"Fly Like Crane Towards Final 16"

75,000 paper cranes are to be delivered to the Korean national soccer team before the World Cup.

The presenter of the paper cranes is manager Lee Kwang-Pil (40) of Cake House Inc. Lee runs a coffee house in Seodaemun-gu, Shinchon, Seoul, and he had prepared colored papers on every table so that customers could make paper cranes since April 2000.

The total number of cranes made for 2 years now counts 75,000. It symbolizes the 75 million South-North Koreans. The cranes are to be delivered, when Lee himself visits the players at the end of this month.

This is second time for Lee to deliver paper cranes as a present. For the 1998 France World Cup, he had sent 16,000 cranes, hoping for the final 16, by post.

“They say 1,000 cranes make a wish come true. I wish that this World Cup will be held safely, and our players will do their best on the field.”

Lee is a soccer maniac, as he once was a player in the elementary school. He even went all the way to Italy in 1990, while he was studying abroad in England, to see the Korean match and cheer with a large national flag.

2 among the 75,000 cranes had been made by a boy named Lee Gu-Won (12), who has no arms and legs, with the help of nuns in Cheongju, Chungbuk. Children at the Salvation Army Welfare Nursery in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, also sent 100 cranes.

Also, Lee’s friends, such as actress Shim Hye-Jin, announcer Yoo Jeong-Hyun, and comedian Lee Seong-Mi, included their autographed cranes.

Hyo-Lim Son aryssong@donga.com