Seoul with Lingard's "Happiness and Performance"...For the first time ever, 500,000 spectators are in front of us.

[Anchor]
FC Seoul caught two rabbits not only in performance but also in fan sentiment with the "surprise transfer" of Jesse Lingard from the Premier League this season.

For the first time in a single season, it is leading the K-League's box office as it is on the verge of surpassing 500,000 spectators for the first time.

I'm a reporter for Youngsoo Kim.

[Reporter]
A flute-playing star from England heated up a 'Sangambeol' that was frozen in the cold.

March, when the crowd of more than 50,000 people was the biggest since the first home game!

Lingard, who stepped on an unfamiliar Korean playground, also vividly remembers that time.

[Jessie Lingard / FC Seoul striker: Many fans welcomed me at the airport when I first arrived in Korea. More than 50,000 people came to the stadium to cheer for the first home game as well.

Lingard, who was awakened by the coach's disdain after playing lazily at the beginning of the season, turned into a sincere K-League player and served as a pillar of the team.

[Kim Ki-dong / FC Seoul Coach: At first, I thought about it from a distance, but now I think he's Korean leading the team....]

FC Seoul ranked in the top split for the first time in five years, and at the same time, it gained fan confidence and benefited from the Lingard effect.

This season, the largest number of spectators among the 12 clubs was 434,000, the highest in a single season, and attention is being paid to whether it will exceed 500,000 in the remaining two home games.

Entrance tickets alone are expected to exceed KRW 1 billion from last year.

[Ki Sung-yong / FC Seoul captain: Jesse Lingard's joining in gave the team a good influence, but I think he also gave a lot of influence to the fans.]

As Seoul led the box office, the K-League also surpassed 3 million spectators faster than last year.

[Kim Ki-dong / FC Seoul coach: (In the past, there were no spectators), so there were no elements of interest or players' strength. I think FC Seoul is proud of itself as a representative club leading the K-League.]

Seoul, which is racing hard toward its first-ever 500,000-strong audience, will play an unyielding match with Pohang on Saturday evening for a berth in the Asian Champions League.

This is YTN Youngsoo Kim.

a photographergraphics;Lee Won-hee