Kim Young-gwon facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

Quick facts for kids
Kim Young-gwon

Kim with South Korea at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Personal information

Date of birth

27 February 1990 (age 34)

Place of birth

Jeonju, Jeonbuk, South Korea

Height

1.86 m

Playing position

Centre-back

Club information

Current club

Ulsan HD

Number

Youth career

2005–2008

Jeonju Technical High School [ko]

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

2010

FC Tokyo

(0)

2011–2012

Omiya Ardija

(0)

2012–2018

Guangzhou Evergrande

(3)

2019–2021

Gamba Osaka

(1)

2022–

Ulsan HD

(3)

National team^‡

2008–2009

South Korea U20

(2)

2009–2012

South Korea U23

(0)

2009

South Korea Universiade

(0)

2009

South Korea (futsal)

2010–

South Korea

112

(7)

Honours

Men's football

Representing South Korea
Olympic Games
Bronze	2012 London	Team
AFC Asian Cup
Silver	2015 Australia	Team
Asian Games
Bronze	2010 Guangzhou	Team
EAFF Championship
Gold	2015 China	Team
Gold	2019 South Korea	Team
Bronze	2013 South Korea	Team

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 November 2024.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2024

Kim Young-gwon
Hangul	김영권
Hanja	金英權
Revised Romanization	Gim Yeonggwon
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Yŏnggwŏn
IPA	[ki.mjʌŋ.ɡwʌn] or [kim.jʌŋ.ɡwʌn]

Kim Young-gwon (Korean: 김영권; born 27 February 1990) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for Ulsan HD and the South Korea national football team.

Early life
Club career
International career
Personal life
Career statistics
- Club
- International
Honours
See also

Early life

Kim is a native of Jeonju. When he was in middle school, he was not a highly regarded prospect as coaches viewed his slight frame as a disadvantage. Kim began considering becoming a professional footballer when national youth team manager Hong Myung-bo visited Kim's high school to speak to his team.

Kim played college football and futsal for Jeonju University. In 2009, he participated in the Futsal League of the Korea Football Association, and became the champion and the top scorer. His futsal career was a big help to his techniques.

Club career

In 2010, Kim joined J1 League side FC Tokyo, starting his professional career. He scored his first senior goal with a direct free kick in the 2010 J.League Cup against Kyoto Sanga FC. After his first season, Kim transferred to Omiya Ardija, because FC Tokyo was relegated to the second tier by finishing 16th in the league.

In July 2012, Kim transferred to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande. He contributed to the best period of Guangzhou Evergrande, showing foreign player's worth. Guangzhou Evergrande won all of the four league titles in addition to two AFC Champions Leagues during the initial four years with Kim from 2013 to 2016, and Kim was also selected for the Team of the Year every year. However, he lost his influence in Guangzhou due to his injury and the removal of Asian quota in the CSL since 2017.

International career

Kim's first international tournament was the Universiade. He played the 2009 Summer Universiade for South Korean Universiade team.

In the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Kim was the regular center defender of South Korean under-20 team, and scored a goal during the last group match against the United States, which resulted South Korea's advancing to the knockout stage.

Kim also played the 2009 Asian Indoor Games for the South Korea national futsal team.

Kim won the bronze medal with South Korean under-23 team in the 2010 Asian Games. Afterwards, he was named in the primary list for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, but he wasn't selected for the final squad.

In the 2012 Summer Olympics, South Korean Olympic football team finished third, winning its first-ever Olympic football medal. Kim was regarded as a notable player among the bronze medalists.

Kim was a member of South Korea's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and started in all of the team's group matches. South Korea drew with Russia, and lost to Algeria and Belgium in the group stage. His defense wasn't good this time, especially against Algerian players.

At the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Kim scored the second goal in South Korea's 2–0 semi-final defeat of Iraq on 26 January 2015, putting the nation into the Asian Cup final for the first time since 1988. However, South Korea failed to bring the trophy after losing the final to Australia.

Kim was named in South Korea's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He showed outstanding plays unlike four years ago, becoming a great leader of South Korean defenders. Furthermore, in the final group match against Germany, he scored in the 91st minute to knock out the defending world champions, coupled with a second goal minutes later by Son Heung-min.

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Kim scored a goal in South Korea's crucial match against Portugal to level the score 1–1, followed by Hwang Hee-chan's goal in stoppage time, which promoted South Korea to the round of 16. In the round of 16, Kim played his 100th cap for the national team against Brazil, with Korea went on to lose 4–1.

Personal life

In 2014 Kim married Park Se-jin. They have three children, a daughter and two sons. Kim has made guest appearances with his two older children in several episodes of The Return of Superman.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Others		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Tokyo	2010	J1 League	23	0	2	0	6	1	—		—		31	1
Omiya Ardija	2011	J1 League	27	0	0	0	2	1	—		—		29	1
	2012	J1 League	13	0	0	0	3	1	—		—		16	1
	Total		40	0	0	0	5	2	—		—		45	2
Guangzhou Evergrande	2012	Chinese Super League	7	0	4	0	—		2	0	—		13	0
	2013	Chinese Super League	26	2	4	0	—		14	0	4	0	48	2
	2014	Chinese Super League	16	1	0	0	—		9	0	0	0	25	1
	2015	Chinese Super League	18	0	0	0	—		11	0	3	0	32	0
	2016	Chinese Super League	15	0	2	0	—		4	0	1	0	22	0
	2017	Chinese Super League	4	0	5	0	—		2	0	0	0	11	0
	2018	Chinese Super League	5	0	0	0	—		8	0	0	0	13	0
	Total		91	3	15	0	—		50	0	8	0	164	3
Gamba Osaka	2019	J1 League	32	1	1	0	3	0	—		—		36	1
	2020	J1 League	28	0	2	0	1	0	—		—		31	0
	2021	J1 League	16	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	—		20	0
	Total		76	1	3	0	4	0	4	0	—		87	1
Ulsan HD	2022	K League 1	36	0	0	0	—		5	0	—		41	0
	2023	K League 1	32	1	1	0	—		5	0	—		38	1
	2024	K League 1	21	2	2	0	—		8	0	—		31	2
	Total		89	3	3	0	0	0	18	0	—		110	3
Career total			319	7	23	0	15	3	72	0	8	0	437	10

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	2010	2	0
	2011	5	1
	2012	1	0
	2013	10	0
	2014	11	0
	2015	14	1
	2016	2	0
	2017	4	0
	2018	14	1
	2019	15	0
	2021	7	1
	2022	15	3
	2023	3	0
	2024	9	0
Career total		112	7

List of international goals scored by Kim Young-gwon
No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 June 2011	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	4	Serbia	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2	26 January 2015	Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia	33	Iraq	2–0	2–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup
3	27 June 2018	Kazan Arena, Kazan, Russia	56	Germany	1–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup
4	5 June 2021	Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea	80	Turkmenistan	3–0	5–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	24 March 2022	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	90	Iran	2–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	14 June 2022	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	94	Egypt	2–0	4–1	Friendly
7	2 December 2022	Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	99	Portugal	1–1	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup