Introduction to South Korean Leagues
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Tomorrow, FMM2018 is finally being released. FMM is the only game I play on my phone and pretty much the only game I play at all. Every year when the new FMM gets released, I am obviously psyched about all the new features, new leagues, etc., but I thought I would always be satisfied even with no new features as long as I have the official transfers and updated players’ stats, as well as some new young players.
This year, as any other years, I was waiting for the new FMM to be released. A few days ago, the new notable features were announced, and I was very surprised with some of them.
I am Korean, living in Canada. When I heard that there are going to be 2 new leagues in the game, South Korean League and the Major League, I couldn’t be more happy! The day I thought would never come has finally come! AND Korean language is supported as well?!??! WHAT?!
So, after this long unnecessary introduction, I just thought that I might give the people at FMHvibe community a little info about the South Korean K-League and its teams, maybe as an extension to the post of @UKFootballScore (which was a GREAT post). This is because I always come to this community for informations or posts about the game, and I am pretty sure not a lot of people are familiar with the Korean league. So, as a fellow Korean, I thought I will write this post.
First of all, there is the U-League. This is a football competition for university and college teams to participate. The U-League operates outside the regular Korean football league structure. I am certain this league won’t be implemented in the FMM 2018.
Next, there is the K3 League. This is the top level amateur football competition in South Korea. In terms of the level on pyramid, this league would be considered the fourth tier of the South Korean football league system.
Then there is the National League, which is the semi-professional league and considered the third tier of the South Korean football league system.
I am pretty sure the leagues I stated until now won’t be implemented in the new game.
Now there is the K-League Challenge, which is a professional league and considered the second tier of the South Korean football league system. It currently consists of ten clubs.
Finally, there is the K-League Classic, and is the top tier South Korean professional league and currently consists of 12 professional clubs.
In the K-League Classic, each team will play a total of 33 games in the regular league. This means that each team will play the other 11 teams 3 times each (once at home, once away, and once either at home or away). After that, the league will be split into two halves, top 6 and the bottom 6 teams, and points are not reset. Then, teams will play the other teams in their half once each, either at home or away. So, the top 6 teams will play each other, and the bottom 6 teams will play each other, 5 games each. Therefore, each team will play 38 games in total in one season. The top team at the end of the 38 games is the winner of the K-League Classic.
Promotion/Relegation
Every season, bottom 1~2 teams from the K-League Classic will be demoted and be replaced by top 1~2 teams from the K-League Challenge. So, the winner of the K-League Classic will be decided from the top split, and the relegated teams will be decided from the bottom half. The lowest team (the team placed 12th at the end of the season) will be relegated and replaced by the winner of the K-League Challenge. The 11th team of the K-League Classic at the end of the season will play the relegation play-offs with the 2nd team from the K-League Challenge, which will be played in home-away format. However, as far as I know, there are some exceptions to this: some teams might refuse to be promoted to the K-League Classic (for various reasons), or might not meet some of the required criteria, in which case the next team in the Challenge is chosen.
So, this is how the top two South Korean professional leagues, the K-League Classic and Challenge work.
As a cup competition, there is the Hana Bank FA Cup. This is similar to the English FA Cup, where teams from the K-League Classic through the lower leagues participate. Even the teams from the U-League can participate. The winner of the FA Cup is rewarded a place in the AFC Champions League, along with the winner of the K-League Classic and the 2nd and 3rd teams of the league. Therefore, a total of 4 teams can participate in the AFC Champions League of the following season.
For a continental competition, there is the AFC Champions League which is the Asian Champions League. The top 3 teams from the K-League Classic of the previous year plus the winner of the FA Cup of the previous year participate in the AFC Champions league.
So that was the explanation of the South Korean Football League system. The league system went through lots of changes over the past few years, and so this is very confusing even for me. I live in Canada so it is difficult for me to follow the league consistently so I had to refer to online websites. So I apologize for any misleading information if there are any!
Clubs
Now, I will go over the 12 teams of the K-League Classic as of the 2017 season briefly.
Daegu FC
Daegu FC was founded after the 2002 FIFA World Cup proved the popularity of football to the Korean people, and was the first “community club” in South Korea.
Their best performance in the K-League was placing 7th in the 2006 season. Their best performance in the FA cup was going to the semi-finals in the 2008 season.
