1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 137



Only Krnovel

May 24, 2002, about a week before the World Cup.

Representative teams from each country began to arrive one by one.

And as soon as they arrived, they couldn’t help but be amazed by the overwhelming sight of Incheon Airport.

“Wow… What is this? Is this all an airport?”

“I see… What kind of airport is this grand?”

The England national team is impressed by the grandeur of Incheon International Airport, which is being compared to Heathrow Airport.

Incheon International Airport, which opened a few years ago, was more than twice as large as the original Incheon International Airport.

Of course, it wasn’t just the size that grew.

We were proud to say that everything, including the service, cleanliness, and design, was world-class.

Although it was once the world’s best airport in history, it has now become an airport that no other airport can keep up with.

And this scene was captured on camera by British broadcasters and broadcast across Britain.

“What? It’s the national team. Where is it? Over there?”

Harry asks his younger brother Jack, who is watching TV.

“Where is Korea? There’s only a week left until the World Cup.”

“A week? Time really flies. So, are you gathering at a Korean hotel and holding a press conference or something?”

Jack answers with a smile.

“Hyung, Harry. That’s the Korean airport over there, the airport. It’s not a hotel.”

Harry drops the cup he was holding while talking about the airport.

“What······! An airport? No, that’s really an airport?”

“Yeah. It’s a real airport. I guess Korea’s economy is really high. No, right now the broadcasting station is constantly broadcasting things filmed in Korea, and it seems like it’s about 20 years more developed than London.”

When Harry hears Jack’s story, he is amazed and drools from the mouth, as if he envies Korea.

“What’s 20 years… The airport feels like it’s 30 years ahead of its time. It’s like a country that’s in a different world all by itself.”

“That’s why I’m saying it’s really great.”

Harry consoles herself by saying that it will be okay after a while.

“It’s okay. But Korea is bad at soccer.”

“That’s true, Korea is not a country that can compete with England in football.”

As Jack speaks, he can’t take his eyes off the images of Korea on TV.

And Jack didn’t know it, but the TV he was watching was a Korean product, and the cell phone he was carrying was also a Korean product.

Sadly, even the football stories that Jack and Harry had talked about with pride became embarrassing memories for them a month later.

*

All 32 national teams have entered the country, and the World Cup finally begins on the last day of May, May 31st.

Prime Minister Park Dae-chun also put a lot of effort into the opening ceremony.

The highlight of the opening ceremony was the virtual fireworks performance, which used technology that no other country could match to project a video of fireworks on a large screen, creating the illusion that fireworks were actually happening.

Originally, this was a screen with a picture quality that was impossible at the time in history, but Korea made it possible after a long period of research at the National Technology Agency along with the technology of technology stores.

However, despite the great effort put into it, the opening ceremony did not create much of a stir.

This is not because the opening ceremony was bland, but rather because the World Cup opening ceremony originally received relatively less attention compared to the Olympics.

As expected, the most notable thing about this World Cup was not the opening ceremony, but the opening match and the first match played by the host country, Korea.

And among them, what the Korean people were most looking forward to was the Korean national team’s first match.

Originally, Korea’s first match in the 2002 World Cup was against Poland, but in this World Cup, the first match was between Korea and Ireland.

The tournament changed from being hosted simultaneously by Korea and Japan to being hosted solely by Korea, and Argentina was banned from participating, changing the history of the group draw.

Korea was placed in Group D with Korea, Ireland, China, and Nigeria.

After the opening ceremony speech, I returned to the Blue House and watched the opening game there.

Putting aside the fun at the stadium, I brought a can of beer, opened it, and turned on the TV to quietly watch the opening game.

As soon as I turned on the TV, a broadcast started.

The caster starts talking first.

“Good morning, my fellow citizens. Today, the Sangam World Cup Main Stadium is preparing for Korea’s first match in the group stage against Ireland.”

The camera captures the Sangam World Cup Stadium, which is full of people.

Following the caster, the commentator also opens his mouth.

“Yes, that’s right. Many people filled the Sangam World Cup Stadium, newly built for the 2002 World Cup, to watch the first match of the 2002 World Cup held by South Korea.”

Casters are amazed to see a stadium full of them.

“It really warms my heart to see it filled like this. This Sangam World Cup Main Stadium, newly built for the 2002 World Cup, can accommodate up to 100,000 people, and is said to be the largest soccer stadium in the world. And now, our people, regardless of age or gender, have filled this large Sangam Stadium with a red wave.”

After the introduction to the stadium, we will now introduce Ireland, the team we will be playing against today.

“Commentator Ko Jeong-tae, what kind of team is the Irish team playing against us today?”

When the caster asks about the Irish national team, the commentator starts talking about Ireland fluently as if he had been waiting for it.

“Yes. Ireland may seem a little unfamiliar compared to the European powerhouses we are familiar with, such as France or Germany. However, in this World Cup, Ireland defeated not just any other country, but one of the traditional powerhouses of Europe, the Netherlands, to advance to the World Cup finals.

Ireland is currently ranked 13th in the FIFA rankings, which is much higher than South Korea’s 37th. They may be a country that we are not familiar with, but they are definitely not an opponent that we should take lightly.”

The caster nods and answers.

