American buddies continues. Some of the names he remembered were: Sgt Boseman (Tennessee); Sgt Sutton (Indiana); Sgt Carroway (Texas); and SSgt Hosling who wore glasses. Dick wrote back, "The names although have possible same sounding all I came up with close at this time are: Sgt Boseman -who might have been our George Brotzman possible deceased OH or KY. Sgt Sutton- may be live and well in AZ as Harry E Sutton. Sgt Carroway who may be our late Jack H Calloway who was MSgt at the time died Feb 2000 in FL. As for SSgt Hosling possible Cecil Housley who we never found with last known location out of Freson, CA maybe deceased." In August, former Sgt. Sutton was located in Illinois after his move from Arizona. Unfortunately, his wife had just passed away and he was having problems recalling Bobby (Mike). All his Korean War memorablia was still unpacked, but he said he would try to dig through it to find anything about Bobby (Mike).

EPILOGUE: The following email was received in March 2005: "I came across your web page by accident. I am writing to you in regards to Sgt. Sutton. i.e. Harry E. Sutton. He is mentioned in your article regarding "Bobby". Harry is my brother-in-law. I recall him telling a story about a Korean child that was saved by he and his buddies. I remember him talking about taking the boy with them in the Jeep. Several years ago, I believe he was contacted by the boy (man). Unfortunately, I do not know many of the details. Harry has been living in Arizona until the death of his wife, my sister in 2000. He then moved to Illinois until very recently when he moved back to Arizona due to health reasons. Unfortunately, he succumbed to acute myelocytic leukemia this past week. He will be buried along side of his wife in Cadott, Wisconsin. Burial and military honors will be March 8. Hopefully, this information may help fill some of the "holes" remaining. Very truly yours, Shannon J. Hall"

Ellis Forgy receiving his Humanitarian Award from Dick Souza at the Mosquito Association Reunion in September 2002. The album is the same type that Mike received.

Mike Yi receiving his Honorary Membership

Mike was presented his honorary membership by the Commander of the 8th Support Group, Col. Timothy Byers, at a sit-down dinner at the Base Loring Club. The dinner was attended by the Support Group commanders and senior NCOs. Mike and his wife sat at the head table, while four of his five daughters sat to his left beaming with pride over the honor being bestowed on their father. Mike had also invited Mr. Yang, his old boss at the Hobby Shop who gave him his job years ago. Mr. Yang is now an English Professor at Wangwon University. In addition, Mike, who thanks God for this reuniting of him and Ellis, also invited the pastor of his church.

At this point, I believe a hearty thank-you must go out to MSgt Kirkpatrick, First Sergeant of the Services Squadron, for setting everything up. Special thanks to Dick Souza for sending the certificate that made the dinner so special.

A story was published in the Wolf Pack Warrior of Mike's Honorary Member presentation. When I spoke a few minutes to the Wing PA at the dinner, I thought that the story would be about Mike and the Services Squadron where Mike has served for so many years -- along with the Mosquito Association. However, it turned out that the story in the Wolf Pack Warrior on Sept 27 was mostly information from my article above. The story was picked up by Air Force Links and published on the net. The text is as follows:

Kunsan civilian re-connects with Korean War savior

by Airman 1st Class Andrew Svoboda
8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

09/30/02 - KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) -- A civilian employee here recently re-established ties with the man who saved his life and the Air Force unit that adopted him during the Korean War.

Yong Ku "Mike" Yi, an employee at the base skills center, received an honorary induction into his savior's unit, the 6147th Tactical Control Group's Mosquito Association recently.

The events that led up to the induction are filled with many of the ideals held in high regard to servicemembers throughout history: courage, willingness to help others and camaraderie.

The ability to have Koreans and Americans who met during the war re-connect, if only through a telephone conversation, is a rare event, said Kalani O'Sullivan, the man who helped Yi contact 6146th TCG veteran Ellis Forgy. When successful, the event is extremely emotional, added Sullivan, a retired Air Force captain now living in Kunsan City who studies the history of units involved in the Korean War. Through this research, he tries to make the reunion of long lost friends from the war possible.

According to O'Sullivan, Yi was orphaned at age 7 when North Koreans killed his parents. In December 1950, he was found half-frozen in the snow near Kimbo by three young airmen, one of whom was Forgy, the man Yi would contact again nearly 50 years later.

The airmen took Yi back to 6146th Tactical Control Squadron at Taegu. There Yi was "adopted" by troops in the unit who named him Bobby and brought him gifts after mid-tour visits to the United States.

After the unit relocated, Battery B of the 76th Anti-Aircraft Artillery took Yi with them. Around June 1951, the unit moved here and Yi moved with them. He lived with the unit at the south end of base, said O'Sullivan.

By 1955, illness caused Yi to transfer to an orphanage on Cheju Island. In 1957, he secured a job at the base hobby shop in the photo section, while simultaneously attending school. He worked there until joining the Korean army in 1958.

After serving four years, Yi returned to his job at the base hobby shop.

The reunion of Yi and his benefactor began when a former worker here contacted O'Sullivan to help him find a friend who had worked at the skills center in 1978.

O'Sullivan visited the base's skills center and found Yi still behind the counter. O'Sullivan then offered his services to search for Yi's benefactor using his contacts with veteran groups.

"The key element came from Mike," said O'Sullivan. "By remembering 6164 [the unit] and T-6 [the aircraft, nicknamed the Mosquito], I put together that it was a tactical control unit and knew where to look."

When Yi and Forgy reunited, emotions on both sides of the Pacific were running high -- their telephone conversation was the first time the two had spoken in more than 50 years, said O'Sullivan.

"For every success like this one, we have many more disappointments," he said. "Older people pass away or cannot be found, and we must deliver bad news. Just one event like this makes it all worth while."

Yi celebrated his induction with a dinner amongst close friends and family including his wife and five daughters,

Good fortune smiled upon Yi, who could not be more deserving, according to friends.

