CORNERFLICK
South Korean anger over the national team’s group-stage exit at the 2026 World Cup has spilled from the federation into the streets, with businesses posting signs banning Hong Myung-bo from entering.
According to the source material, small business owners, chain stores and well-known barbecue restaurants have put up notices and handwritten signs reading: “Hong Myung-bo entry prohibited.”
The move has been presented as a symbolic protest against the federation, the waste of public money and what critics see as a lack of meritocracy in the way Hong was appointed. One barbecue restaurant in Seoul and a convenience store said the signs were aimed at expressing frustration on behalf of supporters who stayed up late to follow the team’s campaign.
Hong, once celebrated as a national hero and one of Asia’s most respected defenders, now faces a backlash that reflects the collapse of his public standing after the tournament and reports about an unlawful contract.