Koreans joke about their team's World Cup loss to Sweden

By Grace Lee

South Korea lost to Sweden 1-0 in the first World Cup match and Koreans are joking about the many reasons for that defeat.

The caption above this meme photo says: “Yes, this is Shin Tae-yong. Mexico is too good, what should I do?.” The one below says: “Do I have to pretend to be chef Choi Hyun-seok?” Mexico is the next team Korea goes up against and it beat the powerhouse Germany. Chef Choi is a TV personality and looks very much like the Korean coach. Capture from Facebook

The first butt of ongoing World Cup soccer jokes is Shin Tae-yong, the Korean coach. His coaching was criticized over lame excuses and false hopes, as well as player choices.

“Every time we lost in the preliminaries, Shin said that it was a trick to make the Swedes underestimate Korea. Then we lost,” said Paul Lee, a soccer fan.

Shin is paying the price, with his memes spreading. Memes are images, videos, etc. that spread rapidly through the internet.

The above photo that shows Shin with a phone to his ear is one, implying that Korea has no chance of beating Mexico, so he should impersonate Choi, the chef, to escape criticism. Appropriately, commentators say, “Give him salt” so as not to make the national team as hapless as his cooking is tasteless.

This meme picture of Swedish goalie Kristoffer Nordfeldt holding his uniform says in its caption: “He is wondering if he should wash his uniform or not.” Capture from Facebook.

Many also joked about how Swedish goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt didn't get much play because the game was so lopsided.

On the flip side, Cho Hyun-woo, the Korean goalkeeper, received compliments of sorts. One commented: “Cho was the only playing Korean player” and “Sweden would have scored more had it not been for Cho. Korea's defense sucks.”

@kim_mee99's meme shows how Swedish players were feigning injuries to waste time because they were leading. Capture from Twitter

Several Swedish players are also caught up in the memes. After the team scored from a penalty kick, some players pretended they were injured.

@kim_mee99 tweeted: “What K-drama is this? Seems like every player from Sweden is an actor.” The accompanying photo shows a Swedish player lying on the pitch holding his knees. There are plenty more memes on Twitter with the hashtag #SWEKOR.

Humor is how some Koreans have reacted to their country's loss. It is the best medicine and an ally for those who are suffering.

Grace Lee is an intern.