Martin Uden

Manchester United's visit to Seoul

In so many ways, one of Britain’s greatest strengths from Chaucer onwards has been its culture.  In recent times that has become an economic and export driver.  The latest Harry Potter film is a very clear example of this, but so too was the tour to the Far East, including Korea, by Manchester United.  Their worldwide commercial success has been remarkable, quite apart from their achievements on the football field.  It was the same last Friday.  In front of a capacity crowd at Seoul’s World Cup stadium, Man U beat FC Seoul 3-2 in what turned out to be an exciting match. 

For me it was also fascinating that the team takes such great care to foster its public image and was accompanied by two of the great names of the team’s past – Sir Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson.  But for the Seoul crowd, there was really only one name on their lips – Park Ji-sung.  Although he didn’t start the match, he came on in the second half, which was really what the crowd wanted to see.  He is such a well-known figure in Korea, and the nation is very proud of his achievement in playing for Man U.

One other footballing issue that both countries share is that both Korea and England are bidding to stage the World Cup in 2018/2022.  It’s clear that both countries have tremendously strong bids, based above all on the strong fan base and the high standard of the home leagues.

Posted at 13:47 27 July 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[2]