2025 Season Review: Bucheon FC 1995 | OneFootball

Bucheon FC 1995 are a K League 1 club after a glorious end to the season. Lee Young-min's side swathed aside Suwon FC at Castle Park to reach the promised land for the first time in their history.

What Went Well

With the possible exception of League and Cup winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, one could argue Bucheon FC 1995 had the best season in Korean football. From 8th in K League 2 last season to third in 2025 — their highest-ever finish — Bucheon enjoyed a remarkable campaign. A Cup run all the way to the semi-finals and, most importantly of all, defeating Suwon FC 4–2 on aggregate to record a first-ever promotion capped it off. The last club from the city of Bucheon to play top-flight football now resides in Jeju. Bucheon supporters have waited a very long time for this.

Bucheon finished with 67 points from 39 matches, just five shy of the wealthier Suwon Bluewings (who failed to get promoted). K League 2 is remarkably difficult — clubs lose form very quickly and drop out of promotion spots on a regular basis. Momentum is unheard of. Bucheon, however, bucked that trend. They were top after four weeks, hovered around the playoff spots until week 18, when they climbed to third. Between weeks 18 and 39, they never dropped below fourth, and were third for a total of 16 rounds.

Coming to a K League 1 ground near you soon.

What set Bucheon apart from Suwon Bluewings and so many K League 2 promotion hopefuls of the past was their steely determination to get the job done. They were ready for Suwon FC; they were confident, in-form, and deep down they knew this was their year. Rodrigo Bassani settled the snow-delayed first leg, and the Brazilian was unplayable in the return. I watched the final 15 minutes with their fans. After years of battling through the second-tier wilderness — finishing bottom as recently as 2021 — the emotions ran deep when promotion was confirmed. It was a glorious sight.

What Didn't Go Well

As laid out above, this was close to the perfect season for Bucheon. However, even miracle seasons require improvement. Bucheon are a K League 1 side despite boasting a goal difference of just +10. You have to go down to Busan IPark in eighth to find a club with a less impressive goal difference. Bucheon scored 59 goals — just seven behind champions Incheon United — but conceded 49. Ironically, that was a better record than Suwon in second, but worse than all their other challengers.

On 12 occasions, Bucheon conceded multiple goals, compared to 14 clean sheets (four of those coming in their final four outings). Ultimately, this didn’t have any bearing on their most recent season, but from February the calibre of player increases dramatically. Incheon join Bucheon in K League 1, and their goals-against record reads just 30. Fortunately, there is plenty of time before the new season starts, and Bucheon can work on defensive stability over the winter.

Young Player of the Year

How long Bucheon FC can keep hold of central midfielder Park Hyun-bin remains to be seen. Park has the makings of a future Korean national team No. 6, but to achieve that goal, a move away from Bucheon is likely. Having come through Incheon United’s youth system, Park was sold to Bucheon in March 2024, quickly establishing himself as a mainstay in midfield alongside Takahashi Kazuki. He finished that season with 28 appearances.

Park took things to the next level in 2025, playing 34 times and starting on the bench only twice. He went the full 90 minutes on 18 occasions. Like many of the team’s key players, he sat out the week 39 clash with Hwaseong FC to stay fit for the playoffs. He was no stranger to time off the field, however. The competitive midfielder picked up nine yellow cards and one red throughout the year, totalling four games of suspension. A no-nonsense central midfielder who breaks up play can be a valuable asset in this league.