On FC Bayern's ninth Audi Summer Tour, numerous partners and friends of the club have again come along in South Korea. Straight after the team's landing in Seoul, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and board member Michael Diederich hosted a Welcome Lunch. Among the 50 or so guests were Georg Wilfried Schmidt, the German ambassador in Seoul, Hoje Woo (Senior Vice President of the Korean Chamber of Foreign Trade), FCB vice presidents Professor Dr. Dieter Mayer and Walter Mennekes as well as legends of the German record champions, Giovane Élber, Claudio Pizarro and Raimond Aumann. President Herbert Hainer had to cancel his trip to Asia at short notice for family reasons.
Bayern have come to Seoul "to play football, to meet friends, to make new friendships - and to learn", said Dreesen on the 37th floor of the hotel restaurant with a view of the skyline and the mighty Han River, after FCB stadium announcer Stephan Lehmann had introduced the meeting. "With the globalisation of football, FC Bayern has also become more international," continued the CEO. "In recent years, we have been to the USA, China, Singapore and Japan. 65 million fans worldwide call FC Bayern their favourite club, and now South Korea will also be associated with the Audi Summer Tour and FC Bayern."
'Looking forward to interesting encounters & conversations'
Diederich outlined the plan and aims for the next few days: "We're looking forward to interesting encounters and conversations – and not least to the sporting highlight of our visit, the Coupang match against Tottenham Hotspur at the World Cup Stadium, which was sold out within two hours. FC Bayern wants to be a platform for encounters, for exchange across national borders and even across continents. We want to deepen existing relationships in a special environment, form new relationships and develop joint ideas for how we can make things happen in the future." In addition, the German record champions are characterised by "their social commitment", added Diederich: "We will therefore also take part in a training session for the South Korean Homeless World Cup team in order to give this important topic more visibility."
Michael Diederich: "We're looking forward to interesting encounters and conversations."
Ambassador Schmidt emphasised the "intensive dialogue between South Korea and Germany" and South Korea's role as an important value partner: "Security in Asia and Europe belong together." Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will land in Seoul in the evening, he explained. South Korea is Germany's second most important trading partner in the region, and just last year it also celebrated 60 years of cultural partnership with Germany. "It's important that FC Bayern visits a country like South Korea, which moves people, especially young people," added Schmidt. He promised to root for the team against Tottenham.
'FC Bayern is at home in the world'
Hoje Woo asked those present to take a look out of the window. "50 years ago, none of the things you see today existed," said the leading figure in the Korea Chamber of Foreign Trade. "Everything was built from nothing – Germany was our model." There was also something special to see during the meal: the FC Bayern team and coaching staff gathered for a team photo on the roof terrace of their Fairmont Hotel across the street. "FC Bayern is rooted in Munich and Bavaria, but at home in the world," said Dreesen. "Like our club, South Korea stands for tradition and modernity. That's why we deliberately chose our tour motto: Servus Korea!"
FCB's two vice presidents Professor Dr. Dieter Mayer and Walter Mennekes were also in attendance on Thursday.
Among others, representatives from Audi, adidas, HypoVereinsbank, MAN, Konami and the Schwarz Group sat at the table with the FCB management and the ambassador at the Welcome Lunch. FC Bayern has had its own pop-up store in Seoul since mid-July, and in addition to the match against Tottenham, open training sessions are scheduled and the players are also involved in numerous partner campaigns. Audi, for example, is presenting its Q8 e-tron FC Bayern edition, adidas is organising a special jersey shoot and Paulaner is hosting a meet & greet with a player at the pop-up store.
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