'Stop the bullying': Japan defends crucified Korean football manager after disastrous World Cup exit
Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo, center, and members of the national football team arrive at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday after failing to advance to the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Korea Times photo by Kang Ye-jin
Public anger in Korea has fallen squarely on national football team manager Hong Myung-bo, with critics blaming him for the country’s disastrous 2026 FIFA World Cup exit. But across the sea in Japan, a wave of sympathy has emerged for the embattled coach, with public figures and commentators casting the criticism in Korea as excessive and vitriolic.
Former J.League colleagues rally behind Hong
Among those who came to Hong’s defense was Taro Kono, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives. Kono, who served as foreign minister and defense minister under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and later as digital minister under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, wrote Monday on X, formerly Twitter: “Don’t bully our OB Hong Myung-bo.”
Derived from the English term “old boy,” “OB” is commonly used in Japan to refer to a former member of an organization or a former player for a sports club.
Kono served as chairman of Shonan Bellmare from 2000 to 2005, several years after Hong played for the J.League club in 1997 and 1998, when it was known as Bellmare Hiratsuka. Although the two apparently never met, Kono’s post grew out of their shared ties to the club.
Prominent columnist Ichiro Enokido, who once hosted a supporters’ program for Shonan Bellmare, also defended Hong on social media the same day. “Myung-bo, I hope you come to Japan,” he wrote. “J.League fans have not forgotten your fighting spirit.”
The controversy over President Lee Jae Myung’s apparent characterization of Hong as “incompetent,” although Hong was not named directly, was also discussed on Japanese television. Toru Tamakawa, a television personality appearing on TV Asahi’s “Shinichi Hatori Morning Show,” criticized the comment as inappropriate for a president.
Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo and members of the national football team arrive at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Tuesday to boos from football fans after failing to advance to the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Korea Times photo by Kang Ye-jin
Controversy over Hong's appointment overlooked
Other posts on social media expressed similar sentiments.
“I feel sorry for Hong Myung-bo. When the team wins, Son Heung-min gets the credit; when it loses, the coach takes the blame,” one user wrote.
Others commented, “He did not commit a crime. They are tearing him apart simply because the results were poor” and, “When someone admits responsibility, people attack them even more fiercely. That is Korea.”
Some comments appeared to be directed at the Korean president, with users arguing that such public criticism from Lee could place Hong’s family and colleagues in a difficult position.
“Who would want to manage the national team if the president criticizes you whenever you lose? Unless this is a socialist state,” one user wrote.
Comments acknowledging the issues that have driven criticism of Hong in Korea were far less common. Those concerns include allegations that he received preferential treatment during the appointment process, controversy over his conduct and doubts about his tactical ability.
Japanese media outlets also largely stopped short of examining the controversy surrounding Hong in depth, instead mainly reported on the anger among Korean football fans.
Japanese football publication theWORLD wrote Monday that Korea had been aiming to reach the knockout stage for a second consecutive World Cup and that, with the tournament expanded to include more teams, this year’s competition had been viewed as a particularly favorable opportunity. “Given those expectations, elimination in the group stage must be a difficult reality to accept,” it said.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported the same day that a countercurrent of sympathy for Hong was also emerging in Korea. It cited a psychiatrist who displayed a banner reading “Hong Myung-bo is welcome here,” as well as People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok’s criticism of Lee for denouncing Hong.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.