Ethnic Koreans in Southern California are also enthusiastically cheering South Korea in the World Baseball Classic.

Residents of the Koreatown district of Los Angeles Thursday crowded restaurants, cafes and bars to watch South Korea beat Japan, 2-1.

The ethnic Korean population in Southern California in 2000 was an estimated 260,000, comprising the bulk of the U.S. combined figure of 1.1 million.

Similar scenes were found in San Diego and San Jose, two cities with a high population of ethnic Koreans. Since the game was aired on the cable TV station ESPN, homes without cable watched the game on the Web or heard it on Korean radio.

Most of the fans at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, rooted for South Korea, chanting the popular cheer "Daehan Minguk (Republic of Korea)." The crowd went into a frenzy after outfielder Lee Jong-beom drove in two runs that clinched victory.

South Korea has won all of its six tournament games, including two with Japan, and will play the United States or Mexico in the semifinal.