Qualifying to the World Cup finals, the beginning?
On the 13th, SBS 'The Tale of Biting the Tail' (hereinafter 'Kokkomu'), with the subtitle '1954 Sortie - In the Name of Korea', lit up the story of the day when the first Korea-Japan war in Korean history was held.
In January 1954, less than six months after the war ended, Deok-Young Hong arrived in a shabby inn room. Then, twenty men, one by one, gathered.
They are actually soldiers. From the special task force to catch spies, men gathered from various units. They were special elite agents from each unit for the job.
At the same time, President Syngman Rhee strongly opposed the project at Gyeongmudae, which is now the Blue House. However, Rep. Jang Taek-sang did not step down, and Syngman Rhee eventually allowed the work. And Assemblyman Jang immediately summoned the soldiers from the inn room and said, "Finally, your order to sortie has been issued. However, if you fail, you must throw your life in the Hyeonhaetan." The soldiers even wrote a memorandum of acknowledgment that they would obey their orders if their mission failed.
Their mission is the soccer match between Korea and Japan. This match was the first official match between Korea and Japan. As a World Cup Asian qualifier, if one match is played in Japan, one match must be played in Korea. At that time, President Syngman Rhee said that he could never allow Japanese people to enter our country, and in the end suggested that both games be played in Japan. It had been less than 10 years since liberation, so he had no choice but to be cautious.
Japan had no reason to oppose, and the order was issued for the first sortie in the Korean-Japanese war.
There was a time when the only way to play soccer was to enlist in the military. After the war, players who became soldiers to play soccer had to run in leather and wood boots. In particular, players who directly nailed the studs of soccer boots. For this reason, hammering was essential for the players.
Even though they represented the national team, their equipment was poor. In fact, the reason the president opposed the Korea-Japan war was money. There was no cost to play the game. Accordingly, a fundraising campaign was launched, and Koreans in Japan raised money at 10 o'clock so that the war between Korea and Japan could be fought.
The departure date for Japan is March 1, 1954. The hearts of the players were more than ever. And the hearts of the people who sent off the players were the same. He held the Taegeukgi in his hand and shouted hurray.
Hundreds of Zainichi Koreans were waiting in Japan, arriving with a tragic heart. A week before the first game, but our players were on the basketball court, not the soccer field. It was snowing and raining for several days, and I couldn't practice because I only had one pair of shoes.
A week after not stepping on the soil, the first Korea-Japan match is held on March 7th. In bad weather, our players expected to be able to postpone the game. However, Japan did not concede, waiting for the snow to stop and the game proceeded as scheduled.
The Taegeukgi was displayed in the sky in Tokyo, Japan just before the game started. In response, Hong Deok-young said, "It was the first time in any field that the Korean flag was hung up and the Japanese flag was played against the Japanese flag.
The first Korea-Japan match was very poor. All the snow melted and the soccer field turned into a mudflat, the soccer boots were already wet and the ball was wet and turned into stones.
The first goal was scored in the 15th minute. However, the protagonist of the first goal was Japan, not Korea. However, this goal changed the mood. Poison began to form in the eyes of our players, and as their movements changed, we took the initiative.
And the equalizer came just six minutes after the first goal was scored. But the crowd was quiet. Hundreds of Zainichi Koreans came, but they did not show their joy in case they were harmed in the future. It was the same in Korea.
There was no live broadcast at the time, so the results were only known after 2 hours. Nevertheless, the people gathered in front of the radio shop to listen to the broadcast.
The final score of the day was 5 to 1, a complete victory for South Korea. Korean players who showed their fighting spirit in a harsh environment. At this moment, a strange noise was heard from the audience. The Koreans in Japan, who were not happy enough, burst into tears and were moved.
A week later, the result of the second leg was a 2-2 draw. As a result, Korea proudly won the World Cup finals. The players who won in the center of Japan are truly a golden remnant. Every stop from Busan to Seoul was filled with welcome crowds, and President Syngman Rhee invited the players to Gyeongmudae to congratulate them for their achievements.
The players now head to Switzerland for the World Cup finals. In response, the broadcast released the official poster for the World Cup at the time. The only thing that did not appear on the poster was the Taegeukgi, the flag of Korea, among the 16 countries that advanced to the World Cup finals. This shows the plight of a small country, and it is regrettable.
Departure day for Switzerland for the finals. Our national team, who didn't know how to buy a ticket, couldn't find a ticket, so they had to go to Switzerland.
The first-place players and the coach went from Tokyo, Japan to Switzerland first. A hellish transit journey from Japan to Bangkok, Thailand, Calcutta, India, Rome, Italy, and Zurich, Switzerland. Because I didn't even make a reservation, I caught a plane as soon as it took, whether it was a civil flight or a military flight.
And along the way, our players studied the strategy contained in the note written by the coach. The opponents we are facing are not the strongest or comparable opponents in the world, and since we do not have any information, we cannot give specific tactics, so the only thing the coach can tell us is basic stories. However, our players memorized even this and prepared for the match.
The players who arrived three days before the first game, a whopping 6 days and 5 nights, and had a flight time of 64 hours, were exhausted before the game even started. And after that, the binaries barely arrived in Switzerland.
First our opponent is the world's strongest Hungary. In the last four years, they have never lost a match and were the strongest nation scoring goals within 10 minutes of the start of the match. And the best striker Ferenc Puskas was on the Hungarian team. The devil's left foot Puskas.
The crowd gathered like clouds. What they wondered was how Hungary would play and how many goals they would score.
Our players spread the Taegeukgi, put their hands on it, shouted fighting, and started the game. Our players faced the world's strongest Hungary in a situation where they couldn't even heal themselves properly. However, the Hungarian players were bewildered.
All players defended. Puskas couldn't even use the devil's left foot properly. 0 to 0 even after 10 minutes passed.
But at this time, our manager shouted from the bench. The coach said, "It's okay to lose, let's just score one goal. Wouldn't that make our people a little cooler?" Our players crossed the half line and started attacking. But Hungary was Hungary.
Puskas' first goal came in the 12th minute of the first half, and the Hungarian players continued to knock on the goal after that. In response, the broadcast released a video of the match that was not even in FIFA. Obtained footage of the game stored in the Hungarian state film archive.
The first half ended 4-0. However, after that, our players started getting rattled one by one and collapsed. As a result, the referee stopped the game. In accordance with the rules at the time, where players could not be replaced, goalkeeper Hong Deok-young wasted time by kicking the ball out of the arena when he caught the ball.
However, in the end, even Hong Deok-young reached a situation where he was cramped, and the final score was 9-0. This is the record that is still unbroken as it is the largest goal gap in the history of the World Cup.
The players, who could not even raise their heads properly due to shame and embarrassment, left the stadium. However, many people cheered for them. The dorms even had gifts piled up.
The announcer who was broadcasting at the time said about our national team, "The Korean national team are players from a country that has been less than a year since the war ended. They are showing great fighting spirit. Please support us." "The Korean team kept getting up even if they fell down. It was as if unsupportive lions were running," he said, applauding the fighting spirit of our players. So the whole world was moved by the fighting spirit of our players.
The second leg, held two days later, was against Turkey. Due to the condition of the first-base players, we had two-tier players in the game. But no one was interested in this game. The result of the match played in the indifference was 7-0. Only two games conceded a total of 16 points.
Actor Han Jeong-soo, son of Han Chang-hwa, who played as a central defender against Turkey, said, "Actually, I was disappointed and embarrassed just hearing the score. “I didn’t know that my father had done a difficult job until I was in my 30s, but the older I get, the more I think that it was a difficult job.”
Our players packed their bags the day after the Turkey match. He wanted to see the final, but he had no choice but to go back home because of the cost of staying.
It took 32 years for Korea to step on the stage of the World Cup again after that day. And since then, they have advanced to the World Cup finals for the ninth time in a row. Korea has set a record that only six other countries have been able to set.
In 2002, Korea hosted the World Cup and reached the semifinals. Hong Deok-young served as a member of the 2002 World Cup bid committee, and was also reunited with Puskas at that time. And he gave strength to Korea to host the World Cup at that time.
A picture that was always hanging in Hong Deok-young's room. In the photo, he was repairing his soccer shoes when he was young.
To this, his son said, "I always want to hug him and buy him some food. I feel that way because I can feel the courage of a young man who is at a loss to go out and do something in a difficult and hungry situation. Thank you for leaving me."
Regarding the story of that day, Ahn Seong-jun said, "The result was a defeat, but I think the process was a victory." Also, Seong-ryeol Zhuge said, "I went to the Olympics 3 times. I was a medal prospect, but I only got a no medal, but the experiences at that time helped me become a leader. Many athletes who see this story don't just see results, but do their best and play games with no regrets. If you do, I want to tell you that it is worth more than a gold medal.”
Lastly, the broadcast revealed the Taegeukgi that the captain carried to Switzerland in 1954.
Ahn Seong-jun, who saw this, drew attention by empathizing with the hearts of the players at the time, saying, "Isn't this strength and strategy for us?"
(SBS Entertainment News Editor Kim Hyo-jung)