Ulsan World Cup Stadium opens

The Ulsan World Cup Stadium was opened in a gala ceremony on Apr. 28 in Ulsan City, South Kyongsang Province. Although the sky overhead was dark and cloudy, the opening festivities were marked by various colorful decorations and performances.

The capacity audience who occupied the 43,512 seats painted in red, yellow and green watched a soccer game staged by the Ulsan Hyundai soccer team and an invited Brazilian Botafogo football club.

Following the end of the game, in which the Ulsan team beat its Brazilian opponent 2 to 1, the Brazilian team manager, Clemente, was full of praise saying that Korea had prepared a jewel of a soccer ground. A Brazilian team player commented that the stadium was one of the best in the world and that, despite some rain, the ground was not soaked.

Kwon Soon-Il stt77@donga.com