In Asia, Haggling Over the World Cup
Japan and S. Korea Haggle in Advance of Hosting World Cup
By Doug Struck
Washington Post Foreign Service
February 14, 2001TOKYO
The English-language poster on the wall of the World Cup soccer organizers' office shows a popping champagne bottle promoting the festivities of "World Cup 2002 Korea/Japan." Below that -- in Japanese -- is the event name again, but this time the host countries are reversed: Japan/Korea.
That reads like a declaration of war to some South Koreans.
Tickets go on sale around the world Thursday for next year's men's World Cup finals, the once-in-four-years global super bowl of soccer. In a unique experiment, it will be hosted by two historical enemies, Japan and South Korea, in hopes of improving their often frosty relations.
The theory may be borne out in the end, but the preparations in advance of the World Cup are proving to be complicated.
The joint hosting involves construction of 20 stadiums spread out over 20 cities in the two countries. The logistics of moving everyone -- players, fans and journalists -- to the disparate locations are daunting. The organizers are trying to duplicate virtually everything -- from the press rooms in every stadium to identical broadcasting facilities, accreditation and volunteer offices in South Korea and Japan. The two governments are trying -- but have so far failed -- to organize more flights between Japan and South Korea, which are already full most days. The prices and expected scarcity of tickets have set fans on edge. The computer-generated mascots look devilish and initially shared the moniker -- Atmos -- of an Internet porn site, prompting a new name contest.
And there is the flap over the country names.
The World Cup's organizers in Zurich, the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), set the official name in 1996 -- written in English, with Korea first. The decision was partly to mollify South Korean objections that Japan was favored because the prized title game will be held there, in Yokohama.
But some months ago, South Korea said it had discovered Japan was using its own name first in the Japanese-language promotional material for the events. Seoul squawked foul.
"This is a violation of their agreement with FIFA and will undermine the spirit of cooperation," said Chung Mong Joon, the co-chairman of the South Korean organizing committee.
Japan protests its innocence. Organizers said there was an "understanding" among FIFA planners in 1996 that each host could reverse the name order in its own country, and Japan has been doing that for four years. Japan insists it is following the rules in English and has so far refused to back down on its Japanese format.
"We don't see what the problem is. It's completely normal for each country to have different ways of referring to their own names in their own language," said Junji Ogura, deputy general secretary for the Japan Organizing Committee for the World Cup.
But the dispute has set a tone, and with South Korean fans at least, it is a sour one.
"Our relationship with Japan has always been like this," complained Oh Hyun Tak, 19, a student in Seoul. "It shows how they look down on Koreans."
"I used to be a fan of Japanese soccer. They're good players," added Choi Suk Hyun, 21, who works in a software shop. "But after I heard this news, my feelings totally changed. I was so angry. We're not their colony anymore, and they can't push us around like this."
Japan occupied Korea with great brutality from 1910 to 1945, which many Koreans still recall bitterly. Relations have gradually warmed, but as late as 1999 feelings were still so raw that Japanese music and most Japanese movies were banned in South Korea. Their rivalry to host the World Cup got to be alarmingly intense before FIFA opted for the co-host scheme, which thrilled neither country.
Organizers on both sides still say the 64 World Cup games -- 32 in each country -- will help soothe those strains. But "sensitivities exist in both countries," said one Japanese organizer.
"The World Cup must be successful," vowed Ogura. "It's very important for the relationship of the two countries."
Japanese fans seem somewhat less passionate about the name flap.
"I think it doesn't really matter," Masotoshi Adachi, 47, wrote in a letter to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. "At the bottom of the World Cup lies the concept of peace. Japan should be more confident and proud in order to preach peace to the world. Japan should this time say to Korea, 'Go first.' "
Both see the event as an opportunity to showcase their country, thus the spreading of venues so many cities can share the spotlight. They see it also as an opportunity to build their professional soccer leagues, just as the U.S. victory in the 1999 Women's World Cup was a big boost for women's soccer in the United States. Although South Korea's men's team is consistently strong, the Asian leagues still are considered not as good as those in Latin America and Europe.
"The World Cup has special meaning to the world, and this is the first time to host it in Asia," said Ko Yamaguchi, spokesman for the Japan organizing committee.
For fans, such considerations may be secondary to getting tickets, which range from about $60 for a seat behind a goal in a first-round match to about $730 for a good seat at the final.
Applications for tickets will be accepted this week in an initial, main offering of ticket sales. But because the 32 teams that will make the finals have not yet been determined, fans will be buying blindly. The qualifying competition began last March with 198 countries playing a schedule of more than 700 games around the world; that part of the tournament ends in November. Only France, the 1998 champion, and host teams Japan and South Korea are ensured berths in the finals.
The finals will open May 31, 2002, in Seoul and close June 30 with the championship match in Yokohama.
Half the nearly 3 million tickets will be sold internationally by FIFA. The remainder will be divided between Japan and South Korea, but large chunks are designated for the friends and relatives of players, coaches and organizing committee officials, and selected loyal fans. Others are set aside to be sold at each game site, where local governments have put up the bulk of the money to build stadiums.
That arithmetic eliminates most fans' chances of getting a seat. In Japan, for example, organizers say they already have received 5 million inquiries, but only 221,000 tickets will go on sale on Thursday.
"People are expecting many more tickets than there are," Ogura said.
In an attempt to be fair, applications for the tickets in Japan and South Korea will be accepted until March 14, and then chosen by lottery until quotas are exhausted. International ticket applications are being taken over the Internet by FIFA at www.FIFAworldcup.com Feb. 15 to April 30.
Special correspondents Shigehiko Togo and Akiko Yamamoto in Tokyo and Joohee Cho in Seoul contributed to this report.