South Korea jubilant as its people go into the red

Richard Lloyd Parry joins the exodus of England fans from Japan and reflects on an extraordinary Korean victory that could yet save their embattled President

"Whatever happened against Brazil," said Dave Bryan, "there's some things that nothing can take away. We lasted longer than the French, and we beat Argentina." It was the last night of Mr Bryan's stay in Japan, and, like many of the 4,000 remaining England fans, he was in a valedictory mood.

The most impressive thing about Japan? ­ "The politeness, and just how clean everything is." The most memorable moment of the three weeks? ­ "Going up Mount Fuji. And beating Argentina."

But the truth is that as England flew out of Japan yesterday, they left a World Cup drastically different from anything that anyone had imagined at the beginning. "Who would have thought Korea and Senegal could get this far?" said Mr Bryan. "After France losing that first game, anything was possible. It's more global. It can only be for the good."

Last night, while Turks were cheering their team's golden goal victory over Senegal in Japan, co-hosts South Korea embarked on a rapturous nationwide celebration. Like Turkey, they were in the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time, heightening an already fervid atmosphere of nationalistic enthusiasm, which may yet save the career of the country's President. After the failure of his attempts to build reunification with North Korea, and the arrest yesterday of the second of his sons to be accused of taking bribes, the record of President Kim Dae Jung was looking very grubby indeed.

"I have felt deep regrets over failing to supervise my sons' behaviour," he said on Friday, in a nationally televised statement, and with an expression of abjection. "I feel embarrassed and guilty for hurting the hearts of the people." But yesterday he was beaming from the VIP box of the Kwangju Stadium, secure in the knowledge that, if nothing else, he will at least be remembered as the president who led Korea to the semis.

Just over half a million people attended the public screenings of Korea's first game. For last night's victory over Spain, that number had increased tenfold, with 600,000 in central Seoul alone. The game was broadcast simultaneously on four television channels, and the winning penalty in the shoot-out was played and re-played endlessly throughout the night.

In the past three weeks, a large proportion of the country have become Red Devils, the name by which the South Korea supporters refer to themselves. Not a single Spanish fan was in evidence at yesterday's game, but the country is running out of red dye to meet demand for more of the Red Devils' "Be The Reds" T-shirts. A newspaper discoursed on how the team's success has changed the traditional associations of devils and the colour red with evil and Communism.

The success of South Korea's Dutch national coach, Guus Hiddink, is being presented an an example to the whole country. As the Yonhap news agency oberved last week: "[He has destroyed] widespread cronyism based on blood, regional and school associations by selecting and training the Korean national soccer team in a transparent manner based on fundamentals and competition."

Among the banners in the crowd at Kwangju yesterday was one reading, "Thank You, Kingdom of the Netherlands" ­ presumably for providing the environment in which the footballing genius could come to maturity. When Holland makes its impact in this tournament as the home country of the South Korean coach, you can tell that something important has changed. Although the final may well pit Germany against Brazil, the old European-South American hegemony is disappearing, and England's own defeats and disappointments appear rather trivial in comparison.