How Predictable

Poor old South Korea. Having displayed superior skill and tactics tonight against Australia in the Asian Cup in Qatar, they only came away with a 1-1 draw, and were probably lightly lucky to do so. The result will probably result in both teams qualifying for the knock-out stages, but it's these types of performances that really frustrate Korean soccer fans - not that many will be watching until (and if) the Red Devils make it to the latter stages. They are definitely unlucky in that Park Ju Young picked up an injury prior to the tournament, but their tendency to overplay the ball in midfield means that it's unlikely his presence would have altered the outcome of this one. It's not as though he's the greatest finisher anyhow...

It was great to see a good number of K-League players involved, and showing their quality. Ku Ja Cheol is now the tournament's top scorer having nabbed his third. However, it was provider Ji Dong Won (or Don Juan as the commentator kept calling him) who really caught my eye. At only 19, the Chunnam Dragons (Cheongnyang Dragons to the expert on the mic) striker looks assured and confident on the ball, although his finishing could do with some fine-tuning. I was delighted to see Yoo Byeong Soo come on as a sub, as I think we need him at FC Seoul. As it turned out, he was a largely anonymous figure before being replaced by Yoon Bit Garam after ten minutes. That must have hurt...

It would be great for Korean football if they could go on and win this tournament having not done so since 1960! On the evidence of the first two matches, they have a lot of ability and potential, but need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Lee Young Pyo and Cha Du Ri have impressed me so far along with Park Ji Sung, which almost goes without saying. I'd love to see a bit more from Lee Chung Young and we need one of the young strikers to start banging them in. Will it be Ji Dong Won or Son Heung Min who steps up to make his name in mainstream Korea. It doesn't look as though it'll be Yoo Byeong Soo; I'd be surprised if we see him again at all in Qatar.

Not much FC Seoul representation on show, unless you include the MANY players in the team who used to ply their trade with us (most notably Lee Chung Young and Ki Seung Young, the double dragons). I did notice that our goalkeeper, Kim Yong Dae, was sat on the bench. I'm an admirer of Jung Seung Ryeong, but he is definitely prone to the odd howler, as we saw tonight. He's still young and his judgement must be in question (it looks as though he's moving to Suwon, for instance!). If he continues to err, I'm sure Kim can step in and do us proud. It's hard to believe that the best team in the K-League aren't represented among their national team.

Enough football already, I hear you say! Especially K-League/Korean football... Well, a few more applications went out to International Schools in China, Spain, Bahrain and the Lebanon. Bite please, or even nibble. I also got in touch with a number of potential research subjects for my dissertation and am delighted to say that I already have three kind educators on board. Got back into my Korean class today too - really need to take that next step. This website continues to aid, but it's going to take more work on a more consistent basis if I'm ever going to move beyond Level 2. Later in the day we had band practice in Hongdae, and it was sounding good even if I do say so myself. Judging by the facebook page, it looks as though it's going to be a busy night tomorrow at Speakeasy and a real test of our set. I actually really can't wait. I think it's going to be the most fun Dead End Friends gig yet. My intensive classes start on Monday and I'm sure that's going to be a long, tough day. Not going to think of that right now though. Have a great weekend everyone.