WORLD CUP GRIPS SOUTH KOREAN FANS TALK IN VALLEY NOT ABOUT NORTH'S NUCLEAR THREAT, BUT SWISS SOCCER TEAM.

Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer

RESEDA -- Even with nuclear tension brewing on the Korean Peninsula, Alexander Frei seems scarier than Kim Jong Il.

As diplomats bickered Monday over North Korea's attempts to test ballistic missiles that could bear atomic arms, local Korean-Americans dismissed the news as more posturing. They were keenly interested, however, in discussing a different red menace: the Swiss national soccer squad.

``To be honest, more people are talking about the World Cup,'' said the Rev. Pastor Elliot Min of Van Nuys United Methodist Church. ``Of course, people are concerned about North Korea doing stupid things, but people aren't really worried about it.''

Swiss forward Frei's 25 career goals and midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta -- all 141 pounds of him -- bring a little more cause for worry. After South Korea's shocking 1-1 draw against France on Sunday, the San Fernando Valley's sizable Korean population turned its attention to the Taeguk Warriors' next opponent and brushed off fears of nuclear escalation.

This is not to suggest people don't care about what's happening off the field. Businessmen worry about the ramifications for international trade. Generations with long memories of the war that divided the nation don't take the North's talk lightly.

But the standoff between North and South Korea has dragged on for more than 50 years, noted Philip Oh, 26, who lives in Canoga Park and works in an acupuncture clinic. The World Cup only comes around every four years, though, and with the Korean squad playing well, its fanatical fans have put aside worries of war for the beautiful game.

``I saw the stuff in the newspaper about the missile, but I'm thinking about soccer,'' said Oh, who emigrated from South Korea 14 years ago. ``I just hope we can beat the Swiss.''

And while shaggy-haired forward Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Ji-sung, who scored the tying goal against France, will play an important role in that dreamed-of victory, fans like Oh could push the Korean team to victory. Known as The Red Devils, their fierce rooting has become legendary in a sport already known for its maniacal enthusiasm.

Benjamin Song, 28, a pharmacist from Van Nuys helping out in his mother's cosmetics shop, strapped on a bright red sash pledging his allegiance to the team when he showed up for work Monday. He dismissed the latest news out of North Korea as just more of Kim Jong Il's saber rattling, but said the Swiss team could prove daunting.

European soccer plays ``more like a cage match,'' Song said, but he figured the Koreans had a good chance. If the Red Devils got them this far, he figures, they can overcome hooligans, yellow cards and all that nuclear talk from the North.

``Maybe we're taking it a little bit too far, compared to the other teams,'' he said, fingering his sash. ``We wear the same shirt, we have a rooting routine, we have a song -- but we got further because of it.

``There's no winners in war, but in soccer, it's the spirit that counts.''

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

818-713-3738

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Benjamin Song of Van Nuys wears a red banner celebrating the South Korean soccer team as local fans think more about the World Cup than North Korea's missile capabilities.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer