Sitting at the table at Baja’s Grill in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, Daniel Cho uses his stylus to add an outline to a new sticker. It’s two fingers in an L shape, framing a box with the No 7, a replication of Son Heung-min’s signature celebration. Nearby, fans are banging on drums, shouting “Ole ole ole ole, LAFC I love you. Wherever even in my dreams, I’ll follow you,” in a mixture of Korean and Spanish, a chant adapted from one belonging to fans of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K-League, Korea’s top division.
Growing up in Argentina, Cho was accustomed to soccer being the dominant focus. His friends all supported Boca Juniors. Cho emigrated to America at the age of 17 and settled in Koreatown, where Lionel Messi’s popularity piqued his interest. But it wasn’t until he met other Los Angeles Football Club fans at church that he grew to be a loyal, weekly watcher. Now, his Son Heung-min art will adorn the stands at BMO Field, LAFC’s home stadium where the former Tottenham Hotspur star will make his home debut this weekend.
Son’s signing has broken many records: a league-record transfer fee that reportedly exceeds $26m and jersey sales that surpass the likes of LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s also brought a ripple effect into Koreatown, where the majority of Southern California’s 320,000 Korean Americans live.
“I grew up in Argentina and I love Messi, but having Son represent at that kind of level is really humbling. It’s a really proud moment for us as Koreans,” Cho said.
A moment long in the making
In some ways, LAFC fans have been preparing for Son’s arrival for years.
In 2018, Ben Chi got an invitation from Rich Orosco, LAFC’s chief brand officer, about a mysterious VIP guest. As a previous manager for merchandise at the club, Chi helped launch what was then known as a Korean supporter group, the Tigers. Although the group started as a dozen Korean American soccer fans, it quickly expanded to represent the full diversity of Koreatown residents.
Disguised as a meeting with the executives of Riot Games, the gathering turned into a meet and greet with Son himself.
“I just couldn’t keep it together,” Chi said of the meeting.
Chi believes that LA itself is a big part of the reason why Son made his move, whether it’s due to fervent supporters, plenty of Korean heritage, or material comforts.
“He spent a lot of time in Germany. He spent a lot of time in London. LA can give him a sense of home without actually being home,” Chi said. “He can continue his football journey without feeling like it’s coming to a close in Korea.”
Son, of course, is more that just a phenomenal Asian soccer player, or one of the most famous Koreans alive. But there is no doubt that there is a surge in business interest related to his identity.
LAFC have completely sold out Son’s primary black jersey online and at the BMO Stadium store, according to a club spokesperson. LAFC more than doubled their subscribers on YouTube, with 70% of the new audience joining from Korea. Son’s Tapping Glass” video, announcing his signing, gave the club’s TikTok over 12.5m views and more than 135,000 new followers.
“Because he is Korean and there’s a lot of small and large Korean businesses, people want to attach their being or their entity with his likeness and with all the hype that’s surrounded by it right now,” said Jeremy Kim, a partner at Coffee MCO coffee shop in Koreatown.
While LAFC and Son have not announced any new LA-based sponsorships, Kim said that he has heard of “a lot of movement, a lot of talks” of different people showing up to the club’s offices for partnership meetings. “If you are a business that has millions in revenue a year, although you may not be named nationally, you are still trying to see if it’s possible to attach a bit to that.”
Tourism agencies specializing in Korea-US travel are already seeing a spike in interest.
“For us as a travel agency, this ‘Son Heung-min effect’ has opened up a new breakthrough, and we see it as a very meaningful opportunity,” said Pyoungsik Bahk, the president of US Aju Tour. Aju Tour has received more than 400 requests from interested tourists from Korea who want to see Son play and continues to sell special package tours for LAFC games in September and October.
Not to be outdone, competitor Samho Tour is also developing add-ons for existing tour packages for Korean and Korean American out-of-state travelers, including adding LAFC home matches for West Coast sightseeing tours in LA and San Diego. Both agencies have had a hard time securing block seating because of the tenfold price increase.
