“Dae~Han Min! Guk!” chants filled Dongseong-ro as the Qatar World Cup Street Cheering Contest began. With an audience of hundreds gathered around the main stage, five teams competed to be the ultimate cheerleading crew. Out of the five squads, two of them – the J-ONE Crew & MF – proudly took the trophy home on the 22nd.

Korea hopes to dominate the Qatar World Cup, which opens on November 20th. The national team prepares for a successful journey, starting with their first game on the 24th against Uruguay. To cheer on ‘the Red Devils,’ (pronounced “Bulgeun Agma”, it is the fan base name for the Korea Republic national football team) the official teams presented creative cheerleading performances incorporating some amazing talent, such as dancing, acting, and even taekwondo. The crowd, full of energy, eagerly chanted on with the squads. 

One of the winners, MF Crew, had a combination of high schoolers and adults from Youngcheon. Team leader, Miso Kim, excitedly noted, “We were nervous, as there was a huge audience watching our performance, but it feels too good to win.” 

She added, “We decided to participate in this competition because we thought it would be a fascinating idea to promote our crew and cheer on the World Cup match that will be happening soon.” 

Korea’s Red Devils are ready to bring back the blazing hot spirit that practically possessed the entire nation back in 2002. Korea and the winners of the cheer contest look forward to the victory of the national team. Unfortunately, the KFA (Korea Football Association) has made the decision to cancel any further public cheering for the Qatar World Cup, in order to pay respects to the recent Itaewon tragedy, despite the national mourning period being over. The KFA mentioned, “It was judged to be inappropriate and insensitive with the public’s current sentiment to cheer on in the streets within the same month of the tragedy. The final decision was made in hopes that it would be of comfort to the bereaved families and those who are mourning.”