JEONJU — With the East Asian Football Federation Championship at stake, the match between North and South Korea on Aug. 4 should have heard the partisan cheers of a bloody cockfight.

It was not so, as the two Koreas clawed to a scoreless draw at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in North Cholla Province before 30,000 spectators. It was a match clearly dominated by the South Koreans, even though the squad was missing some of its top players. From corner kicks to free kicks, there were myriad scoring opportunities that could have shattered the deadlock. The 2002 World Cup semifinalists, however, failed to capitalize.

There was indeed no victor on this uncomfortably hot and sticky August night, but that didn’t seem to bother Kim Nam Soo, 61, who drove five hours from Jumunjin in Gangwon Province to watch the first match between the two Koreas in 12 years. “I hoped that both North and South Korea would have won,” he said. “But both teams played really well, so I have nothing to complain about.”

Kim’s sentiment was shared by thousands who proudly waved the white-and-blue unified Korean flags, instead of the traditional red, blue, white and black. The “Red Devils,” the moniker given to boisterous South Korean soccer fans, ostensibly traded in their customary red T-shirts and bandanas for more ambiguous fan gear. Overall, it was a scene reminiscent of the Athens and Sydney Olympic Games, when the athletes of both Koreas marched together as one during the opening ceremonies.

North Korea (in white) and South Korea met in the East Asian Football Federation Championship, played in Jeonju on Aug. 4.

“It was wonderful to see both North and South Korea and their fans support each other,” said Lim Wan Hyuk, 26, an avid soccer fan and recent graduate of Hanyang University in Seoul. “I think now is as perfect time as any to have a unified soccer team. Imagine if we can show the world Korea’s real talent in soccer.”

South Korea and its fans have expressed eagerness in the past to form a unified soccer team. Soccer officials, though, said only a formal request by the North would actualize such a venture. South Korea has qualified for every World Cup since 1986, while the North has made only one appearance, surprisingly reaching the quarterfinals in the 1966 tournament.

The indelible scene of the night occurred in the 39th minute, when North Korean defender So Kyok Chol helped a fallen South Korean player to his feet. The act of goodwill prompted a wave that fluttered around the stadium like a flock of doves for several minutes.

North Korea coach Kim Myong Song, who has steered the national team for only a month, was moved by the South Korean fans’ willingness to look beyond the match’s score.

The match ended in a scoreless tie, and with players from both squads holding the unified Korean flag.

“I thank the citizens of Jeonju for their relentless support,” he said. “It felt as if we were playing on the field of a unified Korea.”

There were, however, other fans like Kim Se Young, 23, a senior at Sookmyung University in Seoul, who felt the overt pageantry of nationalism was contrived by the South Korean government. “It was just a soccer match,” she said. “It shouldn’t have turned into something political.”