Korean version proofread and edited by Park So-yeon
soyeonaaaa@naver.com
I’m an FC Seoul supporter, not so much by choice as by circumstance. The first match I ever watched in Korea was at FC Seoul vs Ulsan. Daejan still had short hair, and Adi still had long hair. And not only where FC Seoul the first, but also the easiest team to reach. Two or three years later, I started attending matches regularly and eventually became a season ticket holder. I was at the match when they won the Korean FA Cup in 2015, and I was at every home match when they took the league title in 2016.
Then Hwang Sun-hong took over as manager, and everything changed. The problem for me was not that FC Seoul were struggling, but that they didn't seem interested in winning. I don't mind watching a losing team, but they didn't seem to care, which made me not care, and I stopped going altogether.
While still a season ticket holder, I moved closer to Seoul and had access to the subway system and to many more teams. I learned about the K3 League and free matches at stadiums hidden between apartment buildings. I went to watch Seoul Martyrs lose by amazing margins. I travelled to Chuncheon to meet fellow football watchers to see if the new Martyrs coach would make a difference. I went to Goyang where I was approached by a player from Africa, asking if I’m a scout or if I know a scout.
During the 2014 season, I went to Nowon to watch Seoul United FC vs Icheon Citizen. I immediately felt an affinity with the club and would go watch