"Took a Day Off to Be Here": Passionate Cheering and Thrilling Comeback Victory

[Anchor]

Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul has turned red once again for the first time in four years. Despite it being a weekday morning, over 20,000 citizens filled the square, cheering for our national team with one voice.

Reporter Cho Min-ki reports from the scene.

[Reporter]

Gwanghwamun Square, the mecca of World Cup street cheering, is packed with "Red Devils" wearing national team jerseys and holding Taegeukgi (the Korean national flag), even in the morning hours.

[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 here.]

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

Although the first half ended in a scoreless 0-0 draw, the cheering spirit of the Red Devils at Gwanghwamun Square only grew hotter.

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

When the Czech Republic scored the opening goal in the 14th minute of the second half, the square fell into a brief silence, but the crowd soon rallied with even louder cheers.

Eight minutes later, when Hwang In-beom scored a picturesque equalizer, everyone stood up and hugged each other, and as Oh Hyeon-gyu's go-ahead goal hit the net, 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, and I never doubted that South Korea 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 places like 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!]

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