Kim Young-gwon (; born 27 February 1990) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for Ulsan HD and the South Korea national football team.
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 competitionClubSeason LeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalOthersTotal DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFC Tokyo2010J1 League2302061——311Omiya Ardija2011J1 League2700021——2912012J1 League1300031——161Total4000052——452Guangzhou Evergrande2012Chinese Super League7040—20—1302013Chinese Super League26240—140404822014Chinese Super League16100—90002512015Chinese Super League18000—110303202016Chinese Super League15020—40102202017Chinese Super League4050—20001102018Chinese Super League5000—8000130Total913150—500801643Gamba Osaka2019J1 League3211030——3612020J1 League2802010——3102021J1 League160000040—200Total761304040—871Ulsan HD2022K League 136000—50—4102023K League 132110—50—3812024K League 121230—100—3422025K League 127020—0030320Total11636000200301453Career total346726015374011047210
International
+Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea201020201151201210201310020141102015141201620201740201814120191502021712022153202330202490Career total1127
+List of international goals scored by Kim Young-gwon No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition1 3 June 2011 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea4 2–0 2–1 Friendly2 26 January 2015 Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia33 2–0 2–0 2015 AFC Asian Cup3 27 June 2018 Kazan Arena, Kazan, Russia56 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup4 5 June 2021 Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea80 3–0 5–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification5 24 March 2022 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea90 2–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification6 14 June 2022 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea94 2–0 4–1 Friendly7 2 December 2022 Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar99 1–1 2–1 2022 FIFA World Cup
Honours Jeonju University Korean FA Futsal League: 2009
Guangzhou Evergrande Chinese Super League: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Chinese FA Cup: 2012, 2016 Chinese FA Super Cup: 2016 AFC Champions League: 2013, 2015
Gamba Osaka Emperor's Cup runner-up: 2020
Ulsan Hyundai K League 1: 2022, 2023, 2024
South Korea U23 Summer Olympics bronze medal: 2012 Asian Games bronze medal: 2010
South Korea AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2015 EAFF Championship: 2015, 2019
Individual Korean FA Futsal League top goalscorer: 2009 Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 EAFF Championship Best Defender: 2015 AFC Champions League Dream Team: 2015 Korean FA Player of the Year: 2015 J1 League Fans' Best XI: 2020 K League 1 Best XI: 2022, 2023 K League All-Star: 2023, 2025 K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 2023
See also List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
References
External links Kim Young-gwon – international stats at KFA