Launched as the first ever professional league of East Asia in 1983, K LEAGUE is the center of Korean football. ST visited the passionate site and watched the scene as the new season kicks off.

Last summer was the worst year to Korean football. Hong Myung-bo’s the Korea national football team was a complete fiasco. The Korea national football team went out of group preliminary. This huge failure in 2014 Brazil World Cup’s scratched to whole Korean football lovers. But their scar healed by K-League All Star match. All Star match is kind of event match. Best players of K-league and major players in 2002 Korea and Japan World Cup, they played football for development of Korea football. And All Star match hold every year since 1995. Unfortunately, matching day forecast rainy. So before matching day, more than 1000 of tickets were refunded. But unlike with forecasting rainy, morning of matching was sunny. It found out that rain might come afternoon of the day. Whole tickets sold out quickly. More than 50000 people came to watch K-league All Star match. And it is new record since 2003’s K-league All Star match. This tremendous hit offset last year’s huge washout enough.
Planning “Korea Football Legend” Park Ji-sung’s farewell with K-league All Star match was smash hit. There are some critics about K-league All Star match was lean to retired super stars like Park ji-sung and Lee Youngpyo. The other way K-league Challenge members were neglected.
But this year’s All Star match proved that good story and contents will be best option for appealing football fans. Other parts of big hit are K-league football managers. Lots of K-league football managers join All Star matches as referees. Cho young-jeung chairman liaised K-league football manager directly since July. Chairman Cho explained purpose of All Star match and ask for cooperation to K-league football managers. They willingly accepted and they consult for better ideas. Their result of hard work was shown during the matching. Their figure of blowing whistle and waving flag gives attractions to audience. This year’s All Star match’s big hit suggested future of K-league. Raise more football stars and appealing to football fans to more diverse stories and contents. This big hit’s main factor is popularity of retired football players like Park-Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo. This is the main reason for why Korean Football Association invests to raising football players. For this, first football team and football association will cooperation and strategic effort for raising young football players. After revealing of football player’s annual incomes last year, lots of Korean football team went through many hardships because of lots of company reducing to investment to football team. This triggered to exodus of star players. It is time to start whole K-league football team and companies changing mindset.
Lee Young-pyo said to press “K-league knows what shortage is and what is going successfully. This is not the matter

of to know or not to know. It is time to action to better way.” Also when Lee Young-pyo contract as explain member with KBS, he gave condition for expansion of K-league broadcasting. There is good word to K-league, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. K-league is just starting stage. Continued interest is the most important to K-league’s future.