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The uncomfortable truth behind Korea-Japan Premier League 0-10
🇰🇷 South Korea /Sports

The uncomfortable truth behind Korea-Japan Premier League 0-10

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • South Korean fans are entering a new English Premier League season without a Korean player to support.
  • The absence ends a 20-year connection that began with Park Ji-sung at Manchester United and continued through Son Heung-min and several other players.
  • Son moved to Major League Soccer last summer, leaving no South Korean player in the league this season.

South Korean football fans are facing an unfamiliar Premier League season: there is no Korean player in the competition for them to support.

The 2026-2027 English Premier League season began late last month, but no South Korean player is taking part. The EPL is the largest and most globally popular of Europe’s five major football leagues, alongside Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1, Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A.

For the past 20 years, the league had maintained a strong connection with South Korean football. That link began in 2005, when Park Ji-sung joined Manchester United. He won four league titles with the club and became a symbol for South Korean fans.

Son Heung-min continued that presence after joining Tottenham in 2015. Other South Koreans who played in the Premier League included Ki Sung-yueng, Lee Young-pyo, Lee Chung-yong, Cho Won-hee, Yoon Suk-young and Park Chu-young. But Son moved to Major League Soccer last summer, bringing the number of South Korean Premier League players this season to zero.

About this summary

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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