With the current and past generations of South Korean footballers that have played the round leather game, which of them would you consider the most famous?
Asia has over the years been consistent in producing one or two top-class players, but in recent years the level of quality players from the continent has drastically improved.
South Korean footballers in the last decade can be said to hold the bragging right of the most famous athletes in recent years, due to the level of talented players the country produces and the clubs they play for.
10 Famous South Korean In football
Lee Dong-gook
South Korean fans referred to Dong-gook as ‘Lazy Genius‘ because many thought his work rate didn’t match his superb ability as a footballer. However, despite not possessing a great work rate he was able to use his ability brilliantly.
Dong-gook didn’t really have a surreal career with some of the European teams he played for in Germany with Werder Bremen and Middlesbrough in England, but he did have a wonderful career in his homeland where he won the K-League twice and one Asian Club Championship.
99 appearances for the South Korean and 30 goals aren’t bad international stats for the man many referred to as the Lazy Genius, perhaps if he had lived up to his whole potential he could achieve more success while still active.
Lee Woon-Jae
Lee Woon-Jae is one of the South Korean greats that had quite a huge number of caps with the national team before he retired as a goalkeeper in 2010 with 132 appearances.
He’s widely regarded in the country as the greatest goalie in the country’s history. With four World Cup appearances, a feat that made him one of the few Asian players to achieve such.
Lee Woon-Jae’s most memorable performance for South Korea can be traced back to the 2002 World Cup co-hosted with Japan, where he caught Spain’s Joaquin penalty to help his country qualify for the last four that year.
Kim Joo-Sung
Joo-Sung is the second player in the history of South Korean footballers to be named the second-best Asian player of the 20th century by the International Football Federation of History & Statistics (IFFHS).
At his peak, he was so brilliant that he won back to back to back Asian footballer of the year gong between 1989 and 1991. He was without doubt regarded as the best Asian player in world football then.
Joo-Sung was also well renowned in Germany during his stint with Bochum before he returned to the K-League to play for Daewoo Royals where he went on to become a legend.
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Seol Ki-Hyeon
Ki-Hyeon is the first South Korean player to score in the UEFA Champions League for Anderlecht plus winning the league title and scoring a hat-trick in the Super League. He also had stints with Wolves, Reading, and Fulham in the Premier League.
As good as the South Korean was, the moment he will never forget as a professional footballer was when he was nominated for the 2002 Balloon d’Or, for having a fantastic season for his club and most especially his country at the World Cup.
He may not be as successful as the likes of Park Ji-Sung who both played in the same era, however, he’s also classified as one of the most famous players the country ever produced.
Hong Myung-bo
Myung-bo is the most capped player in the history of South Korea and he was even included in FIFA’s 100 best players selected by Brazilian great Pele in 2004.
While it was a fact that South Korea went on a cinderella run to the semifinals at the 2002 World Cup, his heroic leadership and breathtaking performance in defense as the captain of the team will forever linger in the mind of many South Korean fans.
His performances even earned him a place in the team of the tournament and were also awarded the third-best player behind German great Oliver Kahn and Ronaldo De Lima the best of the tournament.
Hwang Sun-Hong
South Korea’s semifinal goal-scorer at the 2002 World Cup, Hwang Sun-Hong remains one of the country’s most famous players for his impact on the national team at the tournament.
As far as being famous is concerned, his memorable goal at the 1994 World Cup against Germany will forever go down in the history of the FIFA football tournament, due to the importance and significance of the goal.
Hwang Sun-Hong remains one of the South Korean players with the highest number of game appearances for their country.
For fact’s sake, he had 103 caps and 50 goals for his country, which without a doubt makes him one of the greatest and most famous South Korean footballers.
Lee Young-Pyo
Premier League and most especially Tottenham Hotspurs fans will no doubt relate with the name Y.P Lee during his three-year stint at White Hart Lane, winning the league cup and making almost 100 appearances for the North London outfit.
Lee made himself more popular under Guus Hiddink at PSV Eindhoven, before his Tottenham move where he won two league titles and the KNVB Cup with the Eredivisie giant.
He remains one of the finest South Korean to play for the Dutch giant, his performance in the Champions League for PSV against AC Milan will forever be remembered.
Though he wasn’t fortunate enough in scoring goals like Cha Bum-Kun and Park Ji-Sung, he only scored five goals on the international scene for his country and made 127 appearances for the national team.
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Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung is undoubtedly the most successful South Korean footballer at the club level to ever graced the Premier League, winning four league titles, three league cups and one champions league with Manchester United.
He made over 200 appearances for the Red Devils under Sir Alex Ferguson, where he was referred to as United’s workaholic man due to his amazing work rate.
His club success for those who saw United’s greats will agree that it didn’t overshadow that of his international time with South Korea. In fact, one of his finest moments at the international level was at the 2002 World Cup where he scored the winning goal against Portugal.
Cha Bum-Kun
Cha Boom just like its name suggests for his thunderous shot during his active days is still very much considered the greatest and most famous South Korean player ever.
Cha Bum-Kun was well renowned for the great impact he made in the Bundesliga during his 10-year stay in Germany.
He scored 98 goals in 308 games winning two UEFA Cups, and one DFB-Pokal, and even went on to establish himself as one of the finest strikers in Europe back then.
On the international scene, he was also a monster in front of a goal with a total of 55 goals and 121 games, while his greatness is well renowned throughout South Korea, the IFFHS also named him the greatest Asian footballer of the 20th century.
Son Heung-min
Tottenham Hotspurs forward Son is arguably the most famous athlete in South Korea, and currently producing the greatest form of his career with the North London club since he joined.
To confirm how famous Son was, when he arrived at Tottenham Hotspurs, a fleet of South Korean fans trooped in to support him while some even made it their obligation to go watch him while training.
Football remains the love of the Korean’s life and with his brilliant league performance in the Premier League, Son could go on to be the finest South Korean player to ever grace the league when he eventually retires.