"He's a virtuous man, and was born good," said Pyong Sok Yang, the former skills center manager who worked with Yi for more than 30 years.

"A longstanding part of the Kunsan family, he always smiles and waves," said Donald Montgomery, current club manager.

A grateful Yi is thankful for his personal benefactor, and the benefactor of his people.

"I want to thank the U.S., who helped bring spiritual life back to our country and helped save and enrich Korea," he said.

Since the posting of this article on the web, others have written to thank Mike for the kindness he extended to them during their tours from years past. Harry Howard of Inverness, FL, thanked Mike for the kindness he extended to him during his 1970-1971 tour at Kunsan. This just shows that Mike has been a giving individual and friend of Kunsan's GIs for a long, long time.

EPILOGUE (NOVEMBER 2004): Mike could not make it to the reunion because of the financial costs of such a trip from Korea. However, Mike and Ellis continued to make plans to meet each other. In 2003, Ellis Forgy suffered a massive heart attack and never regained consciousness. He passed away peacefully after a long vigil by his family at his bedside. It was an extremely sad time for Mike to have found his benefactor -- and then lose him so soon. After Ellis' death, Mike has maintained contact with his widow and they are continuing to plan on meeting. But life's little emergencies seem to always get in the way as she lives on the east coast and Mike in Korea. The last plan to meet in California -- halfway between the two -- fell through because of the hurricanes that popped up on the east coast. But the main thing is that Mike and his benefactor's wife, Ruth Forgy, are still in contact.

Kalani continued to maintain contact with Mike as Kunsan vets periodically passed messages to say hello to Mike. Finally in Nov 2004, Kalani relocated to Osan and said goodbye to his old friend.

However, in Osan, the story of Mike continues. In Sept 2004, John Moench, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret), and author of Taking Command, mailed Kalani O'Sullivan some old newsletters from the 314th Air Division at Osan in 1959 for archiving. In Nov 2004, Kalani located the 7th AF historian, Theodore "Jackie" Turner, to transfer the materials for archiving. Kalani opened the packet for the first time in Osan and began reading through the materials in the yellowed newsprint to excerpt any pertinent Kunsan facts.

That is when Kalani came across an article on the Kunsan Hobby Shop back in November 1959. It had been almost 45 years since that article was published. In the article there were photos of a young man that resembled Mike Yi -- perhaps 17 years old at the most -- and an older Korean who must have been Mr. Young, now an English Professor at Hwonkwan University in Iksan. Unfortunately, the young man in the photo was NOT Mike Yi as he had left for the ROK Army in 1958. Mike stated that the Director, Mr. Buckley, had already passed away. However, the photos below give you an idea of the Hobby Shop that Mike has worked at all these years in helping the GIs of Kunsan. "Mike" Yi in 2004 was still working at the hobby shop (on his third extension to his retirement).

R: R-L Mr. Young, Mr. Buckley, and unknown Korean, Unknown A3c L: Unknown Korean with Unk A3c at Print Dryer (Click on Picture to Enlarge)

The photos accompanying the article show Mr. Buckley, the new Hobby Shop Director, who arrived in Sep 1959, an unspecified A3c assistant, and two Korean assistants, Mr. Young and an unknown Korean). The 1959 writeup for the Base Hobby Shop is at 1959: Hobby Shop.)

The following is from The Defender, Vol. II. No. 14, 314th Air Division, Korea, December 9, 1959, "Hobbies at Kunsan Arts & Crafts Helping Airmen in Off-duty times."

KUNSAN, Korea -- "But there's nothing to do here."

This complaint, common to newcomers in Korea, was overheard recently by an ardent hobby shop fan at Kunsan Air Base. The hobbiest literally grabbed his unhappy friend by the hand and led him to the h9obby shop and now the questing man's attitude has done an about face. His big wish now is to have more time because "there are so many things to do."

Kunsan's shops offer leatherwork, photography, model aircraft building, art metal work and woodworking. In addition, there are facilities for persons who wish to paint and to draw and in the near future ceramics (the art of making articles of baked clay) and lapidary (the art of cutting stones) will be added to the offerings.

Direction of the Kunsna Arts and Crafts Hobby Shop Program is the responsibility of Don Buckley, a civilian with over 26 years service to the government. Before coming to Korea in September 1955, Buckley, a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, completed xis years of employment with the Los Angeles Verterans Hospital as supervisor of Manual Arts Therapy for Rehabilitation.

When talking about working in the hobby program, Buckley says, "experience is not necessary for participation. Any beginner can be well on his way to becoming an expert in one or more phases of the arts and crafts program during his Korean tour."

There is virtually no limit to the products that can be turned out in the shops. Under the direction of Buckley and his staff of comptetent Korean and military instructiors, airmen have displayed finely tooled leather purses, completed "hi-fi" sets that would make the best cabinetmaker take notice, flown model aircrt that look as realistic astheir operational prototypes, copper or brass art bieces that any decorator would be happy to use and painting in oil or watercolor which are fit to adorn any wall.

There is a wide variety of hand and power tools according to their need in each shop. In addition, a well stocked hobby sales store carries everything from model aircraft to blank belts.

Interest in arts and crafts is stimulated by various contests which reward the entrants for their outstanding handiwork. Model aircraft builders have formed their own flying circle and compete among themselves as a means of testing their aircraft and in some cases , original designs.

Shutterbugs participate in regtular tours of the local countryside and then dash back to the "lab" to process their film, print their pictures and compare their "shots."

Boat building recently sailed into the hobby shop picutre. Shop Director Buckley and Maj. Henry D. Gordon, 6175th Support Sq commander, purchased a sailboat kit and set to work on the project. Just last week the Air Force "sailors" launched their boat and successfully sailed it on a nearby reservoir.

