Football fans participate in street cheering at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul to support Korea's Group A match against Mexico during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Friday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Korea’s first heat wave of the season did little to cool the nation’s football fever Friday, as tens of thousands of fans in red shirts flooded central Seoul to cheer on the national team in its World Cup group match against Mexico — even as the team fell to defeat.
By 11 a.m., midway through the lunchtime kickoff, an estimated 18,000 supporters had packed Gwanghwamun Square, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, transforming the stone plaza and surrounding streets into a sea of red.
Fans in official jerseys and red T-shirts shielded themselves from the blistering sun with handheld fans, wide-brimmed hats, sun umbrellas and cooling patches, chanting “Dae-han-min-guk” under a relentless 32-degree Celsius sun.
“I sneaked out from work just in time for the match,” said Kim Seung-hyun, an office worker from a nearby building, his company ID still hanging around his neck.
