“Watching Soccer” by Apink (ft. FIFA World Cup 2002)

HaYoung: Another big part of soccer for me was being able to watch it with ChoRong and EunJi. We hang out with each other anyway, but it’s great that we have a reason to hang out even more. I didn’t want to watch it alone, and Rong and EunJi live close by, so I just casually asked them if they wanted to watch it and since our schedules lined up, we did. It was way more fun watching together, and they hadn’t watched much soccer and only knew the players whose names you hear all the time so I got to explain things they didn’t know about. They were totally stuck in 2002. They were asking things like, “Does he have ‘spider hands’ like Lee Woon-Jae?” And, “Is that guy like Seol Ki-Hyeon?” Or, “Is he like Ahn Jung Hwan?” So I teased them and called them old. (laughs) It was too funny—those players back then were great, but 20 years have passed, so what would happen if we stayed stuck back then? (laughs)

Hidden talent at the World Cup

HaYoung: I always see something of myself in the players, so I explain all about all the hidden talent we couldn’t do without. First there’s Kim Seunggyu, a goalkeeper for the Korean team, with lots of experience with international “A” matches. There’s also Lee Jaesung, Hwang Inbeom, Jung Wooyoung and Paik Seungho. There’s players who are incredibly popular and skilled, of course, but some of them were playing on the team for the first time at this World Cup or weren’t well known to people, so I told the girls, “This player has a similar style to you,” and I think that helped them get into it more easily. For example, I described Kim Younggwon as being similar to ChoRong. I told her, “He’s the oldest member of the team and now he’s played a hundred games so he became a member of the FIFA Century Club. He also keeps a low profile while still having a big impact. And he's really good at getting along with everyone. So that’s why I think you two are similar.” And then she had no problem understanding. Every player has something about themselves I want to learn from, and that makes me think about my own team and work and compare the two, so I keep thinking about their strengths, but I also worry about them, too.

Lee Jaesung

HaYoung: What’s cool about Lee Jaesung is he wrote a column about making it to the round of 16 at the Qatar World Cup and reading it made me feel like I was actually at that stadium. I loved that he kept writing for all the Koreans who were watching the World Cup even while he was busy training, and with all the other articles and interviews he did, I think he’s a good influence and caused me to follow him more closely and support him. And in soccer, forwards score goals, so everybody praises them, and there’s lots of star players on defense, and all the midfielders really pull their weight, too. If you look at Lee Jaesung and Hwang Inbeom, you can tell they really work hard. I know from experience of being in a group—there’s always lots of team members hiding in the corners hard at work. I could tell Lee Jaesung really wanted soccer fans to know that there’s always people in the back working hard, just like in a song where someone sings the main part and there’s others behind them singing backup vocals.

What your favorite position is says a lot about who you are

HaYoung: I didn’t realize it before, but my favorite player is Bruno Fernandes, and he, along with both Hwang Inbeom and Lee Jaesung, who I mentioned before, all play the same position: midfielders who play more offense. And I caught a Manchester City FC game recently and found myself thinking Rodri was really good. I think the players who catch my attention are almost always those playing that same position. Whether they’re offensive or defensive, all midfielders move here to there faster than anyone and have to be the first to run at any given moment and throw themselves at the ball, so players in that position are moving more than anyone else. Whenever I see them, I think about how the other players don’t have to run around as much because these players are already doing so much. I feel like it’s really cool to be aggressive when playing defense. You have to make shots on goal, pass and play every role. They’re the coolest. In a way, they’re sort of like the middle child, playing a solid role somewhere in the middle. It always makes my heart break when I watch because they’re so prone to getting injured. And since a lot of people already love the forwards, I feel like I have to support those midfielders because I always watch the games. So they say your real personality comes out when you watch sports. It says a lot about who you are.

Love for Manchester United FC

HaYoung: I think I first felt like I had to support Manchester United FC, and once I did, it became a love–hate relationship. (laughs) Once I start to like a team, I stop caring about winning or losing. I’m happy just rooting for them and it’s okay if they’re inconsistent sometimes. Of course it’s nice if they win, but I take comfort in knowing they must be thinking the same thing.

Team K League vs. Juventus FC

HaYoung: A lot of people were upset that Ronaldo didn’t show up when Juventus FC came to play, but I honestly wasn’t because they have a lot of famous players, like Higuaín, Mandžukić, Cancelo and Buffon. It made me think people should learn more about the players so we have more to enjoy watching. It feels like a shame to make the time to go out there just to see one player when there’s so many famous ones. And again, as a singer, I think it’d be sad if someone came to see us live but was really only there to see a single member of the group. (laughs) So if I’m going to a match, I make it a point to try and find out in advance who the players are so I can learn more about them.

What makes K League so special

HaYoung: So, a lot of people think I’m a fan of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, but I actually root for the whole K League. I just wanted to clear that up. (laughs) Every team in K League has its own strengths, backstory and rivals, so, for Koreans, it really makes it easier to be enthusiastic about soccer. A lot of big names finish their overseas careers and then return to Korea to play for K League before retiring. There’s the famous Ki Sung Yueng who plays for FC Seoul now and Dong-Gook Lee also played the last part of his career with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. It’s a typical story for lots of players. It’s great because you can see them right here in Korea and there’s both Korean and international players. Last time I went, I went with a friend who’s never been to a game before. She said it was really fun and I was glad I could invite someone and share that energy with them, too. And going to see a game in person changes your whole day. For example, if there’s a match at eight, you just turn on the TV at eight at night, but if you go see it at the stadium, you can feel the excitement for two or three hours as you get ready to go out, so I feel like just seeing a game in person is a gift in itself.

Unpredictable and unimaginably fun

HaYoung: The best thing about soccer is how unpredictable it is. When I perform, everything I’m going to sing and dance is decided beforehand, but when it comes to soccer, the entire thing’s unpredictable from start to finish. So I end up putting myself in the game and seeing what’s different between me and the players, and 90 minutes fly by as I carefully go over how each player is performing and how they’ve changed recently. At some point, whenever there’s a game on, PANDA started saying, “HaYoung must be watching.” That’s why I want to tell people that I watch soccer and when I’m at a game, and you get so many endorphins from watching with others, so I want to do that, too.