The opening ceremony for the first World Cup football (soccer) tournament staged in Asia Friday highlighted peace and communication between co-hosts and rivals South Korea and Japan.
The spectacular show in the 64,677 seat Seoul World Cup stadium saw a merging of the two nations' flags to symbolize the multi-million dollar cooperation between the two nations.
South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi jointly declared the tournament open after an address from FIFA President Sepp Blatter in a ceremony before defending cup champion France took on Senegal.