2017 Kits:
Home stadium: Daegu Stadium (capacity: 66,422 people):
Gangwon FC
Founded in 2008, Gangwon FC started participating in the K-League since 2009. Gangwon FC has more than one home stadium because they have a large area of lands that are not used (I think...).
Their best performance in the K-League was placing 10th in the 2010 and 2013 season. They were relegated after the 2013 season and was promoted back to the K-League Classic this season, and finished their season in the top half (6th currently), which is very impressive. They went to the quarterfinals in the 2011 and 2015 (when they were in the K-League Challenge) season.
Their kit for the 2017 season:
The home stadium they are using as of now, with 11,000 capacity:
Gwangju FC
Gwangju FC was founded in 2010, and was the first club to be relegated and also the first club to be promoted after relegation.
Their best performance in the K-League was finishing 8th place in the last season. Unfortunately, they are already to be relegated this season with one game remaining.
Round of 16 is the farthest they've gone in the FA Cup.
Their kit for the 2017 season:
Their home stadium, Gwangju World Cup Stadium with a capacity of 40,245 people:
Incheon United FC
Incheon United was founded in 2003, and was the 13th club of the K-League. Their best performance was achieving runner-up in the 2005 K-League and runner-up in the 2015 FA Cup. Their “United” part comes from the meaning that they are a community club and that the city of Incheon and its citizens are “united” as one.
Their kit for 2017:
Home stadium, Incheon Football Stadium with a capacity of 20,891 people:
Jeju United
Jeju United was founded in 1983(!), and is one of the oldest professional football club in South Korea at the moment. The club relocated a couple of times, finally settling in the city of Jeju in 2006.
They won the K-League in the 1989 season, and finished runner-up in the 1984, 1994, 2000, 2010, and 2017 (current) season.
They finished runner-up in the FA cup in the 2004 season which is their best performance.
2017 kits:
Their home stadium, the Jeju World Cup Stadium with a capacity of 29,791 people:
For people who are familiar with the Bundesliga, Jeju United is the club that Koo Ja-Cheol, the current Augsburg FC midfielder played, and Hong Jeong-Ho, former Augsburg FC defender played before playing in the Bundesliga.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC
Jeonbuk FC, founded in 1994, is perhaps one of the most successful South Korean Football Club in the 2010’s. They also won the AFC Champions League in 2006 and 2016. Unfortunately, they were banned from participating in the 2017 AFC Champions League and lost points in the K-League due to the bribery scandal. Despite this, they became the champions of the 2017 K-League Classic recently.
They won the K-League 5 times (2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017), and finished runner-up 2 times (2012, 2016).
They won the FA Cup 3 times (2000, 2003, 2005) and finished runner-up 2 times (1999, 2013).
They were the champions of Asia twice (2006 and 2016), also finishing runner-up in that competition once in 2011.
Their 2017 kits:
Home stadium is the Jeonju World Cup Stadium, with a capacity of 42,477 people:
If anyone remembers Dong-Gook Lee, who played for Werder Bremen in 2001 and for Middlesbrough FC in 2007-2008 as a striker, he plays here currently and is setting the records of South Korean professional football history.
Jeonnam Dragons
Founded in 1994, Jeonnam Dragons won the FA Cup in the 1999, and two years in a row in 2006 and 2007. They are one of the very few clubs with a proper youth system.
They finished 2nd in the 1997 K-League season. They won the FA cup 3 times (1997, 2006, 2007), with once finishing as runner-up (2003).
Their 2017 kits:
Their home stadium, Gwangyang Football Stadium with capacity of 13,496 people:
For the people who are familiar with the Bundesliga, Ji Dong-Won, the forward who plays for Augsburg FC right now, is a product of the youth system of Jeonnam Dragons.
Pohang Steelers
Pohang Steelers was founded in 1973 and is the oldest professional football club in South Korea. They won the K-League 5 times, the FA Cup 4 times (most successful), and the AFC Champions League 3 times (most successful as well). They placed 3rd in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup. It is said that they have resemblance to Arsenal, in that they focus more on young players and also the team’s playstyle focuses on passwork.
They were champions of K-League 5 times (1986, 1988, 1992, 2007, 2013), runner-up 4 times (1985, 1987, 1995, 2004).
They won the FA Cup 4 times (1996, 2008, 2012, 2013), which is the best record in Korean Football.
They also won the AFC Champions League 3 times (1997, 1998, 2009) which is also the best record in Asia.
