The long name of
South Korea in the
Korean language. Literally "
Republic of South Korea" (Tae Han =
Korea,
min gook =
republic). Really, this should be
Romanized as "
Dae Han Min Guk," but I noded under this form, since it makes it clearer how it's pronounced.
This phrase is used as one of the standard cheers of the Red Devils, as the fans of the Korean national soccer team are called. You hold your hands above your head, fingers pointing at the sky, then shout "Tae~~ Han Min Gook!" at the top of your lungs, drawing out the first syllable, and pointing your fingers forward on "Tae" and "Min." Then you clap with this rhythm: clap-clap clap-clap clap, and repeat the whole thing. This can also be performed with plastic bottles or other things that can be banged together to make noise.
It's pretty simple as cheers go, but it's nonetheless really impressive when you're downtown in the middle of a World Cup soccer game with thousands upon thousands of Koreans (I'm talking about 10 downtown blocks packed shoulder to shoulder with fans... and that's Gwangju. Seoul would have been insane) in identical Red Devils T-Shirts, all doing this in perfect unison. I heard many people say during World Cup that the energy and enthuiasm of the fans was probably worth a goal a game for the Korean team.
See also: Pil Seung Korea and Ballo Cha