A World Cup Note from Hannover to Korea

Dear Koreans: I’m Klaus Timaeus, the World Cup Coordinator for Hannover, Germany. I’m delighted that the Korean team will have its matches in Hannover, and I welcome all Koreans to our city.

Hannover is home to “Hannover 96,” one of the most prestigious soccer teams of the Bundesliga, and its citizens’ fervor for soccer is world-renowned. Niederschsen Stadium, completed in 1954, is a mere 20-minute walk from the Hannover central rail station. For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, we invested 64 million euro (76.5 billion won) to renovate the stadium.

We are also preparing a variety of events, such as a fan-fest and a “Global village” for soccer fans who could not get tickets for matches.

At the fan-fest, we are going to set up a big screen in Waterloo square right beside the World Cup stadium so that tens of thousands of fans can enjoy the matches. This was inspired by the street gatherings of Koreans for the 2002 World Cup. We will spare no efforts in providing people with the most joyous experience of their lifetime.

The “Global village” festival, where various artists from the World Cup entry countries will perform, will add even more excitement to the festiveness of the event.

The City of EXPO 2000 and Green Space-

Hannover is famous for its warm hospitality. With the opening of the new millennium, EXPO 2000 was held in Hannover. How many people do you think have visited this small city of Hannover inhabited by 520,000 people? During the four-and-a-half months of the event, a whopping 18 million people visited the city.

Hannover is also known for CeBIT, the world’s biggest IT exhibition held every spring. Many Korean companies including Samsung and LG have participated in the event, making Hannover a very familiar city to Koreans.

I also recommend that you visit Hannover-Herrenhausen Garden. Inspired by the Versailles in the 17th century, this beautiful, huge garden makes every visitor happy.

Expectations for Korea-

I have heard that Koreans are concerned that the match against Switzerland may turn out to be like a home match for the Switzerland team, but I say not to worry about that.

For Germans, the more important thing is which team performs better and utilizes more exciting play. I am sure that the German soccer fans will prefer the aggressive play of the Korean team to the defense-oriented play of Switzerland.

But of course, I believe that this year’s World Cup trophy will be Germany’s. Just like the Koreans did in the 2002 World Cup, Germany will take the world by a surprise. I want to call that the “Korean effect.”

Jae-Yun Jung jaeyuna@donga.com