Cho Gue-sung: Who is South Korea star who became World Cup's biggest heart-throb? | OneFootball

South Korea are the talk of the town right now having miraculously made it out of Group H at the expense of two-time winners Uruguay.

Despite it looking for all intents and purposes that the South Americans would progress through to the round of 16 along with Portugal, everything changed when Hwang Hee-chan scored a stoppage-time winner on the final day.

The South Korea star finished delightfully from a Heung-min Son pass to secure a 2-1 win over Portugal that rendered Uruguay’s own victory against Ghana by the same scoreline insufficient for them to reach the second round.

It truly was one of the most dramatic moments in modern World Cup history and one which has left everyone in South Korea wondering if they can go on to rekindle the magic of 2002.

However, even in a world where the Koreans immediately fall at the next hurdle, there will still be plenty of happy memories that they can take from their most unexpected of group stage turnarounds.

Who is Cho Gue-sung?

And in the case of Cho Gue-sung, South Korea’s journey at Qatar 2022 has even gone so far as changing his life.

‘Why?’ we hear you ask. Well, because a fascinating report in the Daily Mail has detailed how the 24-year-old has gone from a relative unknown to being adored by millions of people in the space of just a few days.

It’s explained that Cho witnessed a staggering increase in his Instagram followers from 20,000 to an eye-watering 1.6 million since scoring twice in the 3-2 defeat to Ghana on Monday.

While the game might have actually marked the low point in Korea’s group stage campaign, Cho’s three-minute brace sparked such scenes of delirium for a few precious moments as the Asian nation fought back from 2-0 down.

Why has Cho Gue-sung gone viral?

And well, it seems to have changed Cho’s life forever because he’s the name on everybody’s lips right now with the hashtag ‘ChoGuesung’ on TikTok amassing a head-spinning 193 million views.

Journalist Seo Jung-hwan is quoted as telling his fellow reporters on Friday: “He had to get some rest. His phone was going all night. It was keeping him awake. He was trying to concentrate on football and, all the time, the messages were coming.”

The craze is such that a seemingly inconsequential clip of Cho sitting on the bench for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors has amassed more than seven million views across social media.

Video: Cho sitting on the bench amasses 7 million views

One admirer is said to have written in reply: “Sisters with one hand on the heart, the 9th of korea: Cho Gue-sung.”

Meanwhile, another superfan captioned a video of the Korea star: “The man who made everyone fall in love with himself.”

It’s even said that ‘hundreds of women want to marry him’ with expressions of admiration filling up comments sections around the internet.

Devon Rowcliffe, author of ‘Who Ate All the Squid? Football Adventures in South Korea’, is quoted as explaining to The Athletic why phenomenas like this occur: “South Korean fans have been known to bestow superstar status on their footballers.

“After the mania of the 2002 World Cup, midfielder Kim Nam-il became an overnight sex symbol. Female fans would hold up placards at matches with racy euphemisms, offering marriage proposals or less formal encounters.”

By contrast, Cho – who has described himself as ‘insignificant’ – is said to be an incredibly private individual with little to nothing known about his life away from the pitch, other than the fact that he is indeed taken. Sorry, guys and girls.

It just goes to show the impact that a successful World Cup campaign can have upon the players taking part and the fans that are cheering them on.

No matter what becomes of Korea’s fascinating journey in Qatar 2022 from here on out, Paulo Bento’s men can rest assured that they’ve done their nation proud and that many of their lives – especially Cho’s – will never be the same again.