Sales of condoms rise as South Korea celebrates Cup win

Sales of condoms jumped five-fold in South Korea as fans celebrated after the nation’s football players rose to the occasion in their opening World Cup game against Greece.

About a million red-shirted fans nationwide, including 200&nbsb;000 in Seoul, packed boulevards, stadiums and parks on Saturday to cheer the side’s 2-0 win over Euro 2004 champions Greece.

The biggest winners were convenience stores and fried chicken outlets as fans took to the streets, the JoongAng Daily reported on Monday.

It said Bokwang Family Mart chain stores saw a near doubling of sales in spots where fans had gathered.

Stores in residential areas also did well as those tuning in at home bought three times the beer and more than twice the number of snacks.

After the game, fans in celebratory mood bought five times more condoms than during the team’s lacklustre 2006 World Cup performance, the paper said. - AFP