Reds Don`t Need “Special Treatment”

Supporters of the Korean National Soccer Team, the `Reds`, have now changed their seating in stadiums from specially designated areas to general areas.

About five thousand members of the `Reds` presented themselves as the cheering squad for the Korean National Soccer Team in the friendly between Korea and Japan at the World Cup Stadium located in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul at 7:00 p.m., on April 16. This is the first time the cheering squad was in the stands since the Colombia match on March 29, after they declared last November that “they would stop public cheering activities until the election was over.”

Their cheering style seemed very different from that of previous matches. In the past, large numbers of `Reds` entered the stadium several hours before kickoff through separate entrances, all along cheering in a grandiose and organized manner.

In the match with Japan though, they entered the stadium the same time as the regular crowds and were dispersed throughout the stadium. A large sized banner, which was presented at nearly every soccer match of the Korean National Soccer Team at the World Cup, was nowhere to be found. The only banner that could be seen was one two meters by ten meters, on which was written “Korean Japanese brethren, we support you all!`

They also privately purchased their tickets at banks, different from in the past when they had gotten allotted discounted tickets well before the matches from the Korea Football Association.

"What we really want is to be treated equally as ordinary soccer fans and cheer with them instead of being treated with special favors,” said Kim Yon-gil, a diehard fan at 28, before the Korea-Japan match.

Spectator confidence, another prerequisite to becoming a `Reds` member, was particularly lacking during the match.

At the World Cup last year, the `Reds` thought that centralized and focused cheering was an absolute necessity. However, having gotten so far in the tournament, they feel that robust or organized cheers were not necessary anymore.

Recently, the `Reds` also stopped renting their offices, used for free for the past three years with support from Korea Football Association.

They had further rented a `Culture Room` of around 60 pyeong near Maronier Park on University Road in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul and tried to make it an independent entity.

“The dream of the `Reds` had come true during the World Cup. Now it`s time for the `Reds` to join with ordinary spectators,” Shin Dongmin, head of the media team at the World Cup last year said. “The `Reds` believe that true soccer fans enjoy watching soccer matches at their own expense.”

Sun-Woo Kim sublime@donga.com