On the opening day of the 2002 K-League season, Chunnam Dragons had to make some last-minute hires: bodyguards.
The Dragons' stadium in Kwangyang was jammed with 23,000 fans who came to see World Cup heroes Kim Nam Il and Kim Tae Young.
Neither player took part in the Dragons' 1-0 win over Taejon Citizen, but Kim Nam Il needed the security to protect him from hordes of fans seeking his autograph.
It was that way around the K-League on opening day. Few World Cup stars played, but huge crowds turned out.
The biggest crowd was at Busan's Kudok Stadium, where 34,000 fans watched the local I.cons fall to the Ulsan Tigers, 2-1, in a derby of the southern powerhouses. The largest applause was reserved for Song Chong Gug, one of the top Korean players at the World Cup. Song came on with 10 minutes left in the first quarterfinal.
Chonbuk Motors drew more than 31,000 for its 2-1 victory over Anyang Cheetahs at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium – almost as many fans as turned out for the USA-Mexico match.
More than 32,000 fans braved the rain to watch Suwon Blue Wings beat Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal, 1-0, in the first leg of their Asian Super Cup series.
The Suwon World Cup Stadium and Jeonju World Cup Stadium are two of four World Cup stadiums that will be used for K-League games.
The Tigers will play in the Ulsan Munsu Stadium, and Citizen will play in the Daejeon World Cup Stadium.
The K-League delayed the start of the 2002 season at the request of Korea national team coach Guus Hiddink, who wanted his players available full-time before the World Cup. That decision has proved to be a stroke of genius as the K-League rides the coattails of soccer fever in Korea.
Only six of the 23 members of Korea's national team, which finished fourth at the World Cup, were under contract to clubs abroad before the start of the World Cup. Of the rest, only Cha Doo Ri, a student at Korea University, doesn't play in the K-League.
Pro soccer was launched in Korea in 1983, but it played second fiddle to baseball for many years. Average attendance for K-League teams ranged from 6,000 to 13,000. But crowds for the major-league Korea Baseball Organization dropped to less than 1,000 during the World Cup, and in some cities fans haven't returned.
Although Korea's top players played in Japan's J-League, the level of play in the K-League hasn't been bad. The Suwon Blue Wings beat the Anyang Cheetahs in an all-Korean 2002 Asian Club Championship final. The Blue Wings were champions in 2001. Chonbuk Motors was runner-up in the 2002 Asian Cup Winners' Cup.
The K-League draws players from Yugoslavia, Romania and Brazil. Many more want to come now.
''It's great what they have done,'' said Songnam Chunma's Yugoslav star, Sasa Drakulic. ''Nobody overseas ever cared about this league before. Since the World Cup I've been getting so many calls asking me for information. Everyone is asking me what do they eat? I just tell them they eat kimchi and they train very hard.''
INTEREST ABROAD. Korea's success has opened up doors for young national team players to move abroad.
The top Korean-based prospects are Cha, 21; Song, 23; Kim Nam Il, 25; Lee Eul Yong, (Buchon SK), 26; and Lee Chun Soo, (Ulsan Tigers), 21.
Lee Chun Soo could be the first to move abroad. English Premier League club Southampton has asked permission from the Tigers to take him on its tour of Sweden.
Lee Eul Yong might get a tryout at Bolton Wanderers.
Cha may move to Bayer Leverkusen, following in the footsteps of his father, Cha Bum Kun, a former star at Leverkusen.
If Kim Nam Il moves abroad, he'll disappoint his many female fans, but he believes it's in the best interest of Korean soccer.
''I think more Korean players should try the European leagues when they are young for their future,'' he said. ''That is also a key to the development of Korean soccer. It will improve the level of the national team and help the team gain a good mix of youth and experience.''
HUGE REWARDS. Korea's young players will be able to move abroad because all players were exempted from 26-month military service as a reward for making the second round for the first time.
Each player received cash bonuses of 300 million won ($260,000) – 100 million won for reaching the second round and an additional 200 million won for beating Italy and Spain to reach the semifinals.
The Korea Football Association wanted the bonuses to be based on playing time during the World Cup, but the players, led by captain Hong Myung Bo, insisted they share equally.
Kim Nam Il could hardly believe his eyes when he was presented a check for his bonus (minus withholdings) at a lunch with South Korea President Kim Dae Jung in Seoul.
''I thought it was just 290,000 won when I opened the envelope, not 290 million won ($251,300),'' Kim said. ''It is actually too much for me to handle. I will put the money in my father's account and leave it at his will.''
by Soccer America Managing Editor Paul Kennedy