World Cup FIFA: In Mexico, a love affair with all things Korean — at least until kickoff

MONTERREY/GUADALAJARA, Mexico, June 18 (Reuters) - First came the factories, then came the food, and then the pop tunes took over. South Korean fervor in Mexico has been years in the making, growing into a mass movement that has seen President Claudia Sheinbaum share a balcony with K-pop royalty BTS, and visiting World Cup fans greeted with the chant: "Korean, my brother, you're now Mexican."

But that blossoming relationship will be put to the test in Guadalajara on Thursday as the two countries face each other in a group stage clash. 

"Koreans and Mexicans are like brothers and sisters," said Annie, a South Korean visiting Guadalajara from California for the game. 

The bond between Korea and Mexico is one of the world's stranger geo-cultural love fests. Though the two are separated by language, 12,000 kilometers, and a 15-hour time difference, Korean influence has nonetheless gained a foothold here.

"K-pop is the gateway, but the end result is that many young people end up becoming interested in the language, education, and culture," said Erika Garza, director of Asian Studies at the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon. 

Nowhere is that Korean influence more evident than in the Mexican industrial powerhouse of Monterrey, where the arrival of Kia and other major Korean companies over the last decade has brought an influx of thousands of South Koreans.

Student Yoona Jwa, 19, was part of this wave when her family moved from South Korea to Monterrey for her father's job when she was 8 years old. Not speaking the language or being familiar with Mexican culture, she found that one of the few things that initially helped her fit in was playing soccer.

But more recently, Mexican friends are the ones learning about her culture, rather than vice versa. 

"Once I was driving with my friends and they were singing a song I didn't recognize, and then I realized, they were singing in Korean!" she said.

Signs of the Korean cultural phenomenon are scattered throughout Monterrey's city center, where shop owners sell life-size cutouts of the South Korean boy band Stray Kids and pillows with the faces of the BTS superstars.

Outside one K-pop store, 18-year-old Mexican Christopher Elizondo said he's become such a fan of the rhythm and choreography of South Korean music that he's not even sure who he's supporting in Thursday's World Cup match.

He plans to watch at home, where the rest of his family will be rooting for Mexico.    

"It's going to be a bit uncomfortable," he said.

ALLIANCE ON THE PITCH TOO

Mexico and South Korea's World Cup fates have been intertwined before. In 2018, the two countries also shared a group. Mexico looked to be crashing out after losing 3-0 to Sweden but were rescued by a stunning last-gasp win by South Korea over Germany that sent 'El Tri' through to the knockout phase. 

Rapturous fans gathered outside the South Korean embassy in Mexico City, where the consul emerged, dressed in a Mexico soccer shirt, to greet the crowd. Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma brewery, based in Monterrey, sent a truck full of beer to the local KIA plant to celebrate.

This time, Mexico and South Korea are first and second in their group respectively - both on three points - going into Thursday's game. Mexico will be hoping the home crowd can work to their advantage, even if there are more than a few K-pop fans present. 

Yoona Jwa said that since the World Cup began, she's been receiving more love from Mexicans, even if the two teams are about to go head to head. During the first match in Monterrey on Sunday, she was lifted into the air at Fanfest; earlier this week, a woman gave her family tostadas for free in a market and wished them good luck in Thursday's game. 

But the competitive spirit is heating up.

On Wednesday, at a Korean restaurant outside Monterrey, Kevin Kim, a South Korean native based in Texas, enjoyed lunch with his Mexican business partner, Humberto Osuna. The two work in the technology and electronics sector and have been doing business together for years, they said.

"We are good friends," said Osuna. 

But that could all change after kickoff, he added. 

"Then we will be enemies."