South Koreans are known as a warm, outgoing and affectionate people. On a recent subway ride in Seoul, a Washington Post reporter was struck again by their kindness.

It was 10 a.m., and after getting no sleep after an out-of-town soccer match the night before, the bleary-eyed reporter had just returned to Seoul by train and boarded the subway for the ride to the hotel. A huge backpack on her back and suitcase in one hand, she dangled by the strap on a crowded car, resting her head in the crook of her arm, and tried to take a nap.

In a moment, there was a tug on her arm -- an elderly South Korean woman who spoke no English but insisted, through gestures, that the reporter take her seat. Not wanting to cause a fuss, the reporter did. And when the seat beside her came vacant at the next stop, she motioned to the woman to join her, then folded her arms over the backpack on her lap, put her head down and drifted back to sleep.

A few moments later, she felt the elderly woman's hands on her neck, pressing hard to knead out the knots. The tiny woman then shifted the reporter's torso to get a better angle, and began working on her shoulders and back, ironing out the kinks and following with karate chops up and down the sides of her spine.

There was no way to repay the woman for this most blissful massage other than mumbling, "Kamsa-hamneeda" (thank you), over and over. The woman then began to softly sing a lullaby in Korean while pressing on even more vigorously with the massage. A few stops later she rose, gave a warm smile and gentle hug goodbye, and left the train.

▼Olympian Effort▼

Despite careers that revolve around sports, sportswriters aren't exactly known for being athletic or even fit. The South Korean co-hosts of World Cup are doing their part to change that, offering journalists covering the the chance to work out daily at the sports facilities and aquatics center built for the 1988 Summer Olympics.

▼Party On▼

Viewers around the world have seen news footage of the enormous crowds watching South Korea matches on giant outdoor screens around the country (2.8 million at 223 sites for the latest game). But what they haven't seen is what the streets in Seoul (where 1.42 million converged) look like after games.

On Friday night/Saturday morning, following the Korean victory over Portugal, fans celebrated into the wee hours. There were so many people that visitors in line for a taxi at the main train station had to wait up to an hour for a ride -- at 4 a.m. City officials are anticipating even larger crowds Tuesday for the South Korea-Italy match.

▼The Seoul 500▼

Don't bother telling some Seoul taxi drivers to step on it. On a recent early-morning cab ride to Inchon airport, the trees and buildings seemed to blur more than usual. A look at the speedometer revealed 170 kilometers per hour, which is 113 mph. A trip that usually takes an hour took about 30 minutes.

Staff writers Liz Clarke and Steven Goff in South Korea contributed to this report.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company