The opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been over for about a week, but the echoes of Jungkook's performance still linger to the present. Even the fact that Jungkook - a Kpop idol performing at the biggest football tournament on the planet can become a legend of the world for decades later.
In fact, his performance changed at least some football fans or even Qatari people's prejudices about K-pop idols. Recently, a Japanese newspaper shared their interview with people who came to Al Bayt Stadium to see Jungkook's performance and received very interesting reactions.
Here's some information from that interview:
The article was made right after Jungkook finished his performance at the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony on the 20th (local time). The enthusiasm of the audience made reporters overwhelmed because in a strict Muslim country like Qatar, there are many people who love such a Korean group.
There was even a 24-year-old Qatari woman who gave an interview to the Japanese newspaper Asahi when she couldn't buy a ticket and couldn't enter the field, but she couldn't hide her joy when she stood outside and listened to his voice. Wearing a traditional black outfit that covered her entire body except for the area around her eyes, she was delighted to have Jungkook appear in Qatar.
Even in the Middle East, which strictly restricts women's social activities and segregates men and women due to the influence of Islam, the fervor of female fans for Jungkook and BTS is still hot. Not only the women showed their admiration for the boy Jungkook on the stage of the World Cup 2022, the Qatari men also could not hide their recognition and admiration for Jungkook when watching the performance.
A Qatari man happily told the newspaper after the opening ceremony that he had become a huge fan of the group at the moment. He also shared that his first impression of Jungkook and BTS when he knew them before was: "This guys look like women".
In a country where a shaggy beard is often seen as a symbol of masculinity and without a handsome male idol group, it can be seen as an alien existence. But his curiosity when he attended the opening ceremony and watched Jungkook perform made him change this stereotype completely.
He said that after this performance, he couldn't take his eyes off the dance that he had never seen before. And so he decided that even if he got married and had a daughter, he would still show a huge fan of Jungkook and BTS later on.
He especially emphasized, "When I listen to his voice, I feel comfortable and love it."
Another young female fan who watched Jungkook's opening ceremony live also expressed frenzy with his performance. She said that she became an ARMY three years ago and a month passed with Jungkook's appearance in Qatar twice making her want to scream. She couldn't contain her joy and said, "I can't get my hands on my studies or housework. Just thinking about Jungkook here makes me happy. The streets of Qatar are bright because of him."
Jungkook's presence here has made a culture of positive influence and prejudices removed. The way princes of the Middle East support and respect Jungkook's Dreamers performance is enough to show how proud he has made history here!
