Why Do People Use The Word "leeds Days" In Korea?

leeds days

Let’s take a look at the origin of the word “Leeds days” in Korea. Why did that horse, which originated from a soccer team in England, become famous in Korea?

Origins of ‘Leeds days’

In Korea, ‘Leeds era’ refers to the halcyon period of a person or organization. So I look at someone’s youth picture and I say, “Oh, that’s when the most handsome(=Leeds days) was.”
The origin of the word was coined by Korean soccer fans when Alan Smith, a British soccer player, joined Manchester United FC in 2004.
Alan Smith led the team to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League with Mark Viduca and Michael Bridges in the 00-01 season at Leeds United, and moved to Manchester United in the 2003-04 season, a year ahead of Park Ji-sung.
He was frequently used by manager Alex Ferguson as a central midfielder to be named Roy Keane’s successor, but was out for more than a year due to an ankle fracture after tackling Liverpool’s Jon Arnerise’s free-kick in the 2006 FA Cup, and moved to Newcastle in 2007 after returning.
Overseas football fans who watched Alan Smith at the time coined the term ‘leeds days’ from Alan Smith’s Leeds United days. In short, his Leeds career is an activity for Alan Smith’s former team, which would be similar to seeing Park at QPR and saying ‘MU days’ when Park left Manchester United for the Queens Park Rangers. Or it’s like saying “PSV days” that Dutch impact is in its heyday rather than his appearance at Manchester United.

why ‘leeds days’ is become an idiom?

Similar words in Korean are mainly used such as ‘jeonsung-gi’. However, there is a feeling that this word was used in the past, and “leeds days” quickly penetrated the younger generation at some point, and now it has been transformed into a term that most people, even those who do not know the origin of the word, use very often. Is it because it’s easy to pronounce and it best expresses that it was the best time?

Reactions in the UK

The BBC and football podcasts also introduced this in articles on soccer-related buzzwords around the world. In Korea, the word “Leeds days” means “halcyon period,” but the interesting part is that the meaning of “Doing a Leeds” in the UK is that “I spent my money hard to succeed, but the result is not returned, so it’s ruined.” Some say that it is an interesting part that shows the difference between England, which has seen Leeds United’s rise and fall, and Korea, which has not seen it in person.

conclusion

I still don’t know why. But what’s fascinating is that the other side of the globe has made the idiom under Leeds United’s team name and is still used well.
I really love when things like this develop organically and that this football phrase can have grown on the other side of the world.
Personally, I am a fan of Everton FC, and it was exciting to see the name of an English soccer team become the idiom of Korea while watching the world’s best English football.
That’s why I’m writing this. and I hope people in England will read my blog!