2023 in South Korean football

Football in South Korea
Season2023
Men's football
K League 1Ulsan Hyundai
K League 2Gimcheon Sangmu
K3 LeagueHwaseong FC
K4 LeagueYeoju FC
Korean FA CupPohang Steelers
Women's football
WK LeagueIncheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels
← 2022 South Korea 2024 →

This article shows a summary of the 2023 football season in South Korea.

National teams

FIFA World Cup qualification

16 November AFC second round, Group C South Korea  5–0  Singapore Seoul, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 64,381
Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)

Summer Olympics qualification

AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification

9 September Group B South Korea  1–0  Kyrgyzstan Changwon, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9 Report Stadium: Changwon Football Center
Attendance: 7,021
Referee: Zhang Lei (China)
12 September Group B South Korea  3–0  Myanmar Changwon, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9 Report Stadium: Changwon Football Center
Attendance: 3,838
Referee: Majed Al-Shamrani (Saudi Arabia)
Group B table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea (H) 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 6 Qualification for U-23 Asian Cup
2  Kyrgyzstan 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
3  Myanmar 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Women's qualification

26 October AFC second round, Group B South Korea  10–1  Thailand Xiamen, China
15:30 UTC+8
Report
Stadium: Xiamen Egret Stadium
Attendance: 2,269
Referee: Lê Thị Lý (Vietnam)
29 October AFC second round, Group B North Korea  0–0  South Korea Xiamen, China
15:30 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Xiamen Egret Stadium
Attendance: 7,582
Referee: Lê Thị Lý (Vietnam)
1 November AFC second round, Group B China  1–1  South Korea Xiamen, China
19:30 UTC+8 Wang Shanshan 78' Report Shim Seo-yeon 62' Stadium: Xiamen Egret Stadium
Attendance: 21,958
Referee: Kate Jacewicz (Australia)
AFC second round, Group B table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  North Korea 3 2 1 0 9 1 +8 7 Qualification for AFC third round
2  South Korea 3 1 2 0 11 2 +9 5
3  China (H) 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 4
4  Thailand 3 0 0 3 1 20 −19 0
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Asian Games

Men's tournament

19 September Group E Kuwait  0–9  South Korea Jinhua, China
19:30 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Jinhua Stadium
Attendance: 2,936
Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)
21 September Group E South Korea  4–0  Thailand Jinhua, China
19:30 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Jinhua Stadium
Attendance: 3,166
Referee: Ahmad Yacoub Ibrahim (Jordan)
24 September Group E South Korea  3–0  Bahrain Jinhua, China
19:30 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Jinhua Stadium
Referee: Yousif Saeed Hasan (Iraq)
Group E table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 3 3 0 0 16 0 +16 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Bahrain 3 0 2 1 2 5 −3 2
3  Thailand 3 0 2 1 2 6 −4 2
4  Kuwait 3 0 2 1 2 11 −9 2
Source: Asian Games
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
27 September Round of 16 South Korea  5–1  Kyrgyzstan Jinhua, China
19:30 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Jinhua Stadium
Attendance: 18,393
Referee: Alex King (Australia)
1 October Quarter-finals China  0–2  South Korea Hangzhou, China
20:00 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium
Attendance: 38,158
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)
4 October Semi-finals South Korea  2–1  Uzbekistan Hangzhou, China
20:00 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium
Attendance: 38,019
Referee: Ammar Ashkanani (Kuwait)
7 October Final South Korea  2–1  Japan Hangzhou, China
20:00 UTC+8 Report
Stadium: Hangzhou Sports Park Stadium
Attendance: 68,018
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)

Women's tournament

22 September Group E South Korea  3–0  Myanmar Wenzhou, China
19:30 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Wenzhou Sports Center Stadium
Attendance: 3,234
Referee: Doumouh Al Bakkar (Lebanon)
25 September Group E Philippines  1–5  South Korea Wenzhou, China
19:30 UTC+8
Report
Stadium: Wenzhou Sports Center Stadium
Attendance: 2,974
Referee: Asaka Koizumi (Japan)
28 September Group E South Korea  5–0  Hong Kong Wenzhou, China
19:30 UTC+8
Report Stadium: Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Attendance: 22,083
Referee: Lê Thị Lý (Vietnam)
Group E table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 3 3 0 0 13 1 +12 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Philippines 3 2 0 1 7 6 +1 6
3  Myanmar 3 1 0 2 1 6 −5 3
4  Hong Kong 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0
Source: Asian Games
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
30 September Quarter-finals South Korea  1–4  North Korea Wenzhou, China
16:30 UTC+8 Report
Stadium: Wenzhou Sports Centre
Attendance: 6,171
Referee: Pansa Chaisanit (Thailand)

