We have known for a long time that Heung-Min Son is a major celebrity in South Korea, but the pre-season tour that Tottenham took allowed us to see exactly how much of a role model he is.
Son is the captain of the national team, and he is loved and admired by millions of football fans across the country, many of whom have made Spurs their favourite team in recent years.
The forward has been back to his native country previously, while playing for Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, but the impact of this visit has been significantly more than anything he has encountered on previous trips.
Son was astounded and exclaimed, “Incredible!”
“The lovers, the supporters. We can definitely sense the affection. In the case of Spurs, I believe that it is more exceptional since the fans are more interested in the game that we play and the major players.
Because I’m having such a good time with it, the time has flown by much too quickly. I just want to express my gratitude to everyone for their appreciation of us, the Spurs, and the squad.
The fact that Son is a South Korean player in the Premier League is simply one factor that has contributed to the rise in Son’s worldwide stature. Another factor is the fact that he has made history.
He finished last year tied for first place in the Premier League Golden Boot race and is now only seven goals away from entering the 100-goal club.
The Asian superstar status of Son was recently brought to light by Lee Young-pyo, who played defence for Tottenham in the past.
He declared that the player had “made history,” and that “we are quite proud of him since they are comparing him to Mo Salah.” It’s incredible how much he’s improved over the years to become one of the best players in the world.
“Because I was living in England at the time, I am aware that David Beckham was a legendary figure in English football.
“Sonny is worshipped to an even greater degree in Korea. Tottenham is dominating the conversation in all of the Korean media. Nothing but positive things. They have surpassed Manchester United in popularity in this area.”
The staggering amounts of money that have been raised to support Tottenham’s trip of South Korea have helped the team solidify their fan base in that country.
The Tottenham Hotspur took 107 members of their staff on tour with them; however, any short-term financial costs will be replaced by long-term profits.
There are 51 million people living in the United Kingdom, and Football.London estimates that 12 million of them consider themselves to be Spurs fans.
Their game against Team K-League from the previous Wednesday was the single most-watched online athletic event in the annals of Korean history, with two million people tuning in to see it live broadcast online.
In a matter of minutes, all of the tickets for their two matches were purchased; the 64,000 seats for the Seoul World Cup Stadium were gone in just 25 minutes, while the 44,000 tickets for Suwon were gone in just 20 minutes.
Reportedly, fans had to wait in line for more than an hour in order to get their pictures taken with cardboard cutouts of Tottenham players.
And it should come as no surprise that Son is a modest individual, as he showed by presenting each person on Tottenham’s tour with a gift upon their arrival.
Additionally, he treated his teammates to a meal at a traditional Korean barbecue restaurant, after which he paid for everyone’s meal.
And it wasn’t only Son who received the attention; other players were also doted upon; and even former Spurs star Erik Lamela, who played with the Korean for six seasons, was swamped while in the country with Sevilla. Son currently plays for the Tottenham Hotspur.