Korea's World Cup run is over, but the nation's anger has just begun

The final whistle blew days ago, but Korea's football fans are still playing the blame game. Anger over the national team's early World Cup exit continues to spread, from airports and social media to shops hanging signs banning former manager Hong Myung-bo from entering on their doors.

Online forums have been filled with posts from football fans who booked flights and accommodations to North America to watch the Taeguk Warriors play live, expecting Korea to reach the round of 32, only to cancel their itineraries after the team's early exit in the group stage.

"I went to the United States because everyone said Korea had more than a 90 percent chance of advancing to the round of 32," one fan wrote. "Well, they didn't, and I don't even want to think about how much [money] I had spent."

"About 500 supporters who took time off work to travel to Mexico and the United States to watch the matches suddenly became 'football refugees,'" said Cho Ho-tae, chairman of the Red Devils, the national team's official supporters' group.

Accepting the loss isn't easier for fans who watched from home either.

"I never imagined we'd lose so helplessly to South Africa, which many considered the weakest team in the group," said a football fan of 10 years surnamed Park. "Watching other countries celebrate reaching the best of 32 and 16 feels like watching someone else's stocks rise while mine keep plummeting."

An office worker surnamed Lee expressed their disappointment, saying the World Cup had become a morning ritual with coworkers, but the joy quickly disappeared after the Taeguk Warriors got eliminated.

"I bought a national team jersey that cost about 180,000 won [$116] right before the South Africa match because I was so excited," said an office worker surnamed Pil. "I never imagined it would end so abruptly. I wish I could return the jersey."

Another fan, a 23-year-old student studying for an exam, said the World Cup had been a welcome break from studying. Korea's early exit, however, only made it harder to concentrate.

The fallout has extended beyond fans and to the businesses.

Advertising agencies and restaurants that prepared World Cup promotions find that Korea's early exit has disrupted campaigns planned around a longer tournament run.

"We prepared several campaigns for the World Cup, but it ended much sooner than expected, and the whole team is in crisis mode,” an advertising industry source said.

Much of the public's anger has focused on Hong, and fans are finding creative ways to showcase that anger.

Calls have even emerged on online forums to remove footage of Hong celebrating his winning penalty in Korea's quarterfinal shootout at the 2002 FIFA World Cup from the national anthem video often shown before matches.

Another angry fan uploaded an AI-generated video titled "A comfort video I made because I am angry at Hong Myung-bo," depicting Jens Castrop, one of the players on the national team, assaulting Hong. The video has racked up 13 million views and more than 10,000 comments.

"The best AI video of 2026," one commenter wrote. "This is AI being used for good," another commented on the video.

Several businesses also drew attention after posting signs at their doors reading, "Hong Myung-bo is banned from entering."

The Red Devils issued a statement saying they will “keep fighting” until the problems damaging Korean football are resolved.

The public backlash has also renewed scrutiny of the Korea Football Association (KFA) itself. Former footballer Park Joo-ho, who was a member of the KFA committee that was supposed to choose the new manager in 2024 and who has repeatedly made it clear that he had no idea about Hong's appointment until it was publicly announced, has hinted at major issues at the KFA.

"The KFA has only responded with excuses and deflection, and this World Cup shows the consequences of their actions,” said a 24-year-old avid football fan surnamed Ahn. "Son Heung-min and Kim Seung-gyu aren't getting any younger, and I feel sorry for them because they couldn't achieve the results they deserved."

The controversy has also renewed attention to a long-running police investigation into the KFA.

Police have been investigating since July 2024 on allegations that KFA President Chung Mong-gyu and others improperly interfered in the appointment of Hong as national team manager.

KFA’s former technical director Lee Lim-saeng and others are also under investigation, but police have yet to decide whether to refer the case for prosecution, leaving the case at a standstill for nearly two years.

BY KWAK JOO-YOUNG [[email protected]]