An exciting part of arts and crafts interest is how a hobby can grow to become a profitable pastime. Starting as amateurs many hobbietests have managed to earn spending money and more through the sale of their products.

Whether it is a means of implementing an income or just a pleasant means of making time speed by, a hobby will pay off. The bobby program is not confined just to Kunsan but is available throughout Korea and wherever military personnel are assigned.

Quality of Life Issues

Gov't to Ban Employment of Foreign Women in Clubs Near US Bases

By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter

Nightclubs and other entertainment facilities near U.S. bases will be restricted from employing foreign women, the Justice Ministry said yesterday.

Foreign women who become victims of sexual exploitation and abuse will also be allowed to remain in the country for a set period of time to file lawsuits and seek compensation.

The ministry will finalize these and other measures aimed at rooting out human trafficking today in a meeting of officials from the police, the immigration office and related ministries.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will seek to limit the employment of foreign entertainers to certain facilities such as clubs inside U.S. bases, tourist hotels and foreigner-only facilities. As a result, clubs and bars near U.S. bases that fall short of the ministry's employment standards are expected to be banned from hiring foreign women in the future.

Foreign women who were subject to human rights abuses such as confinement and forced prostitution will also be allowed to extend their stay here to take legal measures and receive their withheld wages.

Other measures proposed include investigations around U.S. military bases into the violation of sex workers' human rights as well as closer monitoring of the companies that hire foreign women.

Last week, the Philippine embassy in Seoul said it will sue an owner of a nightclub on behalf of 11 Filipino women who were forced into prostitution after entering the country on E-6 art and entertainment visas, sparking calls for more effective government measures to prevent human trafficking.

In A-town (America Town), the Korean bargirls are slowly aging and have been replaced by younger Filipino and Russian girls. As A-town is a "special town" with "tourist-clubs" -- supposedly for U.S. servicemen only -- the employment of foreign girls should not be a problem on the surface. However, Tongduchon's "Little Chicago" area with its "tourist-clubs" for GIs-only is where the incident of the forced prostitution happened. Koreans are denied access to these clubs in Tongduchon.

In Kunsan, the situation has been a little different. In recent years, A-town has been placed off-limits many times by the Wing Commander for incidents with local nationals in the clubs. However, there were times when the clubs were off-limits because of demonstrations occurring in Seoul and Kwangju. The clubs were losing money and protests were held at the main gate in 2001 complaining of the unfairness of these actions. To pay the bills, the bar owners illegally opened their clubs at times to local nationals in order to survive. This can become a potential area of major conflict between base authorities and the bar owners association.

But like most of these items in Korea, the authorities only do the enforcement of something when the public attention is focused on it. After a few months when things cool down, the situation usually returns to as it was before. In fact, by November the Koreans had been distracted by other protests dealing with the "negligent homicide" court martials at Camp Casey for the deaths of two girls in June caused by two soldiers in a convoy. (See Kunsan AB Protests for coverage of these nationwide protests and video footage links of 2001Main Gate protests.)

Kunsan AB Civic Actions

World Cup 2002

Inchon IAP Complete in 2001

The new international airport at Inchon -- though with some delays -- was opened with great fanfare. There has been a great anticipation of a major infusion of tourist income from abroad -- but the totals weren't announced after the World Cup games were done. Reports were that the turnout were not as great as expected for foreign visitors. However, the games did provide a major boost in the sales of big screen digital and LCD TVs throughout the country as restaurants and establishments tuned into the games.

World Cup Stadium in Chonju

However, there was the ever present threat of soccer violence, the riot police "practiced" in the event such unruly events occur as they do in Europe. The games have been without any of the feared violence. The threat of terrorism also loomed as something that had to be safeguarded for. One Press pass for a British journalist was picked up by a Middle Eastern man causing a slight stir. There were no incidents as seen in Europe much to the relief of the riot police.

Though the games were first thought of as a means to foster goodwill between Japan and Korea, the feelings of "fellowship" never materialized. The hosting of the World Cup in two countries where one hates the other's guts was NOT a good idea. The FIFA organization realized that AFTER they had announced the decision. Next time there will only be two co-sponsor nations when there are "adjoining borders" -- not a expanse of water between. Having both Japan and Korea co-sponsor the games was a bad idea from the start.

World Cup Stadium in Seoul

There was a lot of hype by the Korean government with the TV showing a lot of "foreigners" (though fluent in Korean) on TV to acclimate the people to the foreigners. TV programs all included foreigners who spoke Korean to start the people thinking internationally. Much of the preliminary hoopla was scuttled as the games approached. The state visit by the Emporer Akihito of Japan was scrapped as there were repeated threats of violence. Both Korea's President Kim Dae-jung and Japan's Premier Koizumi promised to exchange visits DURING the games -- but only Kim Dae Jung visited Japan, due to the heated feelings of the Korean populace against the Japanese. Politically, the games were a hot potato.

World Cup FIFA logo

The U.S. Team: The U.S. teams faced a hostile Korean crowd in Korea which booed them from the pitch in each game. Koreans in the stands cheered for the opposition teams, rather than their allies. This was played down in the American press, but many international papers noted that the Korean fans seldom cheered for the Americans. Within the sports arena, there was a lot of hostility towards America's team.

World Cup Anti-American Sign: Death Threats Anyone?

Originally, the team was in Group D along with Korea, Portugal and Poland. Before advancing to the quarter finals, its only loss was to Poland. The U.S. defeated Portugal (#5 world rank) 3:2 and tied with Korea (world rank #42) 1:1. The whole World Cup saw the highly-favored teams like France being sent home in the first round.

Forward McBride in U.S. win over Portugal: 2 June/Suwon

The American team had a lot to celebrate about its performance during this world cup by advancing to the quarter finals. Before the game with Mexico in Taejon, there appeared on the mailroom's bulletin board, notices from scalpers offering tickets for the Taejon game at exorbitant prices. Actually tickets were being sold for all the American games at about half the asking price from newspaper sources. The U.S. was not a team most-wanted-to-see list. After it defeated Mexico 2:0, the U.S. advanced to the quarter finals on 21 June in Ulsan. However, the game went without much fanfare in Korea. Even on the U.S. Army MWR site, the only mention was about a Latino watching the game on base and rooting for Mexico because of his "roots."

Even in the U.S. there was a problem with a lack of enthusiasm for the World Cup games for the U.S. teams. The FIFA site stated, "Despite reaching the semi-finals of the first FIFA World Cup\x99 in 1930 and beating England 1-0 in the 1950 FIFA World Cup, football struggled to find popularity in the United States while it flourished elsewhere in the world." It continued, "Largely confined to the east coast and in selected other pockets, the sport was seen as a mark of foreignness, which made it unpopular with the masses but a source of pride for newly arrived immigrants. Due in large part to the game's growing popularity, the United States became only the second North American nation to host a FIFA World Cup in 1994, which turned out to be a huge popular and financial success. The American team also reached the second round of the tournament before going out 1-0 to the eventual champions, Brazil. The 1998 FIFA World Cup France, however, was a disappointment after the side finished last, but it is a mark of how far football has come in America that the team qualified to participate in their fourth straight World Cup in Korea/Japan." However, the sport is still growing in America as the most popular youth sport in the country. But the adult fans haven't caught on...YET. The following is an excerpt from the U.S. News on June 22nd. Though the interest in the games were growing, but it still wasn't a big deal for Americans. Most Americans view the Detroit Red Wings victory or the LA Lakers NBA Championship as reason to take to the streets to celebrate. But Soccer? No way.

Playing With the Big Boys
Will the U.S. squad's world-class showing turn the sport around?

BY MATTHEW BENJAMIN

Minute 17 was the defining moment. American striker Landon Donovan took control of the ball near midfield and made a darting run toward the German goal. The 20-year-old speedster threaded the ball through one towering defender's legs, glided past another, and launched a low, arcing shot at the left corner of the cage. Picture perfect. The only thing more perfect was the diving touch by goalkeeper Oliver Kahn that deflected the ball away from the net.

On the other side of the globe from the World Cup in South Korea, an early-morning crowd inside Washington, D.C.'s Lucky Bar erupted in disappointment. But it was disappointment mixed with pride that an American squad could actually hold its own in the late brackets of the competition and threaten one of the world's most venerated soccer powers. Taken as a whole, the Americans' Cup performance signaled that the United States finally may have earned its soccer stripes abroad and that the world's most popular game might finally be emerging from second-class status at home. Said U.S. coach Bruce Arena after the 1-0 loss: "I think we demonstrated to the world that the United States belonged here."

It was a shock to many soccer experts that the United States even made it to the quarterfinals, joining perennial powers like England and Brazil and leaving behind such favorites as Argentina and Portugal. It was a shock at home, too, where many still consider soccer little more than healthful weekend exercise for their kids. The U.S. team's dismal last-place finish in the 1998 World Cup seemed to confirm that this was not a sport for adults to waste Sundays watching -- much less getting up in the wee hours of the morning to tune in.

But this time was different. Instead of a squad of tender neophytes, the United States sent a team of confident professionals, many of whom compete in the best leagues on the planet: captain Claudio Reyna of England's Sunderland and defender Tony Sanneh of Germany's Nuremberg, among others. They've brought to the U.S. squad international styles that get results, including the highly physical "bully-ball" of the English Premier League and the patience of Germany's Bundesliga.

Homegrown. Even more important than the foreign leagues, however, is the homegrown Major League Soccer. Founded six years ago, the 10-team league is now churning out young talent at a prodigious rate. Indeed, eight of 11 starters against Germany have MLS experience. "There's no question a domestic league is absolutely essential to the success of a national team," says Ray Hudson, who coaches the MLS's D.C. United and hails from Newcastle, England, a place where soccer and moms don't mix.

What's more, American players are now turning pro as teenagers, as they have in the dominant soccer nations for many years. Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, another member of the national squad, did so at age 16. At 20, both are now veterans and being courted by big European clubs for big bucks.

That's by design. Desperate for young talent, the U.S. Soccer Federation in 1997 created Project 40 -- a program that plucks the 40 best American youngsters out of high school or college to begin intensive training and placement with professional teams. It has already paid off, placing three players on this World Cup team and many more in the MLS. And the pipeline is full. Youth soccer participation grew 10 percent in the 1990s, a decade when many kids were deserting team sports in droves for skateboarding and other "extreme" sports. "Our soccer camps are selling out," says Jan O'Connor of US Sports Camps, which serves 42,000 campers a year in 44 states.

Just as important is the quality of American coaching. Commentators rated Brooklyn native Bruce Arena nearly perfect in his strategy and player selections during this Cup. And Arena is not unique anymore. "Coaching here is really taking the same leaps and bounds as the quality of players," says Dave Dir, former coach of the MLS's Dallas Burn and now an analyst for ESPN2. It's the same at the grassroots level. "There are more [youth] coaches now who know the game, as opposed to a mom or dad who just organized and did fundraising," says Andrew Ransome of ProExcel, a professional coaching group.

And the fans are growing in number and knowledge. ESPN, which initially agreed to air this Cup as a service, is ecstatic about the surprising audiences the matches have drawn. Nearly 2 million U.S. households watched the Mexico-U.S. match (and many more on the Spanish-language Univision), despite the fact it kicked off at the ungodly hour of 2:25 am. Kevin Bogardus, a 21-year-old D.C. summer intern who watched the Germany match at Lucky Bar, speaks with ease about through balls and offside traps and concludes: "We finally have players who know what they're doing."

Does all this add up to an American hoisting the World Cup trophy in the near future? Hardly. Teams have reached the quarterfinals before, only to fall back into mediocrity. The MLS, so crucial to U.S. success, lost $250 million its first five years and continues to hemorrhage money. Nor are its attendance numbers anything to brag about. Some believe that scores like Friday's 1-0 may never satisfy the bulk of American fans.

