What is your favorite sport? Reading this question, one person might think of baseball, while another might think of basketball. However, if the person reading this article is South Korean, I am pretty sure that many of them will answer “football”. Football has been loved by many Koreans for a long time, especially since Korea co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan. Koreans have loved the sport ever since then, and because the U-20 team won 2nd place in 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, football’s popularity is reaching its climax right now. As domestic interest has grown, interest in Korea's football environment has also increased from outside Korea. Today, I would like for us to dig in Korea's football trend, Korean football's status in the world, and some players who have made possible what we have today.

Korea's status in football has increased a lot recently, since the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. In the 3rd qualifying match, Korea had to face Germany, which was the previous winner of the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA ranked number one at the time. However, beating everyone's expectations that Korea would lose, Korea won the game, scoring two goals when Germany scored none. Following this game, Korea's FIFA ranking changed to 37 from 61, which is a huge step forward. How could have this been possible? I believe that we can credit the players who have and who currently are playing in clubs abroad. So, lets find out who our Korean football legends are!

•Korean Football Legends

Cha Bungen – Played as a professional footballer from 1976 to1989.

The first player to be loved by people other than Koreans. He played in the German pro football league, the Bundesliga. Germans even have a nickname for him, which is “Chaboom”, a compound word of his family name and the word “boom”. He is still loved by a lot of Germans who remember the time he played in the sport.

Park Jisung – Played as a professional footballer from 2000 to 2014.

He played in Manchester United of the English Premier League, from 2005 to 2012, which is one of the most beloved clubs in the world. During this time, his team won the Champions League and the EPL (English Premier League). People of Korea still regard him as the undeniable “Captain” of the Korean football team, even though he retired in 2014.

Son Heungmin – Playing as a professional footballer since 2010.

He first started his career in Germany’s Bundesliga, and because he showed unbelievable talent he moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2015. Tottenham is one of the top teams in the world and is in the EPL. Since he transferred to Tottenham Hotspur, his steady performance has made him a key player in the team. He is currently the most loved and one of the most talented Korean players in the world, who is also favored by myriads of non-Korean people. He is also the main figure of the current “football boom” in South Korea.

Lee Kangin – Playing as a professional footballer since 2017.

The Korean football super-rookie. He made his first appearance to the public via a TV show , which was about selecting normal 5 to 7-year-old children and putting them into a football team. Lee appeared in the 3rd season of the show, and ever since he was young he has shown extraordinary talent. He joined Vanlencia CF – one of the best clubs in Spain's football league, LaLiga Santander – in 2011, and has belonged to that team ever since. He has also played in Korea's national football team for various age groups, and contributed to the team's second place in the recent 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cfup.

*Golden Ball: An award given to the MVP of the tournament.

As we have talked about Lee Kangin, I would like to talk more about achieving 2nd place in FIFA U-20 World Cup, and the meaning it has. First of all, U-20 means that only players who are under 20 years old can participate in this tournament. Most of the rookie players of the world try their best to show a good performance, since it is most likely to be their first appearance on the world stage. Therefore, most of the former and current “world class” football players have received the Golden Ball of the tournament, which is the award Lee Kangin received in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Second, the fact that South Korea has reached the finals is a brilliant acheivement in the sense that it was our first time that we played in the finals of a men's FIFA World Cup. Even when Korea co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, we only went to the semi-finals. To not have hosted the World Cup and have reached 2nd place holds a significant meaing. It might have been nearly impossible for us to even imagine going to the finals, but because of Korea's football education environment and because we have become competitive on the world football stage, it could have been possible.

When Korea reached the semi-finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, people from not only the outside, but also from inside Korea commented that it was a miracle. Moreover, many people regarded that it had been possible only because the tournament was held in Korea. However, over the past 20 years, Korea's football status in the world has developed unbelievably. Just a few months ago, as I mentioned before, Korea's U-20 national football team made it to the finals of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

I believe that we can anticipate hearing more successful results for Korea’s teams and players in the world football stage in the future. If so, wouldn't it be worth it to have an interest in our football culture, and furthermore, in the K-League?

Lee Taehwi  xognl1124@gmail.com

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