Football in South Korea

Country| South Korea
Governing body| Korea Football Association
National team(s)|

* Senior team (♂, ♀)
* Under-23 team
* Under-20 team (♂, ♀)
* Under-17 team (♂, ♀)
* Universiade team (♂, ♀)
* Futsal team

Clubs|

* List of men's clubs
* List of women's clubs

National competitions

* K League 1
* K League 2
* K3 League
* K4 League
* Korean FA Cup
* WK League

Club competitions

AFC Champions League

International competitions

* FIFA World Cup (♂, ♀)
* AFC Asian Cup

Football in South Korea is run by the Korea Football Association. The association administers the national football team as well as the K League. Football is the most popular sport in South Korea.[1]

## Beginning

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In ancient times, Silla, one of Three Kingdoms of Korea, had a ball game called "Chuk-guk" (축국; 蹴鞠). Though Chukguk is similar to today’s football in many aspects, it features the distinctive rule that the ball should stay in the air during game play with the net also being mounted at a fixed distance above the ground.[2] However, Koreans first saw the present version of football in 1882 when British crew members played a game while their vessel, HMS Flying Fish, was visiting the Port of Jemulpo.[3][4]

After the establishment of a football team at Paichai Academy in Seoul in 1902, there was a footballing boom throughout Korea. The football was adopted as a physical education course at National Seoul Foreign Language School [ko] in 1904, and the first senior football match in Korea was contested between Korea Sports Club and Korea YMCA at Seoul Dongdaemun Stadium in 1905. The first Korean national football tournament, named All Joseon Football Tournament, was held by the Joseon Sports Council in 1921 after many football clubs and school football teams were formed since the 1910s including unofficial national team Joseon FC. The Joseon Referees' Association was created in 1928, and was reorganised as the Joseon Football Association (currently Korea Football Association) in 1933. The creation of Joseon FA led to the establishment of several prominent clubs on the peninsula as Korean football began to enter a different form. Kyungsung FC and Pyongyang FC, founded around the same time in the two biggest cities of Korea, made deep impressions at the All Joseon Torunament, and developed a strong rivalry followed by an intercity football series. Kyungsung FC also became the only Korean club to win the Emperor's Cup in Japan.[3][4]

## Main articles

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* History of the South Korea national football team
* List of Korean FA Cup winners
* South Korean football league system
* List of South Korean football champions
* K League

## Relationships with English football

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Since Tottenham Hotspur signed South Korean striker Son Heung-min in 2015, the club has been the most supported English Premier League club in South Korea. Previously, Manchester United was the most popular club in South Korea due to South Korean former midfielder Park Ji-sung. In 2020, a poll of South Koreans aged 16 to 69 found that 21.4% of respondents supported Tottenham Hotspur, compared to just 6.1% who supported Manchester United.[5] In 2024, a survey of football fans from eight countries across the Americas, Asia and Europe found that 42.3% of South Korean football fans were Tottenham Hotspur supporters.[6]

## See also

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* Football in Seoul
* Women's football in South Korea

## References

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1. ^ 한국인이 좋아하는 40가지 [문화편] \- 취미/운동/애창곡/영화/반려동물 (2004-2019) (in Korean). Gallup. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
2. ^ "Chukguk". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture.
3. ^ a b "History of South Korean football". KFA. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
4. ^ a b Trevena, Mark. "The British Influence On Korean Football". ROKfootball. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009.
5. ^ "Tottenham pass Man Utd as most popular club in South Korea". OneFootball. Tribal Football. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
6. ^ "Real Madrid, Man Utd or Barcelona? New report reveals which club has the most overseas fans as Premier League clubs dominate - and Tottenham set record in South Korea". Goal.com. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Shin Myung-chul: Histories of Korean sports by event – Football (in Korean)

(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14)

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Football in South Korea

* Governing body
* Korea Football Association
* Sub-themes
* Women's football
* Football in Seoul

National teams|

| Men|

* Senior
* Under-23
* Under-20
* Under-17
* Universiade
* Futsal
* Beach soccer

|

Women|

* Senior
* Under-20
* Under-17

League system|

| Professional|

* K League
* K League 1
* K League 2

|

Semi-professional|

* K3 League
* K4 League
* Semi-professional League
* National League

Women|

* WK League

Cup competitions|

| National cups|

* Korean FA Cup
* All Joseon Tournament
* National Championship

|

League cups|

* Korean League Cup
* Semi-professional Championship
* National League Championship

Super cups|

* Korean Super Cup

Other competitions|

* K League All-Star Game
* U-League
* R League
* FK-League
* FK Cup
* Korea Cup
* Kyung-Pyong Series
* President's Cup
* Peace Cup
* Men
* Women

Lists|

* Clubs
* Men
* Women
* Venues
* Champions
* League
* National cup

* Categories
* Men's players
* Women's players
* Expatriate players
* Managers
* Referees
* Venues
* Seasons

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Seasons in South Korean football

* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

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Football in Asia

Sovereign states|

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* Egypt
* Georgia
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Russia
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste (East Timor)
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

States with
limited recognition|

* Abkhazia
* Northern Cyprus
* Palestine
* South Ossetia
* Taiwan

Dependencies and
other territories|

* British Indian Ocean Territory
* Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Hong Kong
* Macau

* Category
* Asia portal

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Professional sports in South Korea

* Baseball
* KBO League
* Basketball
* Korean Basketball League
* Women's Korean Basketball League
* Billiards
* PBA Tour
* PBA Team League
* Esports
* League of Legends Champions Korea
* Football
* K League 1
* K League 2
* Go
* Myeongin
* GS Caltex Cup
* Korean Baduk League
* Women's Guksu
* Golf
* Korean Tour
* LPGA of Korea Tour
* Ice hockey
* Asia League Ice Hockey
* Table tennis
* Korea Table Tennis League
* Volleyball
* V-League
* KOVO Cup

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