BURY-based Manchester City and England supporter David Sykes get's a fans' eye view of Seoul and England's recent friendly clash against South Korea

SOUTH Korea versus England. This World Cup warm-up fixture was too good an opportunity to miss.

The expenditure, just two weeks before the start of the 2002 competition in Japan and Korea I could have done without. But missing it was not an option!

Myself and friend Alan Telfer departed on Saturday, May 18 on a flight to Seoul via Frankfurt from Manchester.

With the eight hour time difference we arrived the following day.

On arrival at Seoul Incheon International Airport you could not help but begin to get excited about the forthcoming tournament.

Flags of the competing nations lined the walls, giant murals of the Stadia, World Cup mascots and greetings welcoming you in various languages.

The airport was a major architectural achievement having only been open for a year and was immaculate throughout.

After clearing immigration we set off for a night on the town in Seoul.

An airport limousine bus transported us into the Itaweoun district where our hotel was situated for a reasonable £3.

It was a transfer of approximately an hour and gave us a great view of the Seoul skyline.

The thing that struck you is how immaculate the streets are. No stray dogs and the buzz of a very densely populated city that is hosting the World Cup.

Itaweon is a largely busy shopping street with several expatriate bars - namely American - that cater for the 37,000 US servicemen in Seoul and Korea.

After a great night out the next morning we headed off to the domestic airport in Seoul called Gimpo.

There we took a Korean air flight for the one hour journey to the Island of Jeju where the game was to be played.

Jeju International Airport was very busy handling about 30 flights a day from Seoul alone.

After transfer to the town of Seogwipo by bus we checked into out hotel for two nights.

Jeju is a very fertile island due to its volcanic activity and had some stunning scenery in particular the Ch'onyejon Falls.

Our hotel overlooked the picturesque harbour with its predomenantly fish restaurants and a few bars.

But the aroma of fish while trying to sink several beers became unbearable and we retired to the town for further refreshment.

The humid climate of Jeju gave a good indication of what we will experience in Japan over the next two weeks.

No soon had we finished a drink than it was pouring out of us in sweat!

The beer was very cheap and ranged from 50p to £2 and the common concensus was that we'd rather England had been playing their World Cup games in Korea than Japan.

As for the friendliness of the Korean people, they could not have been more accommodating and they were taken aback that a group of English lads had come to visit their country for a friendly match.

After experiencing hostility from the locals in various countries this was a pleasant change.

The third day was match day and the town began to fill up with other England lads and many Koreans.

It was buzzing close to the stadium as we drank in a bar close by. A Korean English teacher approached us with several of her pupils and asked if her children could speak a little of their English to us.

We had to laugh when she said they will probably never meet English people again so their first experience of English people were football fans - not noted as being ambassadors for their country.

Mr Blair would have been proud of this group of tough lads listening intently to the youngsters.

I usually like to enter the ground for a game at least 30 minutes before kick-off to sample the atmosphere and study the stadium.

The Seogwipo World Cup stadium was fantastic and certainly one of the most impressive I have ever visited.

As the teams entered the field of play the ground erupted. It was not quite full to capacity, but the South Koreans were going for it!

Behind one of the goals they all wore red and in the middle a massed drum band beat out a great sound throughout the match.

A group of about seven of us sat among the Koreans and were made very welcome.

One offered us a potato sandwich, but I believe it was a poor excuse for her to practise her English. They love it!

The game ended a 1-1 draw and in my eyes the Koreans, who have never won a World Cup match, stand a fair chance this time and I wish them luck in their qualifying games.

After retiring from several more beers and wishing farewell to the lads who were going on to Kobe (Japan) for the Cameroon match, we headed back to our hotel for three hours sleep before the long journey home.

We flew at 7am to Seoul and arrived back in Manchester 24 hours later jet-lagged beyond belief, but with a mammoth amount of travel experience under our belts.

I know a lot of people had doubts about holding the World Cup in Asia, myself included, but the trip left me in no doubt that for the Korean half, at least, they will put on a helluva show for the world.

And it's more than whetted my appetite for Japan. Come on England!