Ju Se-jong Interview: "Gwangju will overturn people's expectations" | OneFootball

Gwangju FC midfielder Ju Se-jong believes that the team has what it takes to overturn people's expectations, despite the club sitting bottom of the table. The K League 1 title winner and former Korean international also says that he's relishing his role as a dressing room leader.

The average age of the Gwangju FC squad is 26.1, according to Transfermarkt, one of the youngest in the division. With the club subject to a player registration ban for the first transfer window of 2026, rookie manager Lee Jung-kyu has looked to Gwangju's youth system, fielding teenagers on a weekly basis.

Four players under 20 have been given minutes for Gwangju so far this season, more than any other team in K League 1 and double the next best - Anyang with two. Seven clubs haven't fielded any teenagers at all.

Only Pohang have fielded more U22 players this season than Gwangju - eight compared to seven. But when it comes to total minutes played, Gwangju's U22 players have racked up 5,527 compared to Pohang's 4,016, and 2,050 of those minutes were made by teenagers.

The young squad means manager Lee Jung-kyu has to look to his experienced veterans to help guide the young players through. With close to 400 appearances to his name, Ju Se-jong is one of those experienced veterans. The former K League 1 title winner told K League United that helping others around him is something he enjoys.

"Since my youth days, I’ve been captain on almost every team I’ve played for. I think I’m the type of person who enjoys the sense of achievement that comes from bringing players together and leading the team to good results. There are a lot of difficult moments too, but even in those situations, I find myself trying to figure out what will help the team most, so I think I genuinely enjoy the role of being a leader."

These days, at 35 and with greater responsibilities as a dressing room leader, Ju says that he mindset has changed compared to his younger days:

"When I was younger, I don’t think I thought very deeply about the team as a whole. Of course, I always played for the team, but back then, my focus was more on what I could do well individually and showing my own strengths. Now that I’m one of the senior players and a leader in the squad, I still care about my own performances, but I spend a lot more time thinking about the team overall - how we can improve and become a stronger side together."

Do what's needed for the team has, this season, meant playing out of position. Ju has popped up at left wing and as a striker at various points. "Since making my professional debut, I had spent a long time playing as a defensive midfielder, so it definitely felt unfamiliar. But the coach trusted me with those roles, and I tried to approach them with a strong sense of responsibility.

"Now that I’m 37 in Korean age, my focus is less on personal goals and more on what role I can play to help the team achieve its objectives, even during difficult situations. That’s what I think about and work toward every day now."

The move to Gwangju from Daejeon meant that Ju was able to play in the AFC Champions League again and helped the relative minnows go on to reach the quarterfinals.

"Every moment felt like an enjoyable new challenge. Even though we suffered a heavy defeat against Al Hilal in the quarter-finals, that loss taught me a lot about what I still need to do and how I can continue improving. It became a very valuable experience for me."

The former Korean international seemed to be giving that little bit extra when facing his former employers Daejeon just before the World Cup break, seemingly determined to show Citizen what they're missing. But Ju says it's business as usual when he faces his former clubs:

"Both FC Seoul and Daejeon Hana Citizen are clubs I love. When I was with those teams, I always gave everything and worked very hard to achieve good results. Because of that, when I play against former clubs, I feel especially motivated to show how much I’ve grown as a player."

As a dressing room leader, Ju admitted that he felt as though everything he did had to be perfect. Every pass, every action, but it was a conversation with the then Gwangju manager Lee Jung-hyo that allowed him to put that sort of mindset to one side.

"To be honest, once you become a senior player and someone with influence in the team, you start thinking that you always need to set the perfect example through both your performances and your behaviour. But sometimes that pressure actually led to unnatural play or mistakes on the pitch. After speaking with coach Lee Jung-hyo, I started focusing more comfortably on my own game and playing more boldly, and that made me feel more natural and more confident in every action on the field."

Gwangju head into the World Cup break sitting bottom of the table. Before the start of the campaign, some pundits had predicted that the Griffins would struggle.

"It can become motivation," he says when asked about those predictions. Adding, "but it can also create pressure for the players. Still, I believe that when all 38 rounds are finished, Gwangju FC will show results that completely overturn people’s expectations."