Gwangju World Cup Stadium 광주 월드컵 경기장

Gwangju World Cup Stadium was opened in 2001 on November 13th. It has the capacity of 44,118 seats which is massive compared to other football stadiums. The stand of the stadium followed the example of the Korean traditional folk game known as ‘Kossaum Nori’. Also, the gently curved roof was modeled by the mountain ‘Mudeung’. Therefore, Gwangju World Cup Stadium is very impressive in that its architecture is inspired by Korean tradition and culture.

The Stadium is also known as ‘the Guus Hiddink Stadium’. The stadium was named ‘the Guus Hiddink Stadium’ in order to honor the coach ‘Guus Hiddink’ who was a legendary coach for South Korean national football team. In 2002 World Cup, Guus Hiddink helped the team to advance to semi-final for the first time in the history. For this reason, Korean people love Guus Hiddink.

Gwangju World Cup Stadium is also a place where historical matches have been taken. It was used in the 2002 FIFA World Cup matches for Spain vs. Slovenia, China vs. Costa Rica and Spain vs. South Korea. In this stadium, South Korean team defeated Spanish football team and advanced to the semi-final. At that time, defeating Spanish team was predicted as impossible. However, this stadium witnessed a miracle.

Besides the Gwangju World Cup Stadium, there is a beautiful theme park where you can stroll. There is a nice strolling course that is surrounded with trees and 20 types of roses in the park. Many lovers come to this park as a ‘date course’. Not only that, you can visit Lotte outlet that is next to the stadium where you can enjoy shopping but also ice-skating and rollerblading.

423-2 Pungam-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju, South Korea

+82-62-604-2002