[AFP]
[AFP]

The lineage of Korean players in the English Premier League, opened by Park Ji-sung's move to Manchester United in 2005, is on the verge of snapping after 21 years.

The Guardian ran a piece Sunday headlined "Korea's sun sets in the Premier League as Japan's rises," raising the possibility that the new season could be the first since 2005 to feature no Korean players.

The British newspaper noted that South Korea's national team had collapsed at the World Cup, that police are investigating the Korea Football Association, and that reports have emerged of bribes paid to foreign referees in 2011 and 2012.

Korea finished the World Cup Group A stage with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic before falling 0-1 to both Mexico and South Africa. The national team's head coach and the football association's president both stepped down, and a football reform committee was formed under Park Ji-sung's leadership.

The Korean EPL lineage passed from Park — who won four league titles at Manchester United — to Son Heung-min, who joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2015. Son wrapped up his EPL career with a Europa League title in 2025 before departing for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer. Hwang Hee-chan, the last Korean standing, lost his place when Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated.

Only three Korean players remain on EPL rosters: Yang Min-hyeok at Tottenham, Kim Ji-su at Brentford and Park Seung-su at Newcastle United. The Guardian said all three are likely to head out on loan again this season.

Japan's trajectory runs in the opposite direction. Last season, Mitoma Kaoru starred at Brighton, while Endo Wataru played for Liverpool, Kamada Daichi for Crystal Palace and Tanaka Ao for Leeds United.

Observers say the gap between the two countries cannot be attributed solely to individual player quality. The Japan Football Association operates a base in Dusseldorf, Germany, to support its players in Europe. The Korea Football Association has said it would actively benchmark Japan's system but has yet to follow through.

Interest in the EPL has also shifted. In 2022, Tottenham's shirt sponsor AIA released a report putting the number of Tottenham fans in South Korea at about 12 million, but the Guardian wrote that the figure now falls far short of that level.

Some Korean players are still carving out paths elsewhere in Europe. Oh Hyeon-gyu at Besiktas and Lee Han-beom at Club Brugge are gaining experience in Turkey and Belgium, respectively.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com