When it comes to soccer passion, the United States is light-years behind. As the disappointed Lucky Bar crowd emerged into the morning sunshine after the match, it revealed none of the despair and loathing that the Italian and Russian fans succumbed to following their own defeats. But most agreed that the American team's success will go a long way in making U.S. soccer at least a bit bigger, even if it happened while most Americans were sound asleep.

With Andrew Curry, Lucian Kim, Stefan Lovgren, and Joellen Perry

The U.S. was the heavy underdog in its match with Germany. Even the U.S. coach, Bruce Arena, admitted that the German team was physically bigger. However, he planned to use his team's speed to their advantage. He said, "We're not going to get any taller or any thicker overnight ... so we're going to have to make up for it with a little bit of quickness and some brains and some positioning of the ball." The hopes relied on Landon Donovan and Brian McBride in attack as the leading U.S. scorers in this World Cup. During the game, it was evident that his strategy was at work by the amount of shots taken by the U.S. team. Unfortunately, most were wide of the mark.

The Germans scored first and then kept the game bottled up. The Americans lost 1:0 and were eliminated. But as the game ended, most there left in an upbeat mood, aware they had seen an exciting game. That includes the American players. "I think we played well," said U.S. forward Clint Mathis. "It took a while to get going, but once we did we had a lot of chances." German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn gave the USA a ringing endorsement: "I'm impressed with the power of the Americans. They had two less days to prepare. We tried everything we could," he said. The Americans are justified to be proud of their team.

There was a negative note. A major Korean newspaper, the Korea Times, sanctioned the posting of an inflamatory BBS on their newspaper website. A Bulletin Board Service (BBS) link was posted under the FIFA soccer article. It contained some of the foulest language against Americans/foreigners and was exactly the type of racist, illogical diatribes used by Anti-American Korean activists. Most of it seems to be accusations and counter-accusations of folks having a "flame-fest" -- rather than really discussing soccer issues. What was sad was that a major Korean newspaper was supporting this type of uncensored BBS from its front page -- but who said Korea was the home for responsible journalism?

Korea's Team: There were high hopes for the Korean team which imported a new coach, Dutchman Guus Hiddink, but the team's "warmup" games were lackluster and initially hopes for a Korean victory seemed very unlikely. However, the Korean people all hoped that the Korean team would make the final 16. Everywhere was heard, "Pil-sung...Fighting!!!" -- Win...Fight!!!.

First Win for Korea in 48 years: June 4th/Pusan Asiad Stadium

From the onset of the games, Korea's soccer rage reached fever pitch. In Korea's first game, every television set was set to the game...no one moved. Korean fans dressed in red -- with painted faces and infectious enthusiasm filled the stadium. The Red Devil, the team of supporters for the Korean national squad, had organized cheering squads across the country, bringing hundreds of thousands of people out on the streets for Korea's World Cup games. The Koreans originally were in Group D with the U.S., Poland and Portugal. South Korea used a fast attack and pressured for the full 90 minutes for a morale boosting 2-0 opening match win over Poland for their first victory in six World Cup appearances dating back to 1954. After this game, the criticism of coach Guus Hiddink disappeared and suddenly he became a national hero.

Korea is a power team with a aggressive attack style. To many Koreans, a great game was the one between the U.S. and Korea more for its emotional significance. Fears were that violence would flare if the US beat South Korea in Taegu. Latent anti-Americanism came to the fore. Government officials tried to cool the situation and President Kim Dae-jung even lunched with the nation's fanatical fans, the Red Devils, to urge restraint. Despite this, some Red Devils took part in anti-US demonstrations before and after the game.

The U.S. player Mathis scored the initial goal, but later the Koreans tied it 1:1. At the scoring of the goal, the scoring Korean player, Ahn Jung Hwan, did an imitation of ice-skating -- to taunt the Americans over an incident in the Winter Olympics where a Korean skater lost his gold to an American for a foul. (SEE 2002: Kunsan AB Protest: Depth of Anti-American Feelings) That portion of the games continues to be shown over and over whenever there are replays of the World Cup games. The game ended in a 1:1 draw -- but to Koreans it was a victory where they could tweak the American noses.

Ahn does his dance...

Of the unusual taunt, Stuart Roach from the BBC wrote on 10 June: "The animated goal celebrations which followed Ahn Jung-Hwan's equaliser for Korea in the 1-1 draw against the United States may have looked a little curious to anyone outside Korea. But the sentiment was clear in this part of the world. Despite official pleas not to degenerate into anti-American goading, the Korean team had been keen to put a sporting record straight. The disqualification of Korea's Kim Dong-Sung in the final of the 1,500m short track speed skating final at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City earlier this year handed the gold medal to American Apolo Anton Ohno. Ahn and his team-mates were mimicking a speed skating style as a tribute to the unlucky Korean skater. But given the high authority from which the pleas for calm came, they were skating on thin ice." (See Depth of Anti-American Sentiment for details of Ohno and Anti-American Protests.)

USA escapes with draw

By Ronald Blum, The Associated Press

DAEGU, South Korea — Goalkeeper Brad Friedel came up with half a dozen big saves, Clint Mathis got an early goal and the Americans fought off a sea of red during an emotionally charged afternoon. They tied co-host South Korea 1-1 and moved within a point of the second round of the World Cup. Clint Mathis scored a 24th-minute goal in his return to the lineup, and Friedel became the first goalkeeper in this tournament to stop a penalty kick. But South Korea tied it in the 78th minute when second-half substitute Ahn Jung-hwan outjumped defender Jeff Agoos to head in Lee Eul-yong's free kick.

"We lost concentration for a split second and they put it away," Friedel said. "That was a ball between Agoos and myself. You have to give them a little bit of credit, too. They put us under a lot of pressure in the second half and it's hard to withstand that pressure."

