Who are Gimcheon Sangmu FC, K League's swashbuckling army team? | OneFootball

In the first of our club profiles, Andrew Farrell travels to Gimcheon to see how Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps are doing under "genius" manager Chung Jung-yong.

In a Korean context, Gimcheon city isflyover country. But instead of looking down at its open-air markets and prehistoric bus terminal from 38,000 feet, most travelers see the city through the window of their car, or while bolting by on the high-speed KTX trains. The nation's primary road and rail lines pass by Gimcheon from Seoul to Busan.

The city of 139,000 residents is unremarkable, and its proximity to the much larger Daegu (60 km southwest) means most passengers are likely to disembark there. Nestled in a valley in North Gyeongsang Province, Gimcheon is the smallest city in Korea (ranked 62nd nationally for population size) to host a K League 1 club. And as we're about to find out, that is likely to change very soon.

Gimcheon is famous for its grape festivals, stunning natural wonders, and will soon host thesecond annual Gimbap Festival—not bad additions to your resume. Over the walls of the away end at Gimcheon Stadium, beyond the highway and train tracks, you have a perfect view of Daedeok Mountain. To the north, Sobaek Mountain. The countryside is dominated by imposing peaks and wonderful national parks, and few grounds have a better view than Gimcheon’s.

These mountains play an important role in the city’s identity. They feature on the city’s flag, alongside the two rivers of Gamcheon and Jikjicheon. The local football club has also incorporated the mountains into its crest, alongside phoenix rising from the ashes. The geography is beautiful, but beauty isn’t restricted to the impressive landscape.

Gimcheon Stadium for the visit of Pohang Steelers in late September. You can get a sense of local geography in the distance.

On the football pitch, Gimcheon Sangmu FC play an eye-pleasing brand of football that has seen the club challenge at the summit of K League 1 since achieving promotion in 2023. Last season they finished third with 18 wins from 38 matches and boasted the league's second-best goal difference. This year they're second as we approach the conclusion, eight points adrift of their 2024 total, but with six games to play.

Interestingly, their goals for and against ratio is again very positive. The reason Gimcheon are not in a title race is because Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have been utterly dominant under the leadership of Gus Poyet.

A Brief History

So, who are Gimcheon Sangmu FC? Originally formed in 1974, the Sangmu club moved from Seoul to Gwangju ten years later, at a critical moment in Korea’s history. The decision to relocate to Gwangju was controversial. In May 1980, Gwangju was the scene of a brutal uprising against the government of Chun Doo-hwan. Local militias evicted the armed forces from the city, but the army eventually mobilized and took back control. This incident is seen by many observers as the start of Korea’s long path to full democracy.

The team is technically owned by the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Korea Army), and Sangmu translates to "military service." This is a military club, composed of young professional players who are serving their mandatory military service while playing football. They are soldiers first, then professional players.

Sangmu’s players don’t stand at a border post with a rifle in their hands from dawn to dusk. They get military training, but football remains a significant part of their lives. Even match-days and training are familiar.

The players tend to refer to their parent club as "original team" as opposed to the name.

South Korea requires all male citizens to complete approximately two years of service between the ages of 18 and 28. An exemption can be earned for success on the international stage, but those opportunities are rare. Fortunately, for a young professional, military service won’t derail your career. Players can still represent the national team and, due to continued excellence in recent seasons, playing for Gimcheon could be a step up.

Eligible players apply to join the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps. There are two intakes per calendar year, but not every player gets selected. There are other options, such as Geoje Citizen and Pyeongchang United. These clubs are further down the pyramid and therefore less attractive.

A well traveled veteran of K League football, current Gimpo FC utility player Park Dong-jin represented Sangmu in Sangju and Gimcheon.

At the end of the 2010 K League season, Sangmu left Gwangju for Sangju, paving the way for the creation of Gwangju FC. Sangmu’s stay in Sangju lasted a decade, before settling in Gimcheon. Now there’s talk of another move, although the final details haven’t been made public. It looks likely that Sangmu FC will depart Gimcheon, allowing the creation of a citizen club, at the end of the 2026 season.'Nothing has been decided' is the official line—but the lack of confidence in their tone tells its own story.

