All day long, the television poured out nothing but the World Cup.

The road the country had traveled from the moment it won the hosting rights up to the present was broadcast in documentary form, and the story of the national team never stopped coming through the airwaves either — how this World Cup differed from the ones before it, the veteran mainstays who had been famous for years, right down to the young players who had spent the tournament on the bench but were still part of the World Cup squad.

It was not only the World Cup players who drew attention.

The manager and coaches who had carried Korea into the semifinals, and the staff who had supported them quietly from the side — every last one of them was an object of interest.

And Ilhyeon was among those objects.

—I think Ilhyeon's contribution was enormous.

On one current-affairs program, the discussion had turned to the World Cup.

—Before the tournament began, the prevailing mood was that never mind the Round of 16, a single win would count as a success. Which is why companies shied away from active support. They must have thought: is there any reason to put that much into a team that will win once, maybe twice, and then be finished?

The program was discussing the people and organizations, apart from the players and staff, who had steered the World Cup to success.

And every panelist named Ilhyeon as the tournament's benefactor.

—Most companies were watching to see which way the wind blew, but Ilhyeon was different. They spared neither money nor materials in supporting the squad so it could play well. They created an entirely new form of support — street cheering — and pulled the whole country together into one.

—Some quarters say Ilhyeon has made an enormous profit out of the street cheering. But that's an argument made after the fact. If they knew there was profit in street cheering, why didn't anyone else do it?

—Precisely. Talk like that is nothing but nonsense manufactured to run Ilhyeon down.

—Whatever anyone…