Ahn simulated a speedskater in his goal celebration, a reference to the disqualification of Kim Dong-sung in the 1,500-meter short-track final of February's Salt Lake City Olympics, which resulted in a gold medal for American Apolo Anton Ohno.

"We knew that our people still have some grudge against the United States for the skating incident, so we wanted to allay that with the goal ceremony," Ahn said.

Agoos, who didn't see the dance, was told about it later and called it "pretty funny."

"I guess it was on their minds. It wasn't on ours," U.S. captain Claudio Reyna said. "I guess they dedicated it to him, so that's nice."

"I'm going to take it and get out of town quick," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. "If you'd asked most people months ago if the U.S. would get four points in first two matches, 100% of the people would have said no. To be standing with four points after two matches is a good feeling."

South Korea, sky high after its 2-0 opening upset of Poland, dominated most of the game and had a chance to win it in the 89th. Choi Yong-soo, with an open net, took a pass from Lee and chipped the ball over the crossbar.

"We outplayed them for much of the second half," said South Korea's Dutch coach, Guus Hiddink. He thought his team created "five, six, seven chances."

"A draw is a little bit not enough," he added.

South Korea and the United States, which opened with a 3-2 win over fifth-ranked Portugal, are both 1-0-1 with four points, following by Portugal (1-1), which has three after beating Poland 4-0, eliminating the Poles. The hosts lead Group D on goal difference, plus-2 to plus-1.

With a tie or a win against the Poles on Friday, the United States would ensure its first trip to the second round since 1994, when the World Cup was played in America. South Korea would advance with a tie against the Portuguese.

"It was probably four more points than anyone thought we'd have at this point," Mathis said. Mathis, who didn't play in the opener, looked fierce in his new Mohawk hairdo. He scored on one of his first touches.

John O'Brien ran the ball up from midfield and passed to Mathis, who trapped it with his right foot, then kicked it with his left, slotting the ball past goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae from about 12 yards. Friedel, picked by Arena to start his second straight game because he has superior footwork to Kasey Keller, made a super stop in the 40th minute. Agoos was called for dumping Hwang Sun-hong in the penalty area when U.S. defender Eddie Pope tumbled into the players.

Agoos said Hwang was the one doing the shirt-grabbing and that Swiss referee Urs Meier blew the call. "The penalty kick was ridiculous," Arena said.

Friedel, who had stopped Seol Ki-hyeon point blank just as the penalty kick was whistled, dived to his right and parried away Lee's penalty kick. The rebound went wide.

"They changed about three penalty shooters," Friedel said. "When a left-footer takes a penalty and he's not very confident, he'll generally push it to the easier side so he doesn't miss the net."

Friedel also parried Kim Nam-il's 30-yard chip with his fingertips in the 10th minute and made an excellent save with his feet on Seol's ball from the side in the 20th minute. "Friedel was clearly the man of the match," Arena said.

Penalty kickers had been 10-for-10 in this World Cup and were 17 of 18 in 1998, with one missing the net entirely. After Friedel's save on Lee, there was a moment of pushing between the teams, but the officials quickly separated them.

Hwang stood out, wearing a bandage that looked almost like a turban. He was bleeding above the left eye after a collision with Frankie Hejduk in front of the U.S. goal in the 22nd minute.

Mathis and Reyna rejoined the lineup, while Pablo Mastroeni — Reyna's replacement — and injured midfielder Earnie Stewart came out. South Korea pressed at the start, and the United States didn't even take a shot during the first 21 minutes, letting the Red Devils run almost at will.

The stadium, nestled at the foot of a hill, has the highest capacity in South Korea at 68,014. South Korea's supporters, overwhelmingly clad in red, started chanting and banging drums more than 2 1/2 hours before the start. Signs hanging from the upper deck included "Hiddink! Make our dream come true!" "God Bless Corea" and "We have a dream."

Fans on one end of the lower bowl held up white cards that formed the giant letters "GO KOR 16!" signifying South Korea's quest to be among the 16 teams in the second round. Then they switched to raising white South Korean flags.

Despite talk of anti-Americanism before the game, the crowd applauded following "The Star-Spangled Banner," then during the South Korean anthem raised a giant South Korean flag more than 125 feet long and 50 feet high.

There were four sections of American fans — some in red, some in white and some in the Stars and Stripes. Whenever they started chants of "U-S-A!" they were drowned out by the home fans.

American players took comfort that the field is surrounded by a 400-meter track, meaning only those fans with strong arms could hope to throw objects at them. That contrasted with Saprissa Stadium in San Jose, Costa Rica, where fans are just feet from the field and pelted U.S. players with coins, bottles and bags of urine during qualifiers in the past two years.

Before the game, many of the American players relaxed at their hotel by watching the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the New Jersey Nets in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, which ended a little more than three hours before the start of the game (2:30 a.m. ET).

When the Americans came out on the field before warmups, Stewart, Cobi Jones and Josh Wolff were among those with video recorders to preserve the scene, and Stewart danced a little to the drumming. Fans of the Red Devils flocked south from Seoul all morning on planes, trains, buses and cars, chanting "Go Korea!" and "Dae-han-min-guk" (Republic of Korea).

Because of the tension surrounding the game, organizers heightened security. When the U.S. charter flight from Seoul arrived at Daegu Airport on Sunday, two tanks were on the runway and the Americans were greeted by the usual SWAT teams and police.

