Customer Reviews

23 Days in Korea

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I met Andy over in Korea and he perfectly captured what it means to be an American Soccer fan. For many of us who attended the world cup, it has been difficult to share that experience with others because few words can adequately describe the passion that was shared amongst the Yanks in Korea. This is a great read for anyone who has fallen in love with the beautiful game and is a must read for anyone who was in Korea.

Andy Gustafson has done an awesome job of capturing the 2002 Football World Cup experience. Andy follows the United States national team, full of no-name players primarily from the MLS and the England Football Leagues, as they attempt to conquer Football's Everest, the Football World Cup. In 2002, the tournament was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea. 16 teams, including the US, played their group games in Korea - and Andy was there for the ride. And what a ride it was - expected to drop out following the group stages, the US team made it all the way to the quarter-finals. They, along with co-hosts South Korea, were probably the surprise performers of the tournament.

There is pleasure to be had in reliving someone else's pure elation in a particular experience. Andy's enthusiasm and passion for the sport and Korea shines throughout this book, and it is hard not to get carried away with it yourself. I used to find it hard to believe that people could get so passionate about sport - that was until I experienced it myself firsthand when I was working in Korea for 2001/2002, and lived the World Cup experience - I only attended one group game live, but like just about all the Koreans, I ended up cheering hard for the Korean team, popularly known as the "Red Devils" (aka the "Taeguk Warriors") until their run ended at the semi-final stage. I relaise it is not just the game that makes a live sporting event a passionate experience, but the people and the place - and Koreans are nothing if not passionate!

The author has done a good job of making this book about more than just the game - it is also about a guy (and his mates) just traveling through a country different to his own. The challenges of bartering, eating, getting from A to B and just finding accommodation are all laughingly related, and if you have been in Korea you can empathize with Andy! A minor grizzle - the book includes reproductions of black and white photography from the travels of the author - but these haven't been reproduced all that well. It is a shame that these weren't produced in colour.

I can highly recommend this book especially if you were at the World Cup yourself - I have reread it several times, and every time I read it, I remember something new that I had forgotten about from my own time in Korea.

Andy does a great job of capturing the essence of the World Cup in his book, 23 Days in Korea. The book was very easy to read (I actually finished it in one night) and brings back some of the greatest memories for any US soccer supporter. For anyone wanting to add to their collection of memorabilia, or simply get fired up for the World Cup in 2006, this is a great book to have. Well done Andy.