Despite having their pick of the best young talent in K League, Sangmu FC haven’t enjoyed much success. They've never advanced beyond the semi-finals of the Korea Cup, and this season were dumped out by second division opposition. Relocation from Sangju to Gimcheon was met with compulsory relegation, but Sangmu have also been relegated due to poor performances. Gwangju Sangmu were the worst team in the league over several seasons before the introduction of relegation.

Gimcheon were promoted from K League 2 in 2021, went down again the following season (after Daejeon Hana Citizen hammered them in the relegation playoffs), and returned immediately. Their promotion success in 2023 was overshadowed by the biggest collapse in modern Korean football. A neck-and-neck race for automatic promotion looked to have been won by Busan IPark, who needed three points from their final two matches to secure the title. They lost in Gwangyang and then conceded a 95th-minute equalizer to Chungbuk Cheongju in the final match. Dreams crushed.

Modern Sangmu

Notwithstanding their impressive season, Gimcheon is an attractive destination. There’s an opportunity to learn, away from the pressures of your parent club. Take Kim Ju-chan, Suwon Samsung’s precocious forward. As a teenager, Kim was the only bright spark in a shocking season that ended with Suwon’s first-ever relegation in 2023. Hopes were high for an instant return to the top flight, led by their local hero. It didn’t work out. Suwon and Kim struggled in K League 2. Playing for Gimcheon allows Kim to develop away from the adoring (but demanding) Bluewings faithful.

Rivals in Suwon, brothers in Gimcheon. Kim Ju-chan (left) and Park Cheol-woo are enjoying their experience at Gimcheon Sangmu.

Kim adds that while "our team is focusing on tactics and trying not to lose, we are also focused on being soldiers."

Part of this calm is down to Sangmu’s lack of local appeal. Despite an impressive squad and positive results, Gimcheon have the lowest average gate (2,784) in K League 1. The club is new to Gimcheon, so what motivation is there for local fans to support a team that isn't staying for the long term—and one that technically doesn’t own its players?

Since returning to K League 1, Gimcheon have been a revelation. A third-place finish would have been good enough for AFC Champions League Elite qualification, but Sangmu can’t compete abroad as an army team. They’re even better this season and went into the international break on the back of a big victory over champions Ulsan HD. There are bona fide stars in the squad.

Take Lee Dong-gyeong. If the gifted forward doesn’t win K League MVP, the eventual recipient will have had a season for the ages. Lee is Mr. Gimcheon Sangmu FC. Except, he’s not. Lee’s situation perfectly highlights the unique nature of this club. He is effectively on loan from Ulsan. Gimcheon can't extend his loan, purchase him, or head out into the market to replace him.

He links up with the Korean national team having scored 12 goals and recorded 10 assists in 32 appearances. Later this month, he returns to Ulsan, having played a major role in sending the champions a step closer to relegation with a barnstorming display on Sunday. Make sense of that: Lee starred for Gimcheon, inflicting pain on Ulsan. Very soon, he’ll return to Munsu and try to undo the damage he helped cause.

Current Korean national team striker and former Celtic forward Oh Hyeon-gyu is a graduate from Sangju Sangmu FC.

Sangmu’s squad rotates and regenerates more often than any other club. Some players are even allowed to terminate their army service early if they win an international event with the national team. This happened in 2022 when Korea Republic won the gold medal at the Asian Games. Cho Young-wook scored the winner against Japan in the final. Claiming that medal guaranteed exemption from service—or, in Cho’s case, an early release.

Jaron Sandler, a Gimcheon fan since the club's relocation to the city, recalls the day Cho returned to Gimcheon after scoring the winning goal in Hangzhou.

Sangmu were in K League 2 that season. Cho scored 13 in 28 appearances—his most productive season to date. His goals (and five assists) helped Gimcheon earn automatic promotion. Lee Dong-gyeong’s departure will be as keenly felt.

