SALT LAKE CITY — As the World Cup draws fans together across the globe, one North American fan organization for Korea’s national team is bringing watch parties to Utah.
The North American organization, Team One Reds, hosted its first watch party in the state, where fans gathered to watch Korea play Czechia last Thursday at the Engine Room in Salt Lake City.
Organizers said the event reflects the growing visibility of Utah’s Korean community.
“It’s been a long time waiting to happen,” Peter Lee, one of the organizers of the event, said. “I would say that it’s been relatively recent where we’ve just had an acceleration of exposure of the Korean community. You have the sister city relationship between Cottonwood Heights and Yongin City, as well as a direct flight to South Korea that launched last year.”
One of the fans, Sydney Kim, says soccer has meant a lot to her family, especially her dad. “Soccer is something that brings my family together,” Kim said. “It opens up a lot of conversations for us that we normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to have. It’s something we can do together.”
What she loves more is the thrill of cheering her team on with her community.
“I remember the first time I watched the World Cup back in Korea in 2022, it was snowing that day, and everyone was screaming and cheering. We were so happy,” Kim explained.
Now, she gets to relive those memories here in Utah.
“Seeing my friends from different cultures there at the game to support me and my team meant a lot, I could tell they knew that it was important to me,” Kim said.
Team One Reds is hosting more watch parties this month, including Korea vs. Mexico at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, at The Engine Room in Salt Lake City and Korea vs. South Africa on June 24.
“We all have different cultures, and we come together to compete and celebrate, and that’s essentially what soccer is. It brings people together,” Lee said.