Their 2017 kits:
Their home stadium, Pohang Steel Yard (17,443 people):
Sangju Sangmu FC
Sangju Sangmu was founded in 1984, originally as Sangmu FC, and 2011, as Sangju Sangmu Phoenix, and they removed “Phoenix” from the name. Their squad is made up of young South Korean professional footballers serving their compulsory two-year military duty. This is meant to help the players maintain their form during their military duty. Due to their military status, the club is not allowed to sign any foreign players.
They won the K-League Challenge twice, in the 2013 and 2015 season, being promoted back to Classic both times.
Their best performance in the top flight was finishing 6th in the 2016 season, which is still considered to be their best squad ever.
Their 2017 kits:
Their home stadium, Sangju Civic Stadium (15,042 people):
FC Seoul
FC Seoul was founded in 1983 as Lucky-Goldstar FC, and is currently based in the capital of South Korea, Seoul. They are one of the most successful and popular clubs in the K-League.
They were champions of South Korea 6 times (1985, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2012, 2016) and won the FA Cup twice (1998, 2015).
Their 2017 kits:
Their home stadium, the Seoul World Cup Stadium which holds 66,704 people:
Sung-Yeung Ki, midfielder playing for Swansea City AFC, Chung-Yong Lee, midfielder playing for Crystal Palace FC, Chu-Young Park, former forward for Arsenal FC, and other great South Korean players were from FC Seoul.
Also, Senol Gunes, the current manager for Besiktas JK once managed FC Seoul, back in 2007-2009.
In addition, FC Seoul played numerous friendly matches against some European football clubs when they visited South Korea during their pre-season, Manchester United and Leverkusen for example.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Suwon Bluewings were founded in 1995, and they quickly became one of the most successful clubs in the K-League in a short period of time with their enormous funding from Samsung. (compared to other football clubs) They won the K-League 4 times, FA cup 4 times, and the AFC Champions League 2 times.
They won the K-League 4 times (1998, 1999, 2004, 2008), FA Cup 4 times (2002, 2009, 2010, 2016), and the AFC Champions League twice (2001, 2002).
Their 2017 kits:
Their home stadium, Suwon World Cup Stadium (43,959):
Kwon Chang-Hoon, a midfielder currently playing for Dijon FCO is a product of their youth system. Also, Cha Bum-Kun, a legendary forward who played for Bayer Leverkusen and Frankfurt, was a manager of this club once.
As a side note, in July of 2004, they beat FC Barcelona in their preseason friendly match, which still comes up from time to time in South Korea.
Ulsan Hyundai FC
Founded in 1983, Ulsan Hyundai FC won the 2012 AFC Champions League. They are know for their defensive style of play. They are considered the best team defensively in the K-League.
They won the K-League top division twice in 1996 and 2005. They finished runner-up 7 times (1986, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2013). They lost in the FA Cup finals in 1998 and that was their best performance in the competition. They won the AFC Champions League in 2012.
Their 2017 kits:
Their home stadium, Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium (44,102):
Those were some info about the 12 clubs of the K-League Classic for the 2017 season. I want to mention the “Super Match”, which is the name for the rivalry between FC Seoul and Suwon Samsung Bluewings. This is the biggest rivalry in the K-League, and is considered the “Korean El Classico” amongst the Koreans.
***PS. The club with the most K-League titles is a team called Seongnam FC, but they were relegated last season and so is in the K-League Challenge as of the 2017 season. Currently, as of now, they qualified for the Promotion-Relegation playoffs, so if they do well, they might make it back to the top flight next season!
So, that’s it for my introduction to the South Korean K-League which is being added to the new FMM2018. I thought I would write this post just for people who are interested in trying out the Korean league. This is my first time writing such a long post, and really apologize for any misleading information or anything I did wrong(?). As I mentioned above, I do not know very well about the league so I referred to online websites for information, for example Wikipedia.
FYI, this is the current standing for the K-League Classic 2017 season. As you can see, they have only one game remaining, and Jeonbuk are the champions and Gwangju FC is relegated: (image from Wikipedia)
I hope this helped you guys get an idea of the South Korean league and decide on which club to manage given that you decided to try out the K-League. I think I will be managing FC Seoul since it is my hometown! Can’t wait for the game to be released tomorrow!!!
Edited by bwkim96Added the best performances of each team in their history
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