Large groups of football fans poured into major public places around the nation early Wednesday morning to cheer for the South Korean national team’s opener against Russia in the FIFA World Cup.

In Seoul, more than 15-thousand people gathered at Yeongdong Street around the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul. Red Devils also gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul, shouting “Dae-han-min-guk,” which is the name of the country in the Korean language.

In Busan, hundreds of football fans spent the night in Haeundae Beach and Gwangalli Beach in front of a 500-inch screen. Some three-thousand people joined the football fans at around seven a.m. when the match against Russia was about to start.
 
Red-clad fans also cheered in football stadiums in Cheongju, Gwangju, Incheon, Suwon and Daejeon.
 
At Jeonju University, which has produced key members of the national team, including Koo Ja-chul, Kim Young-gwon and Kim Chang-soo, football fans shouted their fellow students’ names while eating late night snacks.
 
Meanwhile at Cheonggu High School in Daegu, which produced striker Park Chu-young, some 900 students cheered from 6:40 a.m. with balloons.

The festive atmosphere is reminiscent of 2002, when South Korea had its best ever showing in the World Cup, making it as far as the third place match.

The dream of Korea winning the world cup is being revived, with the wave of fans cheering Team Korea across the nation.