'I love the vibe': South Koreans feel the love from Mexico at World Cup

Andrés Soto, USA TODAYThu, June 18, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Min-su Kim didn't even make it out of Guadalajara International Airport on Tuesday night without hearing the calls.

"Coreano! Hermano! Ya eres Mexicano!"

At the fan festival in Centro Histórico later that night, Kim and his friend, James Min, would get stopped every few minutes by random World Cup fans asking if they could take a photo together.

"It felt like we were superstars," Min said. "Everyone wants to take pictures with us. I love the vibe; people here are very friendly."

Guadalajara prides itself as the city with the most Mexican soul, and the hospitality that comes with that has shown in a unique way with South Korean visitors. All week long, clips have gone viral throughout social media of Mexicans dancing, drinking and even throwing Koreans in the air. People from countries on the opposite sides of the Earth, their continents separated by the world's largest ocean, have somehow formed a unique bond.

Woong-jae Lee, a content creator who goes by Liv, landed in Guadalajara on June 13 to support South Korea in their opener against Czechia. He immediately took a liking to three things from the moment he arrived: the weather, the food and the kindness he was shown by the host country.

"The people here are full of passion," Lee said. "Everyone is so passionate. The energy of the people here is incredible."

Eric Park was born in South Korea but moved to Guadalajara when he was two years old. He was also in attendance at Estadio Akron for the Taegeuk Warriors' opener (an eventual 2-1 comeback by South Korea), where he admitted it felt like he was watching them play at home because of the overwhelming support in the stands, both from the sheer number of South Koreans and because the majority Mexican crowd was on their side.

While Mexicans pride themselves on hospitality, their bond with South Korea is one that Jose de Jesus, an Uber driver in Guadalajara, hasn't seen in over 50 years. During the 1970 World Cup, he said, the Mexican hosts shared a similar friendship with Brazilians, whose country ended up winning the final at Estadio Azteca that year.

The relationship between the two nations feels natural to Park. Not only because of the crossover cultural appeal that KPop and KDramas have had, but rather because it was a friendship that was born out of soccer eight years ago.

In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Mexico did not control its own destiny in Group F. Despite a huge 1-0 upset win over then-defending world champions Germany, El Tri found themselves on the brink of elimination after losing 3-0 to Sweden. The only way they could advance was with South Korea's help.

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In the second minute of stoppage time against Germany, Son Heung-min's corner kick from the left found Kim Young-gwon on the far post, who then flipped the ball into the upper right corner of the net to take the lead. Not long after, Ju Se-jong hit a long ball to Son, who was streaking down the pitch and tapped the ball into an open goal to secure a 2-0 win ... and Mexico's advancement to the round of 16.

"That's when I started hearing the chants," Park said. "That Koreans are brothers and that they're Mexicans; and it's gone on since then."

Beyond the pitch, Min sees similarities in Mexican culture to the Korean concept of jeong: a deep, emotional bond or unspoken connection between people. It has no direct translation to English or Spanish, but it's a sense of affection, empathy and community.

"It's a very important thing in Korea," Min said. "It feels very similar here. It's very family oriented."

"They understand each other," Kim added, noting that Mexicans and Koreans are both hardworking communities.

And after work of course, comes the party. As seen by the countless videos of keg stands at Cantaritos El Guero and the downing of shots of tequila, both cultures have found another common ground.

"We're very passionate people," Min said. "We like to dance, we like to party, same thing in Mexico. So I feel like the hard-working part, but mixed with the party part, that's the side of Koreans a lot of people don't get to see."

The match between Mexico and South Korea at Estadio Akron on Thursday, June 18 carries plenty of high stakes for Group A as it can very well determine who finishes atop the standings. Park admitted that he has been a bit wary of the dynamic between the two fanbases changing once the game kicks off, as Mexico fans can notoriously be rowdy towards opponents.

But this situation, he recanted, is a bit different than others he's seen before.

"I know Mexicans very well," Park said. "They're very friendly, and I don't think anything would happen that we would end up on each other's bad side."

Park is rooting for a 2-2 draw so that both teams can be in position to advance to the round of 32. So is Kim, and so is Lee.

"I'll actually be happy either way," Min said. "If Mexico wins, I can make fun of my friends in the US that didn't get to come here and watch them win. If we win, I'll be happy because it's gonna be a very friendly, respectful game rather than it being a hostile thing."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: At World Cup, South Korea fans embraced by Mexico, find shared bonds

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