When Shohei Ohtani signed a $700m contract for 10 years with the Dodgers in 2023, his presence ushered in new Japanese tourism boom, with the number of tourists from the country doubling from 2023 to 2024, according to the LA tourism board. This year, Nikaido became the first Japanese shochu brand offered at Dodger Stadium. You can also now find Tsukiji Gindaco’s traditional takoyaki, or fried octopus balls at the concessions. In time, there may be a similar change or two at BMO Stadium as well.
Intergenerational unity
Su Jin Lee happened to be in Chicago when it became clear that Son would make his debut in nearby Bridgeview against the Chicago Fire. At the game, she said she saw a sea of Tottenham, national team, and custom Son shirts.
“Eurosnobs said they would never watch an MLS game. All of sudden Son is here, and people are asking me about tickets. I’ve been preaching about this for seven years!” said Lee, who formerly served as a vice-president for the 3252, the independent supporters union for LAFC’s affiliated supporters groups and fans.
It’s not the first time that LAFC has signed a Korean player. In 2021, the club signed right-back Kim Moon-hwan, who played for two seasons before he moved to the K-League. While Kim did bring a certain level of excitement, Son’s status as a global star is on another level entirely. David Dong, the owner of BiergartenLA, a German-Korean fusion gastropub in Koreatown, said that before the Chicago-LAFC match, his restaurant received a lot of calls from people interested in watching Son play. By half-time, the restaurant was full with a waitlist to get in.
“The past two games, we’ve seen a lot more Koreans and we’ve seen families coming together. We see kids coming, we see parents coming. We are staffing up more than usual. We didn’t anticipate the reception to be this big,” Dong said.
Lee has seen similar interest. “My mom works with older ladies at the Korean market and they’re all talking about it. They’re so hyped about this Korean man that they’re enamored with,” he said.
Even the Harmonica Grannies, a group of Koreatown retirees who have played the US national anthem at NHL games, are excited about the prospect of playing in front of Son someday. Many of the retirees, born in the 1940s, still remember playing soccer at a young age in Korea.
“Korea was very poor [when they grew up] and soccer was virtually the only sport, as one ball could bring together 10 or 20 children to play. That is why the joy of scoring a goal is still remembered vividly throughout their bodies,” said Hyunok Lee, president of Koreatown Senior and Community Center.
All say that in the case of Son, soccer provides a more intergenerational bond between family members than other recent Korean imports that have gained popularity in the States, like K-pop.
“You have something to bond about, you have something to watch together, something that crosses those boundaries that would normally be there,” Jeremy Kim added.
The ‘perfect bridge’ for a more unified LA
Fernando Delgado remembers pulling up to a watch party at a local Koreatown radio station during the 2018 World Cup. Son had just scored a goal during the group stage match against Germany, effectively pushing the Germans out of World Cup contention and advancing Mexico into the knockout rounds.
“It was insane. We just hear everybody shouting ‘Coreano, hermano, ya eres Mexicano [Korean, brother, you’re Mexican now],” Delgado said. “It was an honor, celebrating that win altogether.”
Delgado now serves as co-president of the LAFC Tigers supporters group. For him, Son represents a humble leader who can empower the younger generation of players at the club. He described this while watching Son’s second match for LAFC, against the New England Revolution, and as he explained this dynamic, as if on cue, Son tapped the ball to his left, providing an assist for teammate Mathieu Choinière.
“He’s not like the person boasting or trash-talking out of the field. He’s very respectful and demonstrates that respect and embodies it,” said Delgado.
Lee hopes to see Son become the “perfect bridge” and “amazing ambassador” for the city, getting more involved in local charity initiatives since he is so universally loved as a global personality. Son has also been known for his involvement in philanthropic efforts, including donations for natural disasters and awareness campaigns related to homelessness. Recently, fans told the Guardian that they saw him in a video calling for more donations for food aid in Palestine on the UN World Food Programme social media as a Global Goodwill ambassador.
“Soccer is all about community. All of the stuff we’ve been through the last year, it’s important to feel a sense of community,” Lee said.
Kyeongjun Kim from the Korea Daily contributed reporting
