Korean fans brave cold, long waits for Tottenham matchday experience

For many British football fans, the matchday experience starts at the pub. For Korean fans, making the pilgrimage to one of the sport’s home grounds, the experience is a little different. “I’ve been here since 9 a.m.,” a student from Seoul told KJD

Tottenham Hotspur fans inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of the match against Arsenal on April 28. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

LONDON — For many British football fans, the Premier League matchday experience starts — and perhaps ends — at the pub. For Korean fans, making the pilgrimage to one of the sport’s home grounds, the experience is a little different.

“I’ve been here since 9 a.m.,” a 26-year-old student from Seoul surnamed Park told the Korea JoongAng Daily outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London on Sunday. “We’ve come so far. I don’t want to waste any time.”

Park and his friend, also from Seoul, are two of the thousands of Korean fans that brave the journey up to north London to visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium every single week.

Tottenham Hotspur fans inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London during a game against Luton Town on March 30. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korean fans flock en masse to watch Son Heung-min in action whenever Spurs are playing at home, visit the shop any day of the week to stock up on merchandise (Son shirts have been the bestseller both online and in-store for years) and book stadium tours or trips up to the roof for the Dare Skywalk experience.

All of this amounts to a very different matchday experience to the one that local fans might enjoy, starting with a few pints down the road, a few more pints in the stadium and, if things go well, a few more pints back at the pub again after the game.

But as tempting as a pint or two at the Antwerp Arms may be (and it is potentially the best pub within a short walk of the stadium), it’s not exactly high on the list of priorities when you’ve traveled 8,000 miles to go to a game.

“It’s not that we don’t want to experience pubs,” said another visitor surnamed Yoon, also from Seoul, who had traveled to the stadium with his wife. “Of course we want to have a full UK football experience, but this may be the only time we ever get to come here and I’d rather be at the stadium than somewhere where I can’t even see it.

“Maybe we’ll go to the pub after the game.”

Spurs fans take a photo outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of a Premier League match against Aston Villa on Nov. 26, 2023. [EPA/YONHAP]

But aside from perusing the store and taking plenty of selfies, there’s not actually that much to do outside of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the game. Turnstiles don’t open until two hours before kickoff, which on Sunday meant midday for the 2 p.m. north London derby against Arsenal.

For Park and his friend that meant three hours standing around with temperatures averaging below 6 degrees Celsius (42 degrees Fahrenheit).

“It doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I want the atmosphere. I would have been happy if I was the first person to arrive today.”

Park and his friend did find a chance to hide from the cold for a bit with another tourist favorite — Mother Hubbard’s fish and chip shop across the road. A pint was also on the cards when they got inside, although the pair were surprised to find that you cannot drink at your seats in Premier League stadium.

The general police presence also came as a surprise to both Park and Yoon, who were aware of the more unsavory aspects of British football culture but yet to see the fallout in real life.

Caution is a concern when it comes to Korean visitors, officials say, with many tourists not thinking twice about wandering around with phones in their hand or open bags containing their belongings. One couple the Korea JoongAng Daily spoke to was using a pair of paper shopping bags from the luxury brand Coach to cart their stuff around, a move that many British people would consider an invitation for trouble.

Fans wait for Tottenham Hotspur players to arrive at the stadium before a match against Fulham at Craven Cottage in London on March 16. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

But safety aside, many Korean visitors are keen to see Tottenham as well as Tottenham Hotspur.

“Getting here so early lets me see the city,” Park said, pointing out a family walking home from the nearby Sainsbury’s supermarket. “People are still here living their lives.”

Yoon and his wife were also keen to experience more of the culture, although whether they actually made it to the pub after the game remains unclear.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]