Niall and Louise left early this morning. I didn't get much sleep during the night as two drunks kept coming and going outside my window, arguing the whole night through.

The Korean Way

Packed my gear and walked to the tourist office to see whether I could find another hotel. One of the ladies phoned around until she found a suitable place, but said it was hard to find. Since I was getting a taxi, she hopped into the taxi with me, then led me through several side-streets directly to the hotel. She checked the room to make sure it was OK, then left to get the bus back to her office, refusing my offer to pay for a taxi for her.
"It's the Korean way," she said.

The hotel turned out to be the Green Field hotel. It cost 30,000 won per night. A modern building, small but functional room. Quite close to the other hotel I had been in, so I knew my way around the area.

Had lunch in a nearby restaurant and after walking around the side streets for a bit returned home early to watch the Korea-Italy game. I didn't go into the city centre as it was packed with fans gathering to watch the game on the outdoor screens at City Hall Plaza and Gwanghwamun Street. About a million fans are expected on the streets in Seoul. Most schools closed early, while businesses cut working hours. Every second person on the street is wearing a "Be the Reds" t-shirt.

The Beautiful Game

Headline in the Korea Herald: Korea makes history, Japan is history.

This might be one of the greatest upsets in the World Cup, as South Korea continued its giant-killing spree, this time against Italy. After Korean golden boy Ahn Jung-hwan fluffed a penalty after four minutes, Christian Vieri headed the Italians into the lead in the 18th minute. Though Totti was sent off for diving in the penalty box, it looked like Italy were going to hold out until Seol Ki-hyeon escaped in the box to slide the ball home with two minutes of normal time remaining. A golden goal in extra time by Ahn Jung-hwan put South Korea into the quarter finals. They'll be up against Spain in the next round. Of course this place went ballistic—there were more than a million people on the streets of Seoul alone, cheering on the "Red Devils". Italy hadn't absorbed this kind of defeat since 1966, when they were beaten by North Korea.

In soaking conditions in Miyagi, Turkey rained on the Japanese parade to reach the quarter finals for the first time. Umit Davala headed the only goal after just 12 minutes. All the Koreans seemed to support Turkey (maybe because Turkey was involved in the Korean War and lost over 800 killed and thousands wounded here). Philippe Troussier, the Belgian whom I'd been accustomed to see on the TV in Japan, is now stepping down as coach of the Japanese team.