However, the next game was even better. On 14 June, the game between Portugal -- #5-ranked in the world -- faced the #42-ranked Korean team. All the world's sportswriters never gave Korea's team a chance of winning. However, the whole of Korea turned out to support the team with an estimated 2.8 million across the country turning out to cheer from street venues -- where Big Screens had been set up. Here in Kunsan, the big screen was set up at the people's center and at the Wolmyong Sports Center Stadium. In Seoul, the City Hall square was packed with tens of thousands of people. The scene was repeated throughout the country. When the game started at 8:30PM, no one moved from the TV. The game dragged on scoreless and everyone became tense...and then the fantastic shot by Park Ji-Sung Park -- a bounce off the chest, a kick bounce to throw off a defender and then the kick into the goal. Beautiful!!! And Korea went wild... Korea the underdog had won! The shouts from apartment buildings, the singing in the streets, the cars going up and down the road honking their horns and shouting... In quiet Kunsan, it got loud for a little while. Korea had assured its place in the "final 16" teams to vie for the World Cup.

The nation rejoiced. In fact, legislation was passed exempting the Soccer Players on the national team from compulsory military service -- something reserved for medalists in Olympic sports.

Then came the Italy-Korea game. Again throughout the country, the "Red Devils" mobilized. Kids all sported the "Be The Red Devils" red t-shirts and red head scarves. For the Korea-Italy match, the police estimated that 3.5 million people took to the streets to watch the venue on Big Screens set up in central areas.

Sea of Red

The Italians scored first, but when Korea's Seol Ki-hyeon scored with a beautiful kick, you could hear the cheers and screams all over Korea. Throughout everyone was shouting "Dae-ha-min-guk" (Korea!!!) or "Oh...Korea!!!" and it worked. The cameras at the stadium in Taejon were shaking so one can guess the noise of the crowds. The Cinderella team proved that they could play with the big boys. Korea scored the winning goal with a head "nudge" from Ahn Jung-hwan in sudden death overtime. Pandemonium. People screaming from the apartment buildings... Kids running around the streets shouting "Dae-han-min-guk!!!" People jumping up and down on the balconies...and screaming at the top of their lungs. Shortly after the game, the supermarkets had lines of men buying soju or beer to celebrate with their friends. It was a damn good night to get drunk...Korea was in seventh heaven!!!

However, Italy -- a country that lives and breathes soccer -- was not happy. Many Italian newspapers accused the referee of bad calls and poor judgement. And Ahn Jung-hwan who has played for the past two years with the Italian team, Perugia, was not invited back. The Italians were very sore losers.

My daughter, Boram (right) and friends,
Sheenae (center) and Hemin (left) with "Red Devil" Support regalia.

After this the team faced Spain in Kwangju on the 22nd of June. It can be said with certainty that ALL of Korea turned out to support their team from scheduled venues or sitting at home at the TV (or with radios on in their cars). Our daughter, Boram, had gone off with her friends -- all painted up in face paint with red scarves and t-shirts, ready to root for the home team. Mama and I dressed in our Red Devil t-shirts and tried to find a venue to join the rooting section, but there was none except at Wolmyong Sports Center across town. At 3:00 in the afternoon, viewing a big screen would be impossible so we bought a lot of snacks and cuttlefish, went to our school and watched the game in the reception area. Not quite the same as being with a group of people, but we rooted on the home team.

Only in the big cities like Seoul with big screens in the shade of buildings were the venues successful -- and they were packed. It was estimated that over 5 million turned out on the streets of the major cities. However, the TV showed that most of the Koreans had simply found large meeting halls to gather together. "Dae-han-min-guk!!!" (Korea!!!) Again the magic worked.

It was a scoreless game that went into sudden death overtime and ended again scoreless. But it was not for trying...some of the Spaniards shots on goal were deflected by the post in the WRONG direction...and the one Spanish goal was nullified by an offside call -- and the Koreans shots were trapped by the exceptional skills of the Spanish goal keeper. Then it was a shoot out. The first three shots by both sides made it, but then the Korean goalie Woon-Jae Lee blocked the shot of Spain's Joaquin. Everyone was breathless when the next Korean stepped up --- and his kick was good. Again all hell broke loose. Throughout Korea, the crowds went wild. Coach Hiddink was dropped as a potential Presidential candidate and was nominated for sainthood. Some people even talked of giving him Korean citizenship.

With this win, Korea would progress on to the semi-finals. Korea would have been happy making the top 16 -- then they were ecstatic when they made the top-8 -- and now, they're floating as they've made the top 4. It had been a Cinderella trip in this world cup. After being winless for 48 years, Korea was now at a position beyond its dreams. They were in the semi-finals with Germany. As a side note, the USFK issued a warning on AFKN that "spontaneous demonstrations" might break out throughout the country and servicemen were reminded to stay away.

But for the Spain, there was only sadness...they played well and had some shots deflected the wrong way on the post and a disallowed goal in sudden death. However, as classy a team as they were, they neither blamed the referee nor the Koreans...it was just fate. However, others in the Spainish hierarchy filed a complaint of the "favoritism" shown in their game with Korea. Especially frustrating was the offside that nullified a goal and a "golden dream" goal that didn't count. The allegations were dismissed by FIFA.

The Korea's game in the semi-finals was against Germany. The preparation and hoopla for the last game remained rather low-key as it was a weekday. The venues in Seoul were packed as expected, but most towns across the country seemed to be burned out. During the day here in Kunsan, I did not feel the same spontaneous energy that was everywhere before. It was almost like the people were supportive, but they had business to do -- or as if they sensed that they was a good chance that they were going to lose. Here in Kunsan, there was a big screen set up at Wolmyong Sports Center, but none at the People's Civic Center in Naun-dong as before. However, when the game started at 8:30, every Korean was watching at their TV sets or at a venue. Again Korea turned out to support their team -- but it was much more muted.

From the description of the German team in the U.S. team section above, you understand that Korea's team was definitely at a weight and height disadvantage. From the start, the Koreans sought to take advantage of the flanks in their tactics, but they just couldn't stop the Germans with their longer legs and experience. By half-time, it was obvious who was the better team. The Germans had 11 shots on goal and the Koreans only two. Whenever the Koreans would press the attack, the Germans would stop them by stealing the ball. After Germany's Michael Ballack first shot was blocked by W.J. Lee, he fired the rebound a split second later past Lee as Lee was still getting up from the ground.