FIFA Women's World Cup

South Korea next qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. As in 2019, the team scored only one goal, but achieved a notable result by drawing their final match with Germany 1–1, which resulted in the Germans exiting the tournament at the group stage despite being second in the FIFA Ranking at the time.[1][2][3]

25 July 2023 (2023-07-25) Group H Colombia  2–0  South Korea Sydney, Australia
12:00 UTC+10
Report Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 24,323
Referee: Rebecca Welch (England)
30 July 2023 (2023-07-30) Group H South Korea  0–1  Morocco Adelaide, Australia
14:00 UTC+9:30 Report Jraïdi 6' Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium
Attendance: 12,886
Referee: Edina Alves Batista (Brazil)
3 August 2023 (2023-08-03) Group H South Korea  1–1  Germany Brisbane, Australia
20:00 UTC+10 Cho So-hyun 6' Report Popp 42' Stadium: Lang Park
Attendance: 38,945
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
Group H table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Colombia 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Morocco 3 2 0 1 2 6 −4 6
3  Germany 3 1 1 1 8 3 +5 4
4  South Korea 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1

Friendlies

Senior team

24 March South Korea  2–2  Colombia Ulsan, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9
Report Stadium: Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
Attendance: 35,727
Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)
28 March South Korea  1–2  Uruguay Seoul, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9 Report
Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 63,952
Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)
16 June South Korea  0–1  Peru Busan, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9 Report
Stadium: Busan Asiad Main Stadium
Attendance: 52,443
Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)
20 June South Korea  1–1  El Salvador Daejeon, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9 Report
Stadium: Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 39,823
Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)
7 September Wales  0–0  South Korea Cardiff, Wales
19:45 UTC+1 Report Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 13,668
Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)
12 September Saudi Arabia  0–1  South Korea Newcastle upon Tyne, England
17:30 UTC+1 Report Stadium: St James' Park
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Andrew Madley (England)
13 October South Korea  4–0  Tunisia Seoul, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9
Report Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 59,018
Referee: Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)
17 October South Korea  6–0  Vietnam Suwon, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9 Report Stadium: Suwon World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 42,175
Referee: Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

Under-23 team

22 March South Korea  3–0  Oman Doha, Qatar
20:30 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Thani bin Jassim Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Abdulhadi Al-Ruwaili (Qatar)
25 March Iraq  0–1  South Korea Doha, Qatar
20:30 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Suheim bin Hamad Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Khalid Al-Nabit (Qatar)
28 March South Korea  3–0  United Arab Emirates Doha, Qatar
20:30 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
15 June China  1–3  South Korea Zhejiang, China
18:00 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium
Referee: Wang Di (China)
19 June China  1–0  South Korea Zhejiang, China
19:30 UTC+8 Report Stadium: Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium
Attendance: 24,468
Referee: Jin Jingyuan (China)
6 September South Korea  0–2  Qatar Changwon, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9 Report Stadium: Changwon Football Center
Attendance: 4,352
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)
20 November France  0–3  South Korea Le Havre, France
18:30 UTC+1 Stadium: Stade Océane

Women's team

16 February England  4–0  South Korea Milton Keynes, England
19:45 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Stadium MK
Attendance: 21,013
Referee: Andreza de Siqueira (Brazil)
19 February Belgium  2–1  South Korea Coventry, England
18:15 UTC±0
Report Lee Geum-min 10' Stadium: Coventry Building Society Arena
Referee: Frida Nielsen (Denmark)
22 February South Korea  1–2  Italy Bristol, England
Report Stadium: Ashton Gate Stadium
7 April South Korea  5–2  Zambia Suwon, South Korea
19:00 UTC+9
Report
Stadium: Suwon World Cup Stadium
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
11 April South Korea  5–0  Zambia Yongin, South Korea
Report Stadium: Yongin Mireu Stadium
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
8 July South Korea  2–1  Haiti Seoul, South Korea
17:00 UTC+9 Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium

Leagues

K League 1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Ulsan Hyundai (C) 38 23 7 8 63 42 +21 76 Qualification for Champions League Elite league stage[b]
2 Pohang Steelers 38 16 16 6 53 40 +13 64
3 Gwangju FC 38 16 11 11 47 35 +12 59
4 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 38 16 9 13 45 35 +10 57 Qualification for Champions League Two group stage
5 Incheon United 38 14 14 10 46 42 +4 56
6 Daegu FC 38 13 14 11 42 43 −1 53
7 FC Seoul 38 14 13 11 63 49 +14 55
8 Daejeon Hana Citizen 38 12 15 11 56 58 −2 51
9 Jeju United 38 10 11 17 43 49 −6 41
10 Gangwon FC (O) 38 6 16 16 30 41 −11 34 Qualification for relegation play-offs
11 Suwon FC (O) 38 8 9 21 44 76 −32 33
12 Suwon Samsung Bluewings (R) 38 8 9 21 35 57 −22 33 Relegation to K League 2
Source: Soccerway, K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league was split into two groups, the top six and the bottom six.
  2. ^ Since second-placed team Pohang Steelers qualified for the Champions League Elite as the Korean FA Cup champions, the spot given to the second-placed team was passed to the third-placed team.[4]

K League 2

Regular season

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1 Gimcheon Sangmu (C, P) 36 22 5 9 71 37 +34 71 Promotion to K League 1
2 Busan IPark 36 20 10 6 50 29 +21 70 Qualification for promotion play-offs final round
3 Gimpo FC 36 16 12 8 40 25 +15 60 Qualification for promotion play-offs second round
4 Gyeongnam FC 36 15 12 9 54 42 +12 57 Qualification for promotion play-offs first round
5 Bucheon FC 1995 36 16 9 11 45 35 +10 57
6 FC Anyang 36 15 9 12 58 51 +7 54
7 Jeonnam Dragons 36 16 5 15 55 56 −1 53
8 Chungbuk Cheongju 36 13 13 10 37 42 −5 52
9 Seongnam FC 36 11 11 14 43 50 −7 44
10 Chungnam Asan 36 12 6 18 39 46 −7 42
11 Seoul E-Land 36 10 5 21 36 54 −18 35
12 Ansan Greeners 36 6 7 23 40 72 −32 25
13 Cheonan City 36 5 10 21 33 62 −29 25
Source: K League Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Promotion play-offs

First round Second round Final 1
           
3 Gimpo FC 2
4 Gyeongnam FC 1
4 Gyeongnam FC 0
5 Bucheon FC 1995 0
Gimpo FC 0 1 1
Gangwon FC 0 2 2
Final 2
Busan IPark 2 2 4
Suwon FC (a.e.t.) 1 5 6

K3 League

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Hwaseong FC (C) 28 17 9 2 42 21 +21 60
2 FC Mokpo 28 15 8 5 48 26 +22 53
3 Gimhae FC 28 13 10 5 42 26 +16 49
4 Ulsan Citizen 28 13 8 7 36 29 +7 47
5 Daejeon Korail 28 11 6 11 34 32 +2 39
6 Siheung Citizen 28 10 9 9 37 36 +1 39
7 Paju Citizen 28 11 5 12 32 27 +5 38
8 Chuncheon Citizen 28 9 11 8 25 26 −1 38
9 Busan Transportation Corporation 28 9 7 12 34 36 −2 34
10 Gyeongju KHNP 28 8 10 10 28 32 −4 34
11 Pocheon Citizen 28 7 12 9 26 33 −7 33
12 Gangneung Citizen 28 8 8 12 27 35 −8 32
13 Yangpyeong FC 28 7 6 15 28 43 −15 27
14 Changwon City (O) 28 7 6 15 23 39 −16 27 Qualification for relegation play-off
15 Yangju Citizen (R) 28 4 7 17 29 50 −21 19 Relegation to K4 League
Source: JoinKFA Livesport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Wins
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated

K4 League

Regular season

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Yeoju FC (C, P) 30 20 3 7 63 44 +19 63 Promotion to K3 League
2 Daegu FC B (P) 30 16 7 7 51 36 +15 55
3 Geoje Citizen 30 15 8 7 64 37 +27 53 Qualification for promotion play-offs
4 Jinju Citizen 30 16 4 10 45 37 +8 52
5 Pyeongchang United 30 14 8 8 61 54 +7 50
6 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors B 30 14 7 9 59 45 +14 49
7 Dangjin Citizen 30 15 4 11 52 43 +9 49
8 Busan IPark Futures 30 12 7 11 51 40 +11 43
9 FC Chungju 30 12 6 12 44 45 −1 42
10 Pyeongtaek Citizen 30 10 10 10 55 54 +1 40
11 Seoul Nowon United 30 10 5 15 49 60 −11 35
12 Jeonju Citizen 30 8 10 12 45 46 −1 34
13 Daejeon FC B 30 8 6 16 37 62 −25 30
14 Gangwon FC B 30 6 7 17 46 68 −22 25
15 Seoul Jungnang 30 6 7 17 32 57 −25 25
16 Sejong Vanesse 30 8 1 21 38 64 −26 25
Source: JoinKFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Goals scored; 5) Wins
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Promotion play-offs

