The media here in England states that Beckham is a commerical icon for the Far East. But is this true in Korea? When I visited several times last years, most Koreans did not know who he is. They mostly followed Korean footballers. Is he popular as they say in Korea? http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-beckhamasia&prov=reuters&type=lgns
They just bundled Korea and Japan together. Beckham is far more popular than any other foreign football players, but a pop icon? Please.
Had Korea not fared so great in the WC, perhaps the Koreans would have caught the Beckham-mania. The nation was too much pro-Korea to care about other teams/players imo.