As expected, the Red Devils showed up in force to support their team. Unfortunately, some Koreans had a tendency to also show their worst side. A lot of folks were offended by the signs that were displayed.

Korean signs not very pretty.

Though overpowered by the Germans, the Korean team played their hearts out and all Koreans are proud of them. The following Korea Herald article describes the match better than I could.

Final eludes Korea

Korea's World Cup dream run finally came to an end last night as Germany outfought co-host Korea 1-0 in a grueling semifinal in Seoul.

Korea takes on the loser of today's semifinal match between Brazil and Turkey in the consolation match Saturday in Daeju, while three-time champion Germany faces the other semifinal winner in the final in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday.

Korea exceeded all expectations by becoming the first Asian nation to reach the semifinals in the 72-year World Cup history. It pulled off upsets over European powerhouses Portugal, Italy and Spain in the first- and second-round matches.

"We're disappointed in not being in the final," said Korea's coach Guus Hiddink after the match. "The German team was more experienced on some occasions. Of course it was a disappointment, but we can be proud of our boys."

It was a tough, gritty contest that saw both sides fight tooth and nail for the go-ahead goal, which finally came in the 75th minute.

Michael Ballack, just after getting booked, pounced on his own rebound off his first shot from Oliver Neuville's cross, sending the ball to the lower-right corner past a scrambling Korean goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae. In a twist of irony, Germany's hero will not play in the final due to his second yellow card received in the knockout stage. Captain Hong Myung-bo said, "It's due to the all-out support of the Korean people that we came so far in the tournament."

The Germans were ecstatic with the win. "This is fantastic," Neuville said. "We played well, we deserved to win and we have every right to be in the final."

Carsten Ramelow took a shot in the first minute of play, a left-footer straight at keeper Lee.

The best chance for Korea came in the eighth minute as Cha Du-ri's pinpoint cross found Lee Chun-soo in position. German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn's outstretched fingers barely batted away Lee's rocket that was heading straight into the bottom-left corner of the net, one of the closest saves of the tournament.

Korea was on the attack again as Park Ji-soo rolled a slow shot from close range in the 17th minute, but Germany came right back with a shot from Neuville straight at Lee, who had come way out of his net to challenge.

The German attack never let up, but Korea fought back every step of the way. Bernd Schneider served a cross past the far post to Marcos Bode, whose header in the 37th minute was frantically hacked clear by Choi Jin-chul.

Sheer guts and determination fended off increasing German pressure on the defense just before halftime. A free kick gave Schneider a chance, but his cross looped up and Marcos Bode missed his planned bicycle kick.

A 21-meter free kick was awarded Korea in the 72nd minute, and was taken by Lee Chun-soo, who unfortunately hit a German defender.

Keeper Lee punched away Bode's powerful low free kick from 27 meters in the 79th minute. Lee Young-pyo finally got a decent chance for a Korean equalizer in the final minutes, but his 25-meter shot went high.

Park Ji-sung then missed Korea's final shot 15 meters from the mouth of the net, slicing it high to the right. And with it went Korea's nonetheless fascinating and spectacular World Cup run.

(brucedawson@koreaherald.co.kr)
By Bruce Dawson Staff reporter

After the match finished here in Kunsan, there was complete silence. Unlike a normal day when there are sounds of people coming and going -- there was only silence. No cars moving, no noise of pedestrians, no sounds of movement anywhere -- and it even seemed as though the sounds of the wind had stopped as well. The Korean dream had been deflated and all the apartment balconies were empty. There was nothing to celebrate. It took almost a full half hour before the sounds of traffic and street background noise returned.

I'm certain all Koreans felt the same way as we did -- though their team had lost, they were proud of them. The defeat was a personal experience to every Korean. But when the dream ride is over, you'd rather not say anything.

Hiddink left the country quietly heading to Europe a few weeks after the World Cup. He stated that it was not goodbye, but rather that he would like to act as an advisor for future World Cup teams. He had fulfilled his contract beyond all expectations. In Korea's eye's he remained a national hero.

Months after his departure Hiddink is still remembered as a national hero and will be returning to make some commercials in Korea. Even Hiddink's home town has seen an increase in Korean tourists who wish to see where he came from. His Korean soccer team members have returned to star status in the professional teams they played with before. Some say the "magic" continues as most of the players are excelling in their performances.

Blaming Soccer Fever for the Ills of the Country: The soccer fever has gripped the country -- and is being blamed for a lot of ills. The poor turnout in the National Primaries on June 12 was blamed on the soccer fever. However, the folks found time to go to the country clubs for golfing and go on family picnics. But the real reason is that Kim Dae-jung's son was arrested for corruption and politics seemed dirty. In addition, no one knew really anything about who was running. The politics in this country seemed sick. Only in Korea could former-President Kim Young Sam's son, Kim Hyun-Chul, be sent to jail for corruption; be pardoned in August 2000 by Kim Dae-jung; then be allowed to run for public office in this election. So much for the concept of "trusted" public officials. No wonder Koreans didn't show up. Some simply said, "The heck with it."

The congestion in Seoul was also blamed on soccer fever too...huh? My wife's cousin from up near Kangnung in Kangwan-do visited us here in Kunsan. He came down by bus from Inchon after first visiting relatives in Seoul. He traveled by bus to Seoul on 7 June as Seoul police were "fining" cars with out of city plates -- and his car has Kangwon-do plates.

Even the Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) which are protest groups couldn't get the people riled up during the World Cup games. Some anti-American groups attempted to stir up protests over the electrocution of a person supposedly by the military. Nothing came of it. It was only when the games were over that the NGOs were able to stir up the students in protest over the deaths of two girls by a Army military carrier during an exercise in June 2002. It soon exploded into nationwide protests -- because the games were over.

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