There is a special bond happening between fans of Mexico and South Korea during the World Cup.
Over thousands of fans were seen out in the streets attending watch parties across California for Thursday night’s Group A World Cup match between Mexico and South Korea.
Despite Mexico winning 1-0 and improving to 2-0 in group play, fans from both sides didn’t seem to care about the results of the game, as they were taking part in the festivities before and during the game.
A week ago, Little Tokyo in Los Angeles was seen with South Korean fans watching their opening round game against Czechia.
Thursday night was no different as it looked like over thousands of South Korea and Mexico fans took the streets to support their teams.
The festivities kicked off hours before the game started as a South Korean organized marching band was seen performing in front of the main watch party in Little Tokyo, off the streets of San Marino and Irolo Street.
The band was spotted banging drums and playing multiple types of horn instruments. The watch party also included local vendors that had individual booths set up next to the projector screen.
Once the game began, fans from both teams started to fill up the watch parties and were seen flooding the streets, while finding their way up to the rooftops of local businesses.
As the streets started to become more crowded, local restaurants in the area were also seen showing the game from inside, giving fans who were too far to watch from the main screen the chance to watch from a closer angle.
According to the Pew Research Center, the Los Angeles metropolitan area has the largest Hispanic population [5.9 million] and Korean population [320,000] in America.
While the watch party in Little Tokyo was a major turnout, so was San Jose.
The San Jose Earthquakes organized a watch party for fans to attend. Fans were required to RSVP for the event online.
The turnout was a success, as the Earthquakes reported, over 30,000 people showed up for the viewing experience.
With an hour before the game started, there was not an empty space available as fans flooded the strip of the market and were seen standing in the parking garage next door, ready to watch the game.
Whie the watch party looked like it was mostly dominated by fans of Mexico, the festivities didn’t disappoint.
Fans were gathered across the San Pedro Market Square, prepared to watch the game while a DJ was performing live and tossing items out in the crowd. For the fans who couldn’t get a good spot from the back, they were spotted watching the game from the parking garage next to the event.
Since the World Cup began a week ago, no two fanbases have bonded together the way that South Korea and Mexico fans have with each other.