As Korea's national soccer team suffered a shocking defeat against South Africa, coach Son Woong-jung, father of captain Son Heung-min and a soccer coach himself, was spotted at the stadium in a video by YouTuber Gwak Tube, drawing attention online.
On the 25th at 10 a.m., Korea lost 1-0 to South Africa in the final third match of Group A in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico. Failing to add points against South Africa, regarded as the weakest in the group, Korea missed a chance to secure a round of 32 berth on its own.
That day, YouTuber Gwak Tube uploaded a video titled "A vivid on-site review of the horrific match against South Africa" on his YouTube channel. The video showed Gwak Tube cheering for Korea from the stands, along with coach Son Woong-jung seated in the crowd watching the match.
In particular, Son Heung-min was left out of the starting lineup and watched from the bench throughout the first half. Because of that, coach Son Woong-jung's stern expression at the stadium drew even more attention. As Son Heung-min is a key player for the national team, his starting on the bench prompted various interpretations online.
Watching the game, Gwak Tube voiced his frustration with the first-half performance. He said, "The accuracy is way off in the first half. Not just cross accuracy, but overall. I think it's because of the heat. They probably need to make substitutions. There are too many players who need to be changed," expressing disappointment.
In this scene, coach Son Woong-jung was caught on camera over Gwak Tube's shoulder. With a grim expression, Son stared out at the pitch, and the image quickly spread through online communities and social networking services (SNS) after the match.
Internet users captured the scene and shared it with titles such as "A photo that is extremely scary when you look closely" and "Someone who seems very angry." Some users showed sympathy for coach Son Woong-jung's expression, saying, "Even if that person coached, they'd probably do better than the current one," "Looks like the molars are clenched," and "It feels like the heart is collapsing. This could be the last World Cup."
Other users recalled that coach Son Woong-jung had repeatedly mentioned the need to improve Korea's soccer system in the past, responding, "He has been saying since long ago that Korean soccer needs reform."
Gwak Tube also delivered a harsh critique after the match. After it ended, he said, "It feels like a dream. Isn't this a dream?" unable to hide his shock.
Gwak Tube continued, "There were almost no South African fans today. There were the most Mexicans, but there were really many Korean fans," adding, "It's not that Koreans are all rich and came here. They came to cheer after spending a lot of money."
He also said, "Tickets aren't cheap either. In the hot weather, I thought we all got heatstroke together. The performance was too much," and criticized, "Soccer is ultimately a coach's game. To be honest, today's match was the worst I've ever seen in person."
With the loss to South Africa, Korea dropped to third in Group A of the group stage. With this tournament featuring 48 nations, the top two teams in each group advance directly to the round of 32, and eight third-place teams with the best records also move on to the knockout stage. Korea now has to wait for the remaining group results.