Red Devils

South Koreans love their soccer, and with the FIFA World Cup happening right now,  the hype is happening.  Although I wasn't able to catch the game against Greece, I did however, catch the cheers and screams from the surrounding city through my apartment window! Their second game was Thursday night against Argentina and I made sure to watch the game- Korean style with some of my friends from school.

Decked out in devil red, we decided to head to a Hof (pub) to indulge in some treats and watch the game.  What a better place to settle in for the evening than at an "Irish" bar. No place screams Korean soccer than Dublin's Hof!!

The place did sell Guiness-- but that's about as Irish as it got! We noshed on snacks and had a few pints as we geared up for the game. The place was packed by the start of the match and nearly everyone was dressed in the Korean colors in support of their team. Let's not forget that a slew of people also supported flashing red devil headbands.

You can't tell here, but the rest of the patrons were all wearing red shirts!

The game was a huge disaster against the almighty Argentinian team- but the spirits and beer were flowing throughout the match.  I had no idea what they were cheering, but it matched the beat of the English version of "Let's Go (team) Let's Go!". The hoots and hollers continued well into the night, and when they finally scored the patrons cheered for the pub owner to give them free food or beer (I'm still not too sure on what they wanted)! They chanted, "Ser-vice-ca, Ser-vice-ca" to anyone who would listen but alas, no freebies came. (note: "Service" is a term used here in Korea which means complimentary, the added "ca" is a common addition to most English words spoken here). 

Despite the loss, we had a great time - and I look forward to their next match! I might even get my hands on a red devil headband to really get into the spirit of things!