LOS ANGELES -- On a chilly October fall night in 2018, I wandered the neon-lit streets of South Korea after a night of drinking with colleagues following a full day of work. The sun was to creep over the sky in a few hours, but we found ourselves settled on plastic blue stools ordering fried chicken at an outside restaurant. At a time you'd expect it to be nothing but drunks and stragglers, a sizeable crowd gathered around the lone old school CRT television, balanced haphazardly on a configuration of wooden alcohol crates with newspapers spread underneath.
I checked my phone to see what they could be watching in the middle of the night, learning that one of the biggest franchises in the world, Barcelona, headlined by the sport's golden boy, Lionel Messi, was set to play in the Champions League at that time.
As I sauntered near the pack to see how the game was going, reality hit me in the face immediately.
These people were not awake to see Barcelona or Messi. They were up for one man, and one man only: South Korea's own, their golden child, Tottenham's Son Heung-min.
The rangy, blink-and-you-miss-it speedster is not only the country's pride and joy sportsman, but his celebrity far exceeds the general fanaticism of an athlete. For every accomplishment and triumph Son found abroad, South Korea shared in his success, propelling him to popularity often seen only for A-list celebrities or idols.
While Min and Tottenham lost that night, with Messi striking a dagger late to grab a brace and polish off an extraordinary performance, the fans at the bar didn't budge until the final whistle. As the inevitability of another workday broke the spell of Son's magic, a throng of supporters began to scatter off into the streets.
Wherever Son went, no matter where in the world or at what time, so would the people of South Korea.
That place in the world and time will now be at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California, as Son made history with the largest transfer in Major League Soccer history, worth around $26 million, per ESPN reports.
"What can I say?" he said at his introductory press conference in L.A. on Wednesday. "Dream come true. L.A., what a city."
Over his decade in England with Tottenham, Son recorded over 100 goals and assists, establishing himself as a club legend. After a series of stumbles and heartbreak during his tenure, he finally won a major trophy with the club, defeating Manchester United for the Europa League title in Bilbao, Spain. Since the murmurs of Son transferring began to swirl until he finally confirmed last week that he would be leaving the club, it's been a parade of tearful goodbyes and thanks from the club, team, and fans. They've seen him grow from a talented youngster filled with his dreams to a full-grown man, a living legend who now embodies theirs.
On the field, Son will bring a much-needed boost to an LAFC team currently looking up at newcomers San Diego FC, topping the Western Conference. For an organization that has prided itself on being a perennial contender every year out, including winning the league championship two years ago, the sizeable deal for Son isn't cosmetic. Whereas we've seen world stars join the MLS before and do nothing more than sell a few jerseys and flash their smile in commercials, Son remains a world-class talent with the ability to break teams' backlines and instantly solidify himself as one of the league's most dangerous attackers.
"I'm here [and], I'm more than happy," Son said. "[I'm] so excited seeing all Korean fans outside there."
Los Angeles has always been a city of stars, but that has only multiplied over the past few years, with Matthew Stafford joining the Rams, Luka Dončić's shocking trade to the Lakers, and Kelsey Plum moving from the dynastic Las Vegas Aces to Sparks. On top of that superstar mountain are, of course, basketball's LeBron James and baseball's Shohei Ohtani, but Son has a strong argument to be right alongside the duo to create a triple threat that covers the entire globe.
Along with being an incredible addition to the playing field, the number of black and gold No. 7 Son jerseys about to be sold might equal the amount of the actual transfer between LAFC and Tottenham itself. Outside of South Korea, Los Angeles has the largest population of Koreans in the world. Koreatown is a hotbed of the city, having grown expeditiously over the past two decades, becoming one of the premier places in the city for food, culture, and music.
As it was almost a decade ago in the pitch of darkness at that beer and chicken place in Seoul, Son and Messi will face off once more, this time respectively for L.A. and Miami. They will be vying for titles and supremacy, the venues different, but the mission remains the same.
And those people who jeopardized their work schedule hunched over a wobbly television at that restaurant will be doing the same, behind their country's hero.
Wherever Son goes, so will South Korea