Seoul makes ready largest soccer stadium for World Cup finals

The Tourism Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Government recently invited journalists and people representing the tourism industry in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, China and Indonesia, including The Jakarta Post's reporter Ahmad Junaidi, to inspect their preparations for the FIFA World Cup next year. Below is his report.

The chilly weather welcomed us as we got off the bus that took us from the Koreana Hotel in downtown Seoul to the Seoul World Cup Soccer Stadium in Sangam District, located in the southern part of the city.

The stadium was just opened on Nov. 12, and hosted a friendly match between South Korean and Croatia on the following day.

The stadium's information center director, Yoon Kwang Young, said the venue had a capacity of 63,930, making it the largest venue for the World Cup finals.

The second largest stadium is Saitama Stadium in Japan with 63,060 seats.

Korea and Japan are co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup finals.

"In this World Cup stadium, spectators (on the front rows) will be able to see the muscles and smell the sweat of the players as they'll be only seven meters away from them," Yoon said.

But the stadium was also designed to make it difficult for the spectators, especially hooligans, to reach the players and cause trouble, he said.

Hooligans would have to jump over a three-meter-high fence before setting foot on the pitch. And if they managed to get that far, well-trained riot police would be ready and waiting to apprehend them, said Yoon.

The construction of the stadium started three years ago and cost US$170 million.

It stands on a 216,712-square-meter site that was once home to a garbage dump.

Yes, it was Seoul's former main dump. What was left of the garbage after the dump closed was bulldozed and graded to produce a 90-meter-high hill that forms part of an ecological park located near the stadium complex. No environmental damage ensued.

The dump was opened in 1975 and closed five years ago. A new dump, meanwhile, was opened in another part of Seoul's outskirts.

The environmental-friendly stadium, which has a parking lot for 5,000 cars, was designed by a Korean architect with an eye on futuristic technology and Korea's traditional heritage.

The roof of the stadium is designed like a giant Korean traditional kite while also being shaped like a traditional octagonal tray.

"The kite and tray symbolized hope, sincerity, abundance and the Korean desire for peace," Yoon told the visitors from the five countries.

The stadium, which has a steel superstructure to create its futuristic appearance, also houses a large-scale discount store, a multiplex theater, a swimming pool, a fitness center and a cultural center.

Soccer fans are expected not only to view the World Cup games, but also Korean art and cultural performances that are brought to the stage in the stadium.

About one million soccer fans are expected to visit Seoul during the World Cup, while the number of foreign tourists targeted to visit the city next year is five million.

The local authority has prepared not only star-rated hotels, but also simpler hotels, still with high standards of comfort and cleanliness, to welcome foreign soccer fans.

The opening ceremony of the World Cup is on May 16, with the semifinals being held in Seoul and the final in Japan.

The stadium's officials are sure that tickets, priced at between US$150 and US$500, will be sold out to international and local soccer fans.

Soccer is the second most popular sport in Korea after baseball.