The English Premier League (EPL), the world’s biggest soccer league, held a match on August 10th between Liverpool and Norwich City. The league gathers the top 20 teams from pro-leagues and semi pro-leagues to play. These teams change every season, so audiences can enjoy different matches. Why is this league famous in Korea?

  The EPL was started in 1992, but it became famous in Korea in 2005. That year was the first time when Korean soccer players like Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo joined the EPL. Since 2002, when the Korea national team went to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, many people have grown more confident in Korean soccer. Under such circumstances, news about Korean players playing overseas was enough to catch people’s attention. After Park and Lee joined the EPL, many other Korean players joined too. That’s why EPL became famous in Korea.
 
  Nowadays, Koreans are cheering for not only Korean players but also other country’s players who show play-styles that suit individual tastes. There are a lot of famous teams like Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester City, Everton, Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield United, Chelsea, Burnley, Southampton, Newcastle United, Bournemouth, Manchester United, Brighton and Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Norwich City, and Watford.

  Ju Se-rin (Dept of Biology, 18’) said, “I usually watch the games on television. However, the EPL games are broadcast at dawn, so I have to watch them at that time if I want to see games live. Therefore, I search for video clips on Naver TV. My first experience to see an EPL game was when Park Ji-sung played for Manchester United. After that match, I watched the other teams’ games sometimes. Now, I am a big fan of Tottenham, so I always watch their games. There is a Korean player, Son Heung-min, who plays at Tottenham Hotspur. He is one of my favorite soccer players, so I cheer for Tottenham!”

  Kim Ju-sung (Dept. of Urban Engineering, 17’) who is a member of the CBNU soccer club named Ground, said, “I’m interested in EPL because I played the Korean computer soccer game FIFA-online 2 when I was 12 years old. I’m still gathering information from the FIFA-online series. It was easy to check any player’s abilities and features. Also, I usually watch the games on Naver TV or SPOTV. It’s easy to search for video clips of highlights of the games. I am a fan of 3 teams: Manchester United in the premier league, Real Madrid in Primera Liga, and Dortmund in Bundes Liga. I like Manchester United because Park Ji-sung once played for that team, and I enjoy watching their soccer tactics like the quick counterattack. The team’s record is bad these days, but I believe they will bounce back.”

  Many star players’ fame is a big reason why the EPL became famous, but it is not the only reason. Compared to the ‘05-‘06 season when the EPL first became popular, the quality and speed of the broadcasting on TV became better, and the matches became more accessible on the Internet with the development of Youtube and social media. As a result, many people are able to watch the games at a desired time without any burden, and they can watch video clips of highlights to save time. Individual broadcasters like BJ Gamst also helped make the league famous.

  The phenomenon that Koreans are getting interested in EPL seems pretty positive. The more Koreans get interested in soccer, the more Korean soccer players can get a chance to become popular and excel. One season of EPL has many games, which increases the chances of viewing entertaining matches. Gambling problems naturally arose from that. It is good that sports brought many people together for enjoyment, but side effects like illegal gambling also occurred. Gambling sites such as Toto, which is an illegal gambling website in Korea, is prevailing. Some people borrow money and cannot be afford to pay when they lose. Some people ruin their lives by gambling. CBT wants CBNU students to only watch EPL for fun.

By Ahn Young-tae
ytann05@cbnu.ac.kr