Economic effect of winning at the World Cup (in Korea)

Here's an interesting article in Korean reporting on research done on the economic effect of winning at the World Cup in Korea. Korea on the whole is somewhat interested in football/soccer but one certainly couldn't call it a football-loving country, but since hosting the World Cup in 2002 the four-year event has taken on the mood of a national celebration. According to the article getting into the Round of 16 resulted in a 1.6 trillion won ($1.3 billion) direct and indirect economic bonus, including not only direct sales but also brand recognition, an amount equivalent to the yearly sales of semiconductors by Samsung Electronics. The reason why Samsung is referenced here is because the research was carried out by the Samsung Economics Institute (삼성경제연구소). In comparison, the economic benefit from the 2002 World Cup was 2.6 trillion won ($2.3 billion). No detailed information is given in the article so I would take the numbers with a grain of salt, but as a very general figure it may be worth remembering.

Korea lost to Uruguay yesterday though so the mood today is more that of a hangover.