'¡Coreano, hermano!' The Mexico vs. Korea exudes more love than rivalry in LA

Love was in the air at Koreatown's Seoul International Park on Thursday, when a sea of ​​thousands of people in red and blue jerseys came together to celebrate the love of soccer.

South Korean fan Ben Lee was playing soccer with a pile of Shin Noodles when he saw Kevin Gonzalez walk by in a Mexican shirt and punched him.

“Hermano!” Lee, 31, exclaimed, and the couple, shortly after meeting, snapped a selfie as Gonzalez, 28, presented her beef bulgogi quesadilla to the camera with a grin.

“No matter who wins or loses, it's all about love,” said Lee, who drove from Orange County to attend a huge Mexico vs. Korea.

The lasting friendship between Mexican and Korean soccer fans began at the 2018 World Cup.

After Mexico's 3-0 defeat against Sweden, their hope of progressing depends on South Korea's determination to beat Germany. South Korea couldn't advance without a result, but they did win, prompting a huge outpouring of gratitude from the Mexican fans and the birth of the chant “¡Coreano, hermano, ya eres mexicano!” which means “Korean brother, you're Mexican now!”

“Mexicans, myself included, when someone helps us with something very big, we will never forget,” said Leo Hernandez, a Mexican-American soccer fan from Orange County known as El Soccer Guy on Instagram.

This was the only World Cup game in which Hernandez said he did not intend to beat Mexico.

He said: “I would be happy for a tie. I think it will hurt me if South Korea loses to us, but I hope that Mexico and South Korea both go through to the next round.”

The two cultures share many similarities: a laid-back atmosphere, strong family values, and a deep love of a good party, Hernandez said.

Fans catch the Mexico vs. South Korea at the Koreatown party. The football fraternity was born at the 2018 World Cup.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Intercultural love continued to bloom on the streets of Mexico this summer with videos showing “Gangnam Style” dance parties taking over the streets of Guadalajara and sombrero-wearing fans eagerly snapping selfies with tourists in red Korean jerseys.

Kenji Kumagai, 37, said he personally experienced Mexican hospitality when he visited Guadalajara two weeks ago and was repeatedly stopped at places where the locals welcomed him to their country.

“I went to see the tequila and everyone was like, 'Oh, Koreans are hermanos, and you're Mexicans,'” ​​he said, “and then they made me stop the keg and threw me up in the air.

Kumagai attended a Thursday night viewing party in Koreatown with his girlfriend, Denitza Ceballos, who is from Mexico. He also hoped that there would be a tie, but he said that even if there is no result, he will go home happy.

“Yes, it's a competition, but it's also where nations come together to be friendly and exchange cultures,” he said. “We're from Koreatown, which is half Mexican, half Korean, so it's a good place for us.”

The connection between the two communities in Los Angeles shares a long history.

Fans lined the streets of Olympic Boulevard and Normandie Avenue in Koreatown on Thursday evening.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

A large wave of Korean immigrants came to Los Angeles after the Immigration Act of 1965, and many settled in Koreatown and other neighborhoods of the city. These areas have experienced decades of disinvestment, linked to redevelopment, apartheid housing agreements and other discriminatory policies, making them among the most affordable areas of the city.

As a result, many working-class Korean and Latino immigrant families lived together and often faced similar challenges, including substandard housing conditions, landlord abuse and underfunded public schools.

Most recently, both communities were hit hard by ICE raids last summer, and Korean and Mexican aid groups have worked together to share information on where agents have been spotted and legal resources for families whose loved ones have been detained.

Today, Koreatown is one of the largest South Korean communities in America, but its population is also more than half Hispanic, according to census data. It's the birthplace of cultural collaborations like Roy Choi's famous Korean barbecue taco truck and the place where K-pop songs are featured on the same playlist as mariachi music.

Lee, a South Korean fan from Orange County, believes the two immigrant communities share love and respect because they often have similar articles.

Fans react to Thursday's World Cup event in Koreatown. “No matter who wins or loses, it's all about love,” said one South Korean fan.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“Our parents came out of nothing and built something for us,” he said. “I feel like Koreans and Mexicans feel that and understand that; we know our parents went through a lot coming to America.”

At a game-watching party at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, one of Los Angeles' most popular Mexican neighborhoods, the crowd was almost entirely dressed in Mexican jungle green.

Aidan Lee, 23, who is of Mexican and South Korean descent, is holding on to his red South Korean jersey. Turns out that was a good thing.

“I was given four free beers,” he said. “I felt all the love.”

For Lee it's a no-brainer that the two cultures click.

“We love to have fun, we love to drink, we have good spicy food, we love family, we love LA,” he said.

When the game clock ran out and Mexico held on to its one goal, the plaza erupted into cheers. Beer was showered on the crowd, fireworks were set off and Mexican flags were flown high in the sky as the sun went down.

A man jumped on stage, grabbed a microphone and led the crowd in a thunderous victory chant, “¡Coreano, hermano, ya eres mexicano!”