First round Final
K3 Changwon City 2
3 Geoje Citizen 1 K4 Jinju Citizen 0
4 Jinju Citizen 4

WK League

Regular season

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels 21 13 3 5 36 14 +22 42 Qualification for play-offs final
2 Hwacheon KSPO 21 12 5 4 33 18 +15 41 Qualification for play-offs semi-final
3 Suwon FC 21 12 4 5 36 15 +21 40
4 Gyeongju KHNP 21 9 6 6 25 21 +4 33
5 Sejong Sportstoto 21 6 4 11 27 33 −6 22
6 Mungyeong Sangmu 21 5 6 10 20 38 −18 21
7 Seoul WFC 21 4 7 10 22 38 −16 19
8 Changnyeong WFC 21 3 5 13 15 37 −22 14
Source: Soccerway

Championship play-offs

Semi-final Final
1 Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels 1 6 7
2 Hwacheon KSPO 1 Suwon FC 3 2 5
3 Suwon FC (a.e.t.) 2

Final table

Pos Team 0 Qualification
1 Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels (C)    Qualification for Champions League
2 Suwon FC   
3 Hwacheon KSPO   
Source: Soccerway
(C) Champion

Domestic cups

Korean FA Cup

 
Round of 16
(Fourth round)
Quarter-finals
(Fifth round)
Semi-finals
(Sixth round)
Final
(Seventh round)
 
              
 
 
 
 
Pohang Steelers030
 
 
 
Seongnam FC0
 
Pohang Steelers2
 
 
 
Gangwon FC1
 
Gangwon FC3
 
 
 
Gimpo FC2
 
Pohang Steelers (p)1 (4)
 
 
 
Jeju United1 (3)
 
Jeju United4
 
 
 
Daejeon Hana Citizen3
 
Jeju United (p)1 (6)
 
 
 
Ulsan Hyundai1 (5)
 
Ulsan Hyundai (a.e.t.)2
 
 
 
Jeonnam Dragons1
 
Pohang Steelers040
 
 
 
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors2
 
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (a.e.t.)5
 
 
 
Paju Citizen2
 
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors4
 
 
 
Gwangju FC0
 
Gwangju FC1
 
 
 
Seoul E-Land0
 
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors3
 
 
 
Incheon United1
 
Incheon United3
 
 
 
Gyeongnam FC0
 
Incheon United3
 
 
 
Suwon Samsung Bluewings2
 
Suwon Samsung Bluewings1
 
 
Daegu FC0
 

International cups

AFC Champions League

The next rounds after the group stage were held in 2024.

Team Result Round Aggregate Score Venue Opponent
Incheon United Group stage Qualifying play-offs 3–1 3–1 (a.e.t.) Vietnam Haiphong
Group G Third place 4–2 Away Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
2–1 Home
4–0 Home Philippines Kaya–Iloilo
3–1 Away
0–2 Home China Shandong Taishan
1–3 Away
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Knockout stage Group F Runners-up 2–1 Home Hong Kong Kitchee
2–1 Away
2–3 Away Thailand Bangkok United
3–2 Home
3–0 Home Singapore Lion City Sailors
0–2 Away
Pohang Steelers Knockout stage Group J Winners 4–2 Away Vietnam Hanoi FC
2–0 Home
3–1 Home China Wuhan Three Towns
1–1 Away
2–0 Away Japan Urawa Red Diamonds
2–1 Home
Ulsan Hyundai Knockout stage Group I Runners-up 3–1 Home Thailand BG Pathum United
3–1 Away
0–1 Away Japan Kawasaki Frontale
2–2 Home
3–1 Home Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
1–2 Away

See also

References

  1. ^ Kane, Desmond (3 August 2023). "Women's World Cup 2023: Seismic shock as Germany crash out in group stages after South Korea draw". Eurosport. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. ^ Wrack, Suzanne (3 August 2023). "Germany crash out of World Cup in huge upset after draw with South Korea". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ^ Bosher, Luke (3 August 2023). "Germany crash out in one of the biggest upsets in Women's World Cup history". The Athletic. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. ^ 광주FC, 아시아 챔피언스리그 엘리트(ACLE) 진출 확정 (in Korean). Gwangju FC. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.