back about a month ago, world cup fever was heating up in korea, and i'd made it a goal of mine to see the national team play before they departed for germany. i saw them play twice last year, and it was a lot of fun, and i figured as the world cup got closer it would be even more exciting.

at first my biggest problem was finding someone to go to the game with. none of my friends here seemed to be up for it, but once i figured out that gabe was going to be in town i decided i'd drag him along to it. turned out he was into checking it out anyway.

the next challenge was getting tickets. on tuesday, may 23rd korea beat senegal in an exciting home match, and i think it really created a lot of enthusiasm for the next game, which was the one we wanted to go to. it was to take place on friday, may 26th against bosnia herzegovina. it was also to be korea's last game in front of their home fans before heading off to germany for the world cup. i didn't get my act together in reserving the tickets, and by wednesday it was looking like it was sold out.

one of the korean english teachers at my school, hojung, helped me try to get tickets, but after that was impossible she suggested i could always get 암표 (ampyo, illegal scalped tickets). it was our only chance, so i set off for the world cup stadium at about 4:00p on friday, the day of the match, which was starting at 8:00p. it took a while to figure out who was selling the tickets, and i was nervous to approach them since my korean's not great, especially at conducting illegal transactions.

eventually i found a guy who was selling two good seats for â‚©250,000 (about $250). i only had â‚©200,000 on me, and that was much more than i wanted to spend. he knew another guy there, however, who had some other tickets. at first he told me they were 2 â‚©30,000 face value tickets selling for â‚©140,000. i figured that wasn't too bad, and i was desperate just to get in the doors. turned out they were â‚©20,000 seats, the cheapest ones, and they weren't even together. he gave me a song and dance about how they were right across the aisle from one another, when i could clearly tell they were in different rows. anyway, i coughed up the money, and was merrily on my way. then i met up with gabe and we headed back out to the stadium around 7:00p.

because our seats weren't together, we figured we'd just find a spot nearby with two empty seats and park ourselves there until someone chased us away.

just as the game was starting and the crowds were all settling in, it became apparent that not only were gabe and i not in the right seats, but we weren't in the right section at all. i reasoned that with the game sold out, we weren't going to find two seats together, so we decided to walk down lower and just stand and watch the game. it was a little tiring, but in the end it was the right decision.

throughout the game they lead the unending chants and songs meant to inspire the players as well as the other fans.

he's very quick and never gives up on a play. he's one of those guys who always seems to be around the ball, and i don't recall him making many mistakes. his dyed blond hair also makes him easy to spot. i heard that in a world wide poll of soccer fans he was rated the ugliest player in the world. i find this to be quite controversial, especially considering when the likes of ronaldinho are out there. here's lee chun soo to compare.

we saw a pretty good game, and korea came out on top, 2-0. both goals were scored on the goal nearest to gabe and i, so it was a great spot to be in. after the game there was a whole big ceremony to send off the national team heros in style.

it was a great time, and i was glad gabe got to witness the korean pride in their country and passion for soccer. as for me, it got me even more excited for the world cup.