SEOUL – Each time South Korea scored against Singapore during a recent 5-0 rout in a football World Cup qualifier, the roar from the home crowd came largely from women, who held nearly two-thirds of the tickets to the match.

In the Seoul stadium that November day, a billboard-size banner for star striker Son Heung-min had been made by a women-only group. There was also a banner for one of his teammates with the words “Cho Gue-sung wins the day”.