As we were talking, it was soon time for the game to start.

The referee goes to the center of the field and tosses a coin to determine which team will have the ball first.

The match begins with the caster’s opening comment.

“I see. Ireland is definitely not an easy opponent, but I hope our national team can live up to the Korean people’s burning desire for victory. Ah, it’s Korea’s first attack. The game begins now.”

‘Ireland, it seems like a difficult opponent.’

I sat on the sofa watching TV, sipping a beer.

As the game begins, the names of the players who received the ball are displayed one by one.

‘I see quite a few names of players I’m seeing for the first time.’

Although there is no way I wouldn’t know the original 2002 members in history, some of the players playing on the field now are names I am hearing for the first time.

Of the 11 national team players, I already knew 7 of them.

The remaining four appeared to be probably from the northern region.

‘You’ll do well······?’

I was a little worried because he was different from the original members.

And that worry became reality.

14 minutes into the game, it was none other than Ireland who scored first.

The caster’s sigh is heard.

“Ah, Ireland’s first goal! What a pity! Ireland is ahead first. But it’s okay. There are still 14 minutes left in the first half. There’s still a lot of time left.”

“Of course. But our players are too aggressive right now. We need to pay more attention to defense.”

I was so confident, but now that I’m down 0:1, I’m starting to feel uneasy.

“Umm······.”

As I was thinking that perhaps sports games aren’t something I can control, I got up to go to the bathroom and took my eyes off the TV when suddenly cheers erupted.

“Lee Chang-seop pushes in. One-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, shot!!! Goal!! It’s a goal!! South Korea’s Lee Chang-seop scores the first goal for the South Korean national team!”

The caster cheers.

The commentator introduces Lee Chang-seop with great excitement.

“Ah, Lee Chang-seop, he is a really young player who graduated from high school not long ago, but he is a player who is evaluated as a great player who would not be inferior to anyone in the world in terms of talent. As it turned out, his first international match was the opening match of the World Cup, and I am really proud that he scored a goal in such an important match!”

And a little while later, the caster looks at Lee Chang-seop’s profile and speaks in a voice that still seems excited.

“And when I checked Lee Chang-seop’s profile, I saw that he graduated from Nampo High School and is from Nampo City. If this were before unification, it would have been difficult for Lee Chang-seop to play.”

The commentary chimes in with the caster’s story.

“That’s right. Lee Chang-seop’s outstanding performance would not have been easy without unification. I think that after unification, the pool of players has expanded and more outstanding players like this will be discovered.”

When a goal is scored, the commentators and casters get excited and start talking in a tone that is several octaves higher than before.

And it was the same at the Blue House.

“and!!!”

“I said I would do what Lee Chang-sub did!”

“No, didn’t the team leader clearly tell you to replace Lee Chang-seop quickly earlier?”

The sound was coming from none other than the security staff outside the door.

‘It looks like everyone is having fun watching it.’

As I open the door and go out, the security guards who were watching the game on their portable TVs are startled and quickly turn off their radios and say hello.

“Ah, Mr. President······! You’re out!”

I asked the bewildered bodyguards in a soft voice.

“Were you watching the World Cup?”

Among them, the most senior member of the security team, the chief of the security team, apologizes with a flustered look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. President!”

‘That’s not what I was trying to say······.’

I smiled and comforted him.

“Hahaha. What are you sorry about? It’s the opening match of the World Cup, so it’s only natural for people to want to watch it.”

“Oh, no. Sorry! Mr. President!”

The team leader kept bowing his head and apologizing, feeling burdened.

‘rather······.’

It just so happened that I was feeling a little lonely watching it alone.

I motioned for the guards to come in and spoke to them.

“Let’s all come inside and watch it together. It’s a little lonely to watch it alone.”

The security team leader answers with a troubled expression.

“Oh, no, Mr. President. Our Secret Service cannot leave its designated location.”

“It’s okay. And wouldn’t it be easier to protect them if we stayed inside? Everyone, don’t worry and come inside. The game will end like this.”

No matter how many times I tell them to come in, the security agents hesitate to come in.

‘Well, as a security guard, he’s excellent, but······.’

But on days like today, I wanted to watch the game with people rather than alone.

I spoke with a slightly grumpy tone.

“If you don’t come in anymore, I’ll tell the chief of security tomorrow that you watched the World Cup instead of doing security when you were supposed to be doing it.”

“That, that······.”

The team leader’s face becomes grave.

I smiled and spoke to him again.

“Hahaha. So if you don’t want to hear the Chief of Security’s scolding tomorrow, come in and watch the game with this old man. I’ll buy you a can of beer.”

“Mr. President······.”

The team leader, who had been thinking for a moment, bowed his head in thanks and soon entered the room.

As the team leader entered, the team members who had been hesitating also followed him into the room.

“Thank you. Then I will go in without hesitation.”

“Yes. Come in.”

Only then do the security agents come inside.

I took a few cans of beer out of the fridge and handed one to each of the security guards.

“Thank you for your hard work. I am always grateful.”

“Thank you! I will enjoy my drink.”

The security guards’ eyes seemed to briefly fill with tears, but as the game returned to its important part, the tears disappeared and everyone began to focus on the game.

‘It’s nice and not lonely when we see each other.’