2002 FIFA World Cup in the context of "Seogwipo"

The Miracle on the Han River (Korean: 한강의 기적) was the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from an underdeveloped country into a highly developed country.

The rapid reconstruction and development of the South Korean economy during the latter half of the 20th century was accompanied by events such as the country's hosting of the 1988 Summer Olympics and its co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as well as the ascension of family-owned conglomerates known as chaebols, such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai. This growth also encompassed declines in child mortality and increases in life expectancy. South Korea during this period has been described as "corporatist" or as practicing state capitalism. This period of growth was overseen by the Democratic Republican Party (DRP), a conservative, broadly state capitalist and nationalist party.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2010. It was the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, and the second in an Asian country after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.

This tournament was the last with 32 participating teams, with the number of teams being increased to 48 for the 2026 World Cup. To avoid the extremes of Qatar's hot and humid climate in summers, the event was held in November and December, becoming the first one to take place outside the traditional months of May, June, and July. It was held over a reduced time frame of 29 days with 64 matches played in eight venues across five cities. Qatar entered the event—their first World Cup—automatically as the host's national team, alongside 31 teams determined by the qualification process.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries; the main host country of matches is the United States, while Canada and Mexico will co-host. The tournament will be the first to be hosted by three nations.

This tournament will be the first to include 48 teams, expanded from 32. The United 2026 bid beat a rival bid by Morocco during a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. It will be the first World Cup since 2002 to be hosted by more than one nation. With its past hosting of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, Mexico will become the first country to host or co-host the men's World Cup three times. The United States previously hosted the men's World Cup in 1994, whereas it will be Canada's first time hosting or co-hosting the men's tournament. The event will also return to its traditional Northern Hemisphere summer schedule after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was held in November and December.

The United States men's national soccer team, simply known as USMNT and officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international soccer, which is governed by the United States Soccer Federation founded in 1913. It has been an affiliate member of FIFA since 1914 and a founding affiliate member of CONCACAF since 1961. Regionally, it is an affiliate member of NAFU in the North American Zone. From 1946 to 1961, it was a member of NAFC, the former governing soccer body in North America and a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF, and also a member of PFC, the former unified confederation of the Americas.

The United States has qualified for the FIFA World Cup twelve times, it is one of four CONCACAF teams to have advanced to the knockout stage, finishing in third place in 1930, reaching the quarter-finals in 2002 and also reaching the round of 16 in four editions. Their third place in Uruguay 1930 is the best result by a CONCACAF team in the competition and is the only non-European or South American team to achieve a World Cup podium finish. They returned in 1934 and 1950, defeating England 1–0 in the latter, but did not qualify again until 1990. As host in 1994, the U.S. received an automatic berth and lost to Brazil in the round of 16. They qualified for the next five World Cups, a feat shared with only seven other nations. In 2026, the United States will host the World Cup for the second time. It has qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup four times, finishing as runners-up in 2009, defeating top ranked European champions Spain 2–0 in the semifinal and losing to Brazil in the final, and also finishing in third place twice.

The Brazil national football team (Portuguese: Seleção Brasileira de Futebol; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [se.leˈsɐ̃w bɾaziˈlejɾɐ dʒi futʃiˈbɔw]), nicknamed Seleção Canarinho ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (English: Brazilian Football Confederation), the governing body of football in Brazil. It has been a member of FIFA since 1923 and a founding member of CONMEBOL since 1916. It was also a member of PFC, the unified confederation of the Americas from 1946 to 1961.

Brazil is the most successful national team in the FIFA World Cup, winning the tournament five times: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. The Seleção also has average overall performance in the World Cup competition, both in proportional and absolute terms, with a record of 76 victories in 114 matches played, 129 goal difference, 247 points, and 19 losses. It is the only national team to have played in all World Cup editions without any absence nor need for playoffs, and the only team to have won the World Cup in four different continents: once in Europe (the 1958 edition in Sweden), once in South America (the 1962 edition in Chile), twice in North America (the 1970 edition in Mexico and the 1994 tournament in the United States), and once in Asia (the 2002 edition co-hosted by South Korea and Japan). Brazil was also the most successful team in the now-defunct FIFA Confederations Cup, winning it four times, in 1997, 2005, 2009, and 2013. With the capture of the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics. Brazil is one of only two countries, the other being France, to have won all men's FIFA 11-player competitions at all age levels.

The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the 8th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final to win their first ever World Cup title. The final was level at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went to extra time, when Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first to be scored in a men's World Cup final. Portuguese striker Eusébio was the tournament's top scorer, with nine goals clinching the golden boot with three goals more than second placed Helmut Haller. It was the first FIFA World Cup held in the English-speaking world.

England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Two time reigning champions Brazil failed to get past the group stages as they were defeated by Hungary and Portugal. It was the second time that defending champions were eliminated in the group stages after Italy in 1950. This would not occur again until 36 years later. The two debut teams performed well at the competition – North Korea beat Italy 1–0 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Portugal 5–3 after leading 3–0. Portugal themselves finished third, beating Soviet Union 2–1 in the bronze-match.

The FIFA Fan Festivals are public viewing events organized by FIFA and the host cities during the FIFA World Cup. FIFA Fan Festivals (initially named FIFA Fan Fests) followed the success of public viewing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and became an essential part of the tournament since the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Fan Festivals take place in iconic locations of the host cities and feature broadcasts of football matches on giant screens, live concerts, parties, food, beverages, and other activities and entertainment. In 2022, FIFA reintroduced Fan Festivals under the new name for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) – was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 2001 FIFA ended automatic qualification of the reigning champion, so that 2002 champions Brazil became first to participate in the qualifying tournament. The hosts (Germany) retained their automatic spot.

The original distribution of places between the six confederations called for Oceania to be given one full spot in the final 32; this idea was seen as virtually guaranteeing a place in the finals to Australia, by far the strongest footballing nation in the region. This decision was reconsidered in June 2003 and the previous distribution of places between Oceania and South America was restored.