[Sportschosun reporter Lee Ji-hyun] As the South Korea national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, suffered a shocking defeat to South Africa, a field video showing the stern expression of Son Woong-jung, the father of captain Son Heung-min, has become a hot topic online.
South Korea lost 1-0 to South Africa on the 25th in the final Group A match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage in Monterrey, Mexico. With the defeat, South Korea finished the group stage with one win and two losses for three points, leaving it unable to advance to the knockout rounds on its own.
What drew as much attention online as the result itself was the live-match video released by YouTuber KwakTube (Kwak Joon-bin).
Right after the match, KwakTube uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled "A vivid firsthand account of the terrible South Africa match." He supported the team with the South Korean national flag painted on his face, and during the game he lamented the frustrating performance, saying, "The accuracy dropped a lot in the first half. It was not just the crosses; overall, the accuracy was lacking," and "There are too many players who need to be replaced."
In the stands, Son Woong-jung, Son Heung-min's father and the head of SON Football Academy, was also naturally captured on camera. Coach Son watched the match with his arms crossed and showed little change in expression. Even after the final whistle, he was seen staring at the field with a stern face, drawing attention.
In particular, the scene spread quickly across various online communities and SNS. Some users captured and shared Coach Son's expression, reacting with comments such as "An expression that says it all," "You can really feel a father's heart," and "Son Heung-min and the national team must have felt sorry too." Some posts also went viral under the title, "If you look closely, it's a very scary photo."
However, that part is currently blurred, making it difficult to clearly see Coach Son.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