Gimcheon have won five of their last six home games (the outlier being a surprise defeat to rock-bottom Daegu FC), scoring a rake of goals in the process. Jeju, Suwon, and Ulsan conceded three each. The biggest punishment, however, was meted out to FC Seoul. Troubled by poor performances on the pitch and mutiny in the stands, Kim Gi-dong’s men were hit for six on a punishing night. It was the definition of swashbuckling.

There’s one round of fixtures left before K League 1 splits into Final A (top six) and Final B (bottom six). Gimcheon travel to newcomers FC Anyang. From then, five more matches against top-half opponents await Gimcheon, who secured their Final A status weeks ago. Sadly for Sangmu, Jeonbuk are 13 points clear at the summit with 18 points left to play for. The title race is essentially over. AFC qualification is blocked, and their domestic cup run ended early. The goal now is to improve on last season’s totals.

With such limitations placed upon the club, it will be fascinating to see whether Sangmu can keep manager Chung Jung-yong.

The 54-year-old former defender is the perfect fit for Sangmu. Chung has coached at all youth levels for South Korea. He clearly excels at developing young professionals and turning them into K League stars. The pinnacle of his career came in 2019, when he led South Korea to the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Inspirational manager Chung Jung-yong gets ready to say goodbye to numerous stars, including Lee Dong-jun. 20 players in total will return to their parent clubs this month.

Several members of that U-20 team now play senior international football. The headline name is Player of the Tournament, Lee Kang-in. Um Won-sang, Kim Ju-sung, Oh Se-hun, and Cho Young-wook were also in that squad.

At Gimcheon, improvements are visible everywhere. Park Sang-hyeok had scored four goals in three seasons for Gangwon FC. This season, he has 10. Won Ki-jong had never played top-flight football before moving to Gimcheon. Now he’s a very effective goal scoring option off the bench. Captain Lee Seung-seob is having a breakout year.

Are we looking at the national team’s next manager, after he completes his development with Sangmu?

Expressing Gimcheon's identity near McDonald's

It is inevitable Sangmu FC will board the KTX train from Gimcheon Gumi Station and ride out beyond the mountains in the near future. The club doesn’t belong to Gimcheon—nor Seoul, Gwangju, or Sangju. Their next destination is currently unknown, and speculation online suggests they could be permanently stationed in K League 2 when the move is finalized. That seems short-sighted. If you want to develop the national team’s next generation and improve the domestic product, wouldn’t they be better served playing against the best?

Either way, it leaves Gimcheon scrambling to maintain a football identity. The local city hall wants to create a civic team starting in K League 2. Even though Gimcheon is a small city, it has several advantages. Firstly, it isn’t in Gyeonggi-do, the province surrounding Seoul. There are already too many clubs in that region. Gimcheon is easily accessible via road and train, and its stadium has shown it can host high-profile matches. On the other hand, attracting decent crowds is a problem—even for a successful team. How will that translate to the second tier?

[READ: "Players improve out of sight year-on-year!" - Is Lee Jung-hyo a football genius?]

One method is to create a sense of local pride in the team—and that is currently happening in Gimcheon. Since February, a "waving campaign" has been run by Gimcheon Sangmu staff on most weekday mornings at the busy McDonald’s intersection in the city. Jaron explains:

The initiative proved successful, so in May, they extended it to Tuesday nights for 45 minutes. This time, the aim is to lift the spirits of workers heading home. Fans, young and old, can wave alongside club officials in the evening.

Personally, I don’t know if such imagination is evident elsewhere, but it further highlights the unique impression of Gimcheon Sangmu FC.

Jaron (right) waves to motorists from the McDonald's junction in Gimcheon.

The significance of Sangmu and Gimcheon is not lost on the players. Park assures me:

According to Kim:

There’s a lot of uncertainty here—from the future of football in Gimcheon to Sangmu’s next home, and Chung Jung-yong’s career coaching the nation’s best young talent. This is the perfect time to witness such a peculiar combination of beauty working in perfect harmony—before it inevitably breaks apart.