Red Devils, the South Korean national soccer team’s official supporters club, will take to the streets of Gwanghwamun Plaza to cheer for their team against the perennial powerhouse Brazil in the Round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday gave the go-ahead to the Red Devils' request to use the square to broadcast the game.
Tens of thousands of fans are expected to gather at the square in central Seoul, as the public screening event amassed a police-estimated 23,000 fans for the first Group H match against Uruguay and 30,000 fans for the last game against Portugal. The match against Ghana only brought together 3,000 people due to heavy rain that soaked the peninsula.
“As we (Seoul city) did during the three group stage matches, we will provide administrative support to ensure that the event will proceed safely,” the municipal government said.
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South Korean fans cheer during the national team's final Group H match against Portugal on Saturday, Korean Time, at the public screening event in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. (Yonhap) |
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Gwanghwamun Plaza, where the public screening event of the South Korean national soccer team's match against Brazil will take place on Saturday, Korean Time. (Yonhap) |
The game is slated to kick off at 4 a.m., Korean Time, Tuesday, but the Red Devils will commence related events at 11 p.m., Monday. The supporters club said it expects around 15,000 to 20,000 people to partake in the public screening event.
City officials advised fans to ensure that they make extra preparations to stay warm, due to the weather forecast that expected the temperature to fall to as low as minus 3 degrees Celsius during the game. The municipal government will set up a cold weather shelter as they did for the match against Portugal, during which the temperature fell to around freezing.
The new shelter will consist of six interconnected tents, larger than one comprised of four tents used for the Portugal game, which had capacity of about 80 people.
In order to provide transportation for soccer fans, Seoul Metro said it will extend operation of the Gwanghwamun station of the line No.5 by about one hour. The last train headed for Banghwa Station will arrive at Gwanghwamun at 1:13 a.m., the one headed for Yeouido Station at 1:35 a.m., the one heading for Gunja Station at 1:25 a.m., and the train going to Wangsimni Station at 1:46 a.m.
While the city will not extend the operation of buses, there will be more night buses dispatched between 3 and 4 a.m. The nighttime buses that stop in the area are N16, N26, N37, N51, N62, N73, N75.
