Korean Football

            Just down the street from the hotel is the Changwon Sports Complex and ever since seeing the large, new sports arenas, going to see a professional soccer game made its way onto my to-do-list. While taking a cab downtown a few weeks ago I saw banners for Changwon FC and Geongnam FC. FC stands for “Football Club”, A.K.A. Soccer. The town has two teams that share one stadium. Geongnam is the name of the region encompassing Changwon and a few other cities. The 100% Korean banners made it easy to spot the date of the game and the time. Based on the banners I’ve been seeing around, each team plays at home on alternating Saturday nights at 7 p.m.

            A few minutes before the start of the game the car was parked and the typical American/Korean confusing conversation was taking place at the ticket window. Luckily soccer games are mostly GA and that is what our tickets turned out to be. The stadium was very nice and the field looked a little shorter than the one at the Home Depot Center in LA. After picking some seats near the center of the stadium and under the view of the setting sun, a food and beverage lady came walking by. Unlike American sports where they sell just one or two items per vendor, the basket she was carrying had enough variety to compete with a 7-11. A 6-pack of Hite was purchased for W 12,500, about W 5,000 more than in the store, not a bad markup. Unfortunately it wasn’t very cold so we just had to drink it faster. Around us many locals were bringing in dinner from nearby restaurants. There was an abundance of fried chicken, kimchi, and seafood flavored potato chips. Just like any other soccer game there were cheering sections behind each goal that chanted to the beat of their loud drums. The soccer players themselves were mostly Asian with a few westerners in the mix and played above a college level but a little below the American MLS level.

The scoreboard

The field

The upper level seats spelled out "Changwon"

The snack lady

 

My snack



            Just before halftime my stomach started to growl and it was time to see what the snack bar had for sale. There were three main choices for food and beverage: Hite (beer), Ramen, or Pizza. Pizza was an instant no-no because it was Korean style with different cheeses and toppings that would not sit well with me. After some inspecting of the ramen flavors I chose one that was not fishy and looked like beef and vegetables. Around the corner I filled my W 2,000 ramen cup at the hot water dispenser and walked back to my seat. The ramen was filling and the rest of the game was just as fun to watch as the first half. The home team ended up winning 7-1 so the fans were really active. Going to a Korean soccer game was on my list from the start, I am glad I could finally see one.

Dinner

Delicious

The Changwon mountains from atop the stadium