Hiddink shares North Korean limits, South Korean World Cup memories
Former South Korea national soccer team head coach Guus Hiddink / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Hiddink reflects on political roadblocks stalling Pyongyang charity pitches
Guus Hiddink, who led South Korea to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup, detailed the unprecedented treatment he received in the South and shared inside details of his trip to North Korea.
In an interview with the British football magazine FourFourTwo on Sunday, Hiddink said the outpouring of support in South Korea sometimes felt overwhelming.
"They called me in Korean the ‘Boss of Bosses’ (a term of ultimate respect)," he said. "I thought, ‘Yes, now it’s really enough.’"
He added that supporters displayed "Hie Dung-gu for president" banners in stadiums, and some people even suggested he should run for president if he became a naturalized citizen. "Hie Dung-gu" is a Korean moniker the public gave him.
Hiddink said Seoul granted him honorary citizenship and offered him numerous gifts.
"It’s not polite to refuse, but I couldn’t accept everything," he said.
He said he turned down an offer of a villa on Jeju Island because he did not envision spending weekends there after returning to Europe.
He has maintained close ties with South Korea and continues to visit once or twice a year. After establishing the Guus Hiddink Foundation in 2003, he built Dream Fields — customized futsal courts for visually impaired children — across the country.
Hiddink also expressed his regret for failing to extend the project to North Korea through the foundation. In 2015, he planned to build Dream Fields in Pyongyang and Kaesong, but the project fell through.
"I’ve been there, too," he said. "Trucks with materials were already waiting, but for political reasons it didn’t happen."
Former South Korea national soccer team head coach Guus Hiddink hugs his players after defeating Spain in a penalty shootout during the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup in Gwangju, June 22, 2002. Yonhap
He also recalled serving as a technical adviser for the South Korean national team during an inter-Korean exhibition match in Seoul in September 2002. Hiddink called the experience a "special moment."
"The night before, there was a dinner with both the South Korean and North Korean teams," he said. "There was a lot of supervision on their side — or rather, security. They didn’t want any of their players to run away.”
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.