"Took a Day Off to Be Here": Passionate Cheering as Gwanghwamun Erupts in Celebration of Comeback Win

[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 holy ground for World Cup street cheering, was packed with "Red Devils" wearing national team jerseys and holding South Korean flags, despite the early hour.

[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.]

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

The first half ended in a 0-0 deadlock, but the enthusiasm of the Red Devils at Gwanghwamun Square only grew hotter.

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

In the 14th minute of the second half, the square fell into a brief silence 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 stood up and embraced each other. When Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the go-ahead goal, the square turned into a scene of pure frenzy.

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

[Son Te-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 citizens of our country are cheering for you. South Korea, fighting!]

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