Korean marines give Japanese fans a lesson in cheering

Some 1,000 soldiers from Republic of Korea Marine Corps cheered for K-League football club Pohang Steelers during a 2016 Asian Champions League match at Pohang Steel Yard on Mar. 2. / Screen capture from YouTube

By Ko Dong-hwan

Korean marines’ regimental cheering style during a 2016 Asian Champions League match silenced Japanese fans.

On Mar. 2, about 1,000 marines from the first division of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps visited Pohang Steel Yard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, where Korea’s professional football club Pohang Steelers played a Group H match against Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan.

About 500 Diamonds fans, who are known for their particularly wild cheering, were sitting close to the Koreans.

“Whenever Diamonds fans sang and fluttered Japanese flags, the marines responded by clapping and screaming in unison,” a media report said.

A 40-seceond YouTube video shows the marines in red uniforms and camouflage pants standing and clapping hands while singing.

With the overwhelming support from the marines, the Steelers beat the Diamonds 1-0.

In March 2014, the Japanese football club made headlines when a fan secretly hung a banner that read “Japanese Only.” Netizens suggested the banner was aimed at fourth generation Korean-Japanese player Lee Chung-sung, who transferred to the Diamonds from English Premier League club Southampton.

The club’s president apologized to the league chairman.