Upon the arrival of Korea’s national World Cup soccer team at Incheon International Airport, two angry men expressed a heavy insult by throwing toffee candies towards their way.
Throwing yellow pine-nut candies to anyone is a way of saying “Eat yeot,” which translates to “eat shit”.
Representing an antagonist online community group rapidly growing with more than 4,300 netizens, “We Lost Because of You” is still adding in numbers. Merely making comments through such portals as Naver, Facebook, or more hadn’t been enough in face of Korea’s first winless World Cup since 1998.
A sign reading “Korean soccer is dead!” greeted the players on their arrival as well, by the two men. Cho (41), was quoted as saying, “Their decision to not take the best players was the same as telling fans to 'eat shit,' so I thought it was only fair that "shit" was returned to them.”
The team returned to Seoul, South Korea late midnight on Sunday, June 29 (June 30, KST), silent after being unable to advance to the next rounds of the 2014 World Cup. Photographers and reporters alike stayed silent as the group stood in a gathered procession amidst press, though there was much frenzy in the airport as around 200 people quickly gathered to watch. Over the heads of the players, a banner stretched with an image of the South Korean flag, and reads, “All of you athletes, you have done well.”
However, as Coach Hong Myungbo was about to begin his interview, the men threw over the candies and commented, "We lost because of you. Korean soccer is dead now." They then walked away, though the two still watched over the interviews of not only the Coach, but fellow members Koo Jacheol and Son Heungmin as well.
Koo Jacheol had stated to various reporters, “We did our best, but we found it difficult to play the way we wanted once the tournament began. We gained valuable experience, but it’s still quite disappointing.
"I don’t think having played in this year’s World Cup will guarantee better results at the next World Cup in Russia (in 2018). [In the end] We all feel that we have to show something four years later."
He then added that the team will invest additional time and work to make the most of what they had gone through, especially since this World Cup presented South Korea’s youngest group - the average age was 26 years.
Son Heungmin, who had shot one of the two goals against Algeria, also sought to improve as much as he could, only looking forward. “I am so devastated, and as a member of this team, I feel responsible for the poor results.”
Moreover, when asked if the weather had been a contribution, Son stated, “It was more humid in Brazil than we’d anticipated. But there’s no room for excuses. We didn’t prepare well enough, and that’s why we didn’t reach the knockout stage.”
Still, despite their humility and determination, there were still numerous candies scattered around the floor, clearly visible amidst the white flooring.
“Am I supposed to eat these?” Son had sadly stated, seeing the yeots.
Though the members had tried to maintain their composure, it is unavoidable to see that the World Cup players felt even worse even as the fan left shortly afterwards amidst stares.
In their most recent game with Belgium, South Korea had lost 1-0 as Belgium shot a goal in the 77th minute. The team’s second pre-game with the country of Algeria had resulted in a score of 4-2, while their first game with Russia had resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Although they failed to advance higher this year, the nation of South Korea shall continuously be cheering the team on for the 2018 World Cup.
Sources: BBC News Asia, KoreAm, Naver Sports News, OSEN, The Korea Times, Yonhap News Agency
19 HOURS AGO68
TAGS
SOUTH KOREA
KOREA
WORLD CUP 2014
2014 BRAZIL WORLD CUP
SEOUL
SOCCER
KOREABOO
1