K-Pop and the 2026 World Cup: BTS, Lisa, and EJAE Take the Stage — and How Korea Cheers Back Home
From the opening ceremony in Mexico City to a first-ever World Cup halftime show in New Jersey, K-pop is everywhere at the 2026 tournament. Here's the full picture — the stages, the street cheering in Seoul, the players to know, and the Korean words to shout.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the biggest in history — co-hosted for the first time by three countries (the United States, Canada, and Mexico), across 16 cities, with a record 48 teams competing from June 11 to July 19.
But if you're a K-culture fan, you've probably noticed something: this year, Korea isn't just in the tournament — it's all over the stages too. On the pitch, there's captain Son Heung-min. On the ceremony stages, there's BTS, BLACKPINK's Lisa, and the voice behind KPop Demon Hunters. And back in Seoul, an entire city square is turning into an open-air stadium.
Here's how K-pop took over the 2026 World Cup — and how Korea cheers it on from home.
How K-Pop Took Over the 2026 World Cup Stages 🎤
This is shaping up to be the most K-pop-saturated World Cup ever. Here's the lineup:
EJAE at the opening ceremony (Mexico City). Singer-songwriter EJAE — best known for co-writing and singing "Golden," the breakout theme from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters — performed at the opening ceremony at Estadio Azteca, joining legendary tenor Andrea Bocelli to debut the official 2026 World Cup anthem, "DNA." She even wrote Korean lyrics into the song. As EJAE shared, one of her favorite childhood memories was being in Seoul during the 2002 World Cup and watching the whole city unite — strangers hugging in the streets — which is exactly the feeling she wanted to bring to the anthem.
Lisa headlines the LA opening ceremony. BLACKPINK's Lisa is a main headliner at the Los Angeles opening ceremony alongside global pop icon Katy Perry. She also teamed up with Brazil's Anitta and Nigeria's Rema on "Goals," a track from the official World Cup soundtrack.
BTS at the final — a World Cup first. For the first time in World Cup history, an NFL-style halftime show will be staged during the final match in New Jersey on July 19 — and BTS will headline the performance. It's a fitting bookend to a huge year for the group, who just won Artist of the Year at the 2026 American Music Awards.
The throwback: Jungkook in 2022. If this all feels familiar, it should. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, BTS's Jungkook performed his single "Dreamers" at the opening ceremony — one of the first times a K-pop soloist headlined a World Cup stage. What was a breakthrough moment four years ago is now, in 2026, an all-out K-pop takeover.
Korea's Street Cheering Culture: When Gwanghwamun Becomes a Stadium 📣
While the stars perform abroad, something just as electric happens back home: Korea's legendary street cheering (거리응원, geo-ri-eung-won).
It started at the 2002 World Cup, when Korea co-hosted and made a stunning run to the semifinals. Millions of fans in red shirts — the 붉은 악마 (Red Devils) supporters — flooded city squares to watch games together on giant screens. That image of a sea of red, chanting in unison, became one of the defining moments of modern Korean culture.
In 2026, that tradition is back and more high-tech than ever. Jongno District is turning Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul into an open-air stadium, broadcasting the national team's matches live on a massive digital screen normally reserved for ads. The viewing events — held on dates like June 19 and June 25 — come with K-pop performances, AI-driven stage effects, and giveaways, blending football and concert into a single street festival. The setup builds on the tech used for a major BTS event held there earlier in the year.
If you're in Seoul during the tournament, joining a street-cheering crowd is one of the most joyful, communal experiences you can have — no ticket required.
The Chant You Need to Know
There's one cheer every visitor can learn in five seconds. It's the rhythmic chant you'll hear echoing across every square:
대~한민국! (Dae-han-min-guk!) — "Republic of Korea!" (clap clap — clap clap clap)
It's simply the country's official name, shouted in a five-beat rhythm followed by five claps. Whole stadiums and streets roar it together. Learn this one phrase and you can join any Korean crowd instantly.
The Korean Players to Know ⚽
Korea's national team — nicknamed the 태극전사 (Taegeuk Warriors), after the taegeuk symbol on the national flag — is led by a few names worth knowing:
- Son Heung-min (손흥민) — the captain and Korea's biggest football star, now playing in the US for LA FC after years as a Premier League standout. This is his fourth World Cup.
- Lee Kang-in (이강인) — attacking midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
- Kim Min-jae (김민재) — center-back for Bayern Munich, one of the world's top defenders.
- Hwang Hee-chan (황희찬) — forward for Wolverhampton in the Premier League.
In 2026, Korea is drawn into a group alongside the Czech Republic, Mexico, and South Africa, with Hong Myung-bo as head coach.
Korean Vocabulary: World Cup Edition
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 월드컵 | wol-deu-keop | World Cup |
| 대한민국 | dae-han-min-guk | "Republic of Korea" (the chant) |
| 거리응원 | geo-ri-eung-won | Street cheering |
| 국가대표 | guk-ga-dae-pyo | National team |
| 화이팅 | hwa-i-ting | "Let's go! / You got this!" |
Sample sentence:
오늘 광화문에서 거리응원 한대! 우리 국가대표 화이팅!
"There's street cheering at Gwanghwamun today! Go, national team — let's go!"
That's exactly how Korean fans talk on a match day — and 화이팅 (hwa-i-ting) is the all-purpose cheer you'll hear everywhere in Korea, on and off the field.
One Country, On Every Stage
There's something poetic about 2026. A Korean captain leads the Taegeuk Warriors onto the pitch. A Korean voice opens the tournament in Mexico City. Korean artists headline ceremonies in Los Angeles and close it out in New Jersey. And back in Seoul, thousands of strangers gather under one giant screen to chant the same five beats together.
It's the same feeling EJAE described from 2002 — strangers in the street, united for a moment. Whether it reaches you through a goal or a song, the 2026 World Cup is a reminder of how far Korean culture now travels. And knowing even a few Korean words lets you do more than watch from the outside — it lets you join in.
So pick a square, learn the chant, and shout it with everyone else: 대~한민국!
Want to understand the chant, the lyrics, and the culture behind the celebration? At Seoul X On, our online Korean lessons connect the language to the real moments that bring Korea together — from World Cup street cheers to your favorite K-pop lyrics. Try a free trial lesson and cheer along like a local.
