2026 북중미 월드컵의 두 얼굴: 광화문의 열광과 LA의 냉기 사이 > K-wave Trends

Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square is expected to once again become a mecca for the 'Red Devils'. As the official partner of the South Korea national football team, KT, in collaboration with the Korea Football Association and the Red Devils, will lead a large-scale street cheering event in conjunction with the Korean national team's qualifying matches on June 12, 19, and 25. This event goes beyond simply watching the game and plans to maximize the liveliness of the scene through the second large media wall installed in the West of KT Gwanghwamun Building. In particular, cheering messages and videos delivered by citizens online and offline are sent to the media wall in real time, and are expected to be delivered directly to the Taegeuk warriors preparing for the final battle at the faraway base camp in Mexico, giving great encouragement to the players.

This World Cup cheering culture is taking a more evolved form by combining with technology. Breaking away from the past method of simply shouting slogans at the scene, the festival strengthened the festival spirit by combining various entertainment activities, such as pre-performances and operating experience booths. KT has improved the quality of video transmission through cooperation with JTBC, the official World Cup broadcaster, and is focusing on creating a safe and orderly cheering environment by leveraging its 26 years of experience in national team partnerships. This goes beyond simple corporate marketing and also has meaning as a new model that presents safety management standards for events with large crowds.

In keeping with street cheering, companies' marketing promotions are also carried out on an unprecedented scale. Until July 19th, KT will hold a customer participation event based in stores nationwide under the slogan ‘Strong Support, Full Benefits’. In addition to giving away cheering goods on a first-come, first-served basis, the latest smartphone Galaxy S26 giveaway event using in-store QR codes and photo zones at flagship stores in major cities across the country provide practical benefits to fans. In particular, the giveaway event targeting subscribers of telecommunication products such as mobile phones, Internet, and TV is maximizing consumer interest by placing rare items such as travel vouchers worth 3 million won and autographed uniforms of Lee Kang-in.

But behind the colorful lights of the festival, there is a long, unresolved shadow. At SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, USA, food and beverage workers in the stadium decided to go on strike due to the breakdown of wage negotiations and issues with the deployment of Immigration Enforcement agents. The union claimed that workers' legitimate rights were being ignored in the huge revenue-generating field called the World Cup, and sent a strong warning message that could directly disrupt the operation of the game. In particular, for workers with a high percentage of immigrants, the deployment of immigration enforcement officers in stadiums is emerging as a psychological threat and human rights issue. This goes beyond a simple wage issue and clearly shows the social conflict this World Cup has.

The union's criticism is becoming sharper towards FIFA and stadium owners. There are widespread complaints that the enormous profits earned through the World Cup are not leading to improved conditions for workers, and that work intensity is only increasing. Above all, the union is criticizing the 'messy' operation situation in which the World Cup work schedule has not even been properly communicated, and is questioning what the true value of the World Cup is in a situation where workers have to work in fear of arrest. This labor-management conflict is an important indicator that the burden of operating this World Cup, in which the number of participating countries has increased to 48 and the number of games has increased significantly, is being passed on to field workers.