Abstract
This paper examines some of the tremendous sociopolitical effects of the 2002 FIFA World Cup on Korean society, and considers the 2006 tournament in light of those influences.
The 2002 World Cup tournament had, paradoxically, both conservative and progressive influences. The success of the Korean national team, and the support that it generated was a decisive factor in the birth of a progressive government in Korea, which had long been ruled by authoritarianism and patriarchal conservatism. The World Cup integrated a South Korea fragmented by divisions of class, region and gender. It did so, however, by exploiting nationalism. The frenzy brought about by the Korean national team's success was seen by some intellectuals as a sign of fascism. The Red Devil phenomenon was typified by blind patriotism, distorted nationalism, political indifference, and the repression of individual subjectivity to mob psychology. In addition, many socially and politically important events that occurred during the tournament were forgotten or ignored by the media.
In contrast, the 2006 World Cup provided the Korean people with a different experience. Unlike 2002, when the country got wilder as the national team continued to win, in 2006 the problems started months before the tournament began. In particular, blanket coverage by commercial television stations deprived viewers of their right to choose programming. The triple alliance of media, capital and sport requires much future research.
