Red Devils to cheer for national soccer team in downtown Seoul

The Red Devils, the official supporting group for the South Korean national soccer team, plans to hold street cheering events during the period of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil at the Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul, instead of the usual spot in front of the nearby Seoul city hall.

The Red Devils submitted to the Seoul Metropolitan City Government requests for the use the Gwanghwamun Square from 10:00 p.m. on June 16 to 5:00 p.m. on 18 June (for the game against Russia at 7:00 a.m. on June 18), from 10:00 p.m. on June 21 to 2:00 p.m. on June 23 (for the game against Algeria at 4:00 a.m. on June 23), and from 10:00 p.m. on June 25 to 3:00 p.m. on June 27 (for the game against Belgium at 5:00 a.m. on June 27).

The cheering group initially considered using the Seoul Plaza as the venue as they usually did, but has decided to relocate their events to the new site because incense-burning altars for the victims of the April 16 ferry sinking are installed at the plaza.

A city hall official said that final schedules will be determined after some fine tuning because some of the Red Devils` requests overlap with requests submitted earlier by other groups.

Bahn Woo-yong, chairman of the Red Devils representatives, noted, "As the 12th player outside of the field, we will cheer for the national squad with a single heart. The most important thing during the process is the safety of citizens participating in the street cheering. We will respect each other and put safety as out top priority."

The cheering group`s local branches also plan to hold street cheering events in other cities across the country by consulting with local governments.