Koreans in Europe: PSG go Korean for 2-0 win over Le Havre

Football

Published: 04 Dec. 2023, 08:55 Updated: 05 Dec. 2023, 11:06

Koreans in Europe: PSG go Korean for 2-0 win over Le Havre

Lee Kang-in, right, celebrates with Arnau Tenas after Paris Saint-Germain beat Le Havre at Stade Oceane in Le Havre, France on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Paris Saint-Germain beat Le Havre 2-0 on the road on Sunday, with Lee Kang-in playing the full 90 minutes as Les Parisiens went Korean for the day.

Playing in shirts with player names in hangul on the back, PSG scored a goal in each half despite going down to 10 men when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saw red for a dangerously high challenge in the 10th minute of the game.

Kylian Mbappe scored the opener in the 23rd minute after a play that started with Lee taking possession in the midfield. Vitinha added one more in the 89th to secure the 2-0 victory.

“It was a difficult match for us, but there were positives,” Lee said after the game. “We were solid in defense, to not concede a goal and come away with the win. It was very good work from the team. We are very happy.”

PSG's Lee Kang-in hangul shirt [SCREEN CAPTURE]

But the real star of the show, at least as far as the club’s legions of Korean fans were concerned, were the hangul shirts.

According to the club, the decision to play in the Korean-language kits came in recognition of PSG’s growing number of Korean supporters. The club also held a viewing party in Seoul for Sunday’s game, in cooperation with their local partners here.

PSG are not the first Ligue 1 club to play in hangul shirts. Bordeaux, at the time a Ligue 1 club, played in Korean-language shirts in 2020 when Norwich City forward Hwang Ui-jo was a star player.

PSG have also put their hangul kits on sale, with the Korean-language Mbappe shirt sitting at the top of the “Top Sellers” list on the club’s website as of press time Monday.

PSG's Kylian Mbappe hangul shirt [SCREEN CAPTURE]

No Korean version of the Lee shirt is listed on the website as of press time, likely suggesting it has already sold out.

PSG will be back in action next Saturday as they face Nantes at home in Paris in Ligue 1, before heading to Germany for a UEFA Champions League clash with Dortmund the following Wednesday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]

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