sDaniel Cho poured the table on Baja’s Grill’s table in Koreatown, Los Angeles, and added a silhouette to the new sticker with his stylus. It was a shaped two fingers that built a box with frame No. 7 that replicated the iconic celebration of son Heung. Nearby, fans were drumming, shouting “ole ole ole ole ole ole ole, lafc I love you. I will follow you wherever I dream of it.
Cho grew up in Argentina and getting used to football was the main focus. His friends support Boca junior. Cho immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 and settled in Koreatown, and Lionel Messi’s popularity aroused his interest. But he didn’t grow into a loyal, weekly observer until he met other Los Angeles football club fans at church. Now his son Heung-Min Art will be adorning the stands at LAFC’s home BMO Field, where the former Tottenham Hotspur star will debut this weekend.
The son’s signing broke many records: the transfer fee recorded by the league is reportedly More than $26 million and Jersey Sales Exceed People like LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo. It also brought about a ripple effect in South Korea towns, where most 320,000 Korean-Americans in Southern California live.
“I grew up in Argentina and I like Messi, but it’s really humble to have my son represent that level. As a Korean, it’s a very proud moment for us,” Joe said.
moment
In some ways, LAFC fans have been preparing for their son’s arrival for years.
In 2018, Ben Chi received an invitation from the owner of the LAFC club, inviting a mysterious VIP guest. As a former manager of club merchandise, Chi helped launch what was then known as the Korean supporter group Tigers. Although the group was originally a dozen Korean-American football fans, it quickly expanded the full diversity of South Korean residents.
The party disguised as meeting with Riot Games executives, turning the party into a meeting and greeting his son himself.
“I just can’t get together,” Cai said of the meeting.
Chi believes that Los Angeles itself is an important part of the son’s action, whether it’s due to enthusiastic supporters, a large amount of Korean heritage or material comfort.
“He spent a lot of time in Germany. He spent a lot of time in London. Los Angeles could give him a feeling of going home without actually getting home.” “He could continue his football journey without feeling that South Korea was about to end.”
Of course, my son is just an amazing Asian football player and is just one of the most famous Koreans. But there is no doubt that business interests related to his identity surged.
According to a club spokesman, LAFC has completely sold out his son’s main black jersey online and in the BMO Stadium store. LAFC doubled its subscribers on YouTube, with 70% of new viewers joining from South Korea. Son’s Eavesdropping on GrassThe video announced his signature, bringing the club’s Tiktok over 12.5 million views and more than 135,000 new followers.
“Because he is Korean and has a lot of Korean businesses, big and small, people want to attach themselves to them or their entities in their image and all the hype now surrounded by it.” M.Co Coffee shops in Korean town.
Although LAFC and son have not announced any new Los Angeles sponsorships, King said he has heard of “a lot of action, a lot of conversation”, who appeared at the club’s office for partner meetings. “If you are a business that makes millions of dollars a year, even though you may not have a name nationwide, you are still trying to see if it might be helpful to it.”
Tourism agencies specializing in traveling in Korea have attracted people’s interest.
“For us as a travel agency, this ‘son Heung-Min Effect’ has made a new breakthrough, and we think it’s a very meaningful opportunity,” said Pyoungsik Bahk, AJU tour in the United States. Aju Tour has received over 400 requests from interested tourists from South Korea who want to see their son play and continue their special packaged trips selling LAFC games in September and October.
Competitor Samho Tour is not competent yet and is developing existing travel package add-ons for South Korea and South Korea out of state travelers, including adding LAFC Home Mathess for West Coast tours in Los Angeles and San Diego. because Prices rise tenfold.
When Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year $700 million contract with the Dodgers in 2023, his appearance ushered in a new Japanese tourism boom, and the number of visitors to the country doubled. 2023 to 2024According to the Los Angeles Tourism Commission. This year, Nikaido became The first Japanese Shochu brand Offered at Dodger Stadium. You can find it now, too Tsukiji GindacoIn the franchise, traditional octopus fillets or fried octopus balls. Similar changes may occur over time.
Intergenerational unity
Su Jin Lee happened to be on vacation in Chicago when it was obvious that his son would be playing against the Chicago Fire in the nearby bridge landscape. During the game, she said she saw the ocean of Tottenham, the national team and custom-made son’s shirts.
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“Eurosnobs says they will never watch MLS game. Suddenly my son is here and people are asking me about the tickets. I have been preaching for this for seven years! Lee said Lee had previously served as Vice President of 3252 and was an independent supporter union of LAFC affiliated supporters and fans.
This is not the first time that LAFC has signed a South Korean player. In 2021, the club signed right-back Kim Moon-Hwan, who played for two seasons before moving to the K League. Although Kim does bring some level of excitement, his son’s position as a global star is completely on another level. David Dong, owner of Biergartenla, a German-Creya Fusion Gastropub in South Korea, said his restaurant received calls from people interested in watching his son play before the Chicago LAFC game. By halftime, the restaurant was filled with a waitlist.
“In the last two games, we’ve seen more Koreans, we’ve seen families get together. We’ve seen kids come, we’ve seen parents come. We’ve been more staffed than usual. We won’t expect the reception to be that big.”
Lee saw similar interests. “My mom works with older ladies in the Korean market and they’re all talking about it. They’re so fascinated by this Korean man that they’re obsessed with it.”
Even the harmonica grandma, a group of Korean retirees playing National National Anthem of the United Statesexcited about the prospect of playing in front of his son one day. Many retirees, born in the 1940s, still remember playing football when they were very young in South Korea.
“South Korea is bad [when they grew up] Football is actually the only sport because a single ball can bring 10 or 20 kids together. That’s why the fun of scoring is still vividly remembered throughout the body. ” said Hyunok Lee, president of Koreatown Senior and Community Center.
All said that, as far as sons are concerned, football offers a more intergenerational bond among family members than the South Korean imports that have been increasingly popular in the United States recently, such as K-Pop.
Jeremy Kim added: “You have something to combine, you have something to watch out for, and these things cross the boundaries that are usually there.”
More unified Los Angeles’ “perfect bridge”
Fernando Delgado remembers having a performance party at the local Korean town radio station during the 2018 World Cup. My son just scored a goal in the group stage Match with Germanyeffectively pushing the Germans away from the World Cup competition and pushing Mexico into the knockout round.
“It’s crazy. We just hear everyone shouting’Coreano, Hermano, Ya eres Mexicano [Korean, brother, you’re Mexican now]Delgado said. “It’s an honor to celebrate this victory.”
Delgado is now co-chair of the LAFC Tigers supporter group. For him, the son represents a humble leader who can give Young players In the club. He described the second game of the New England Revolution in watching his son play for the second game for LAFC, as he explains the dynamic, as if on the prompt, the son tapped the ball to his left, providing an assist for teammate Mathieu Choinière.
Delgado said: “He is not like the guy who brags or fights. He respects very much, showing respect and embodies the person.
Lee hopes to see his son become the “perfect bridge” and “amazing ambassador” of the city because he is such a universal love for his character around the world and therefore is more involved in local charity programs. The son is also known for his participation in charity, including donations Natural disasters and with Homeless. Recently, fans told the Guardian that they are Video calls for more donated food aid in Palestine Is a global ambassador of goodwill on the UN World Food Program social media.
“Football is all about community. Everything we went through last year had to feel a sense of community,” Lee said.
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A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
