Numerous fans came to the airport to see the

<Anchor> players in person.

Fans gathered like a cloud from the arrival hall to the outside of the airport expressed their gratitude to the players with enthusiastic cheers.



Reporter Park Ye-rin covered the story.



<Reporter> The



time has just passed lunchtime.



Fans with flowers, placards and uniforms came to the airport one after another to meet the players who reached the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years.



[Son Ye-jin/Seoul Gangseo-gu: I love Lee Kang-in.]



[Lee Ho-yeol/Seoul Yangcheon-gu: Isn't Jo Kyu-seong the main character of this World Cup...

I almost fell in love with their fighting spirit.]



In front of the airport arrival gate where the soccer team players come out, it is crowded with many fans who came to see the players in person from early hours.



About 1,000 people gathered from all over the country, from children holding hands with their parents to students and job seekers.



[Jang Ho-jin/Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do: The children enjoyed watching the game played by Korean players and said they wanted to see the players in person, so the opportunity arrived and came.]



[Jang Yoon-gyeom/Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do: It was fun watching soccer.

When I scored a goal, I felt really good.]



As the arrival time approached, I drew portraits of the fans and players who were full of fans outside the airport, or wrote letters by pressing each letter.



[Shin Ha-yoon/Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do: First of all, I wrote to say thank you for doing so well at the Qatar World Cup and hope to see you on more and bigger stages in the future.]



At 5:40 pm, the heroes we had been waiting for finally arrived.



The road from Gangwon-do was not tiring because the players showed that the important thing against a strong team is an unbreakable mind.



[Suyong Lee/Wonju City, Gangwon Province: We pierced the odds of a miracle.

I think I got that kind of feeling that 'you can do anything if you don't give up'.]