Supporter styles come of age for 2006 World Cup

The first match of the Korean national soccer team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany will kick off at 10 p.m. tomorrow. Not only the team, but also the “12th player,” that is, the team’s supporters, are ready to fight against Togo.
Koreans who remember the hot summer of street support in 2002 are planning to actively join the cheering again during this World Cup, despite the late hour of games.
According to a recent joint survey by Clinique, a cosmetic company, and EXR, a fashion company, of 1,697 people aged 25 to 35, more than 60 percent answered that they would spend match nights on the streets or in a pub with friends and family.
Okay, that’s fine, even if you have to go to work with blood-shot eyes in the morning, but how about your clothing?
It’s not very exciting to join the cheering crowds on the streets wearing your formal everyday suit. But many bosses would not be amused if you wore your “red devil” garb into work.
According to the poll, most employees plan to take their soccer outfits to work, or go home to change clothes before the build-up to each game begins.

So, what kind of outfits do supporters plan to wear? The trend has certainly changed from 2002 when a “Be the Reds” T-shirt was enough to be part of the street crowd. This year, more than half the men and about 80 percent of the women surveyed said they would adopt their own special look using red accessories, such as handkerchiefs, socks, headbands with devil’s horns, earrings, wigs or bracelets.
“Just a red shirt is too common, so I’m thinking of altering it to a top that can show my own style,” said Kang Si-yeon, 24. “I will also make a mini skirt using the Taegeukgi (Korean national flag).” That’s not all. She plans to wear a red handkerchief on her head, earrings shaped like soccer balls and paint her face with “World Cup makeup,” probably in the shape of the center of Korea’s flag.
During the friendly matches with Senegal, Norway and Ghana, the clothes of female fans have become sexier: low-cut shirts and shorts. Face painting has also become much bolder, bigger and darker, and not only applied to faces, but also nails, backs and chests.
For women, make-up is also a way of accenting their chosen outfits. A popular style is deep red lipstick with blue eye shadow. But as they will probably be wearing the make-up for more than 12 hours a day, it’s better to wear a very light application to work and deepen it just before going out onto the streets, advised Oh Jeong-gon, an official at Clinique.

by Park Sung-ha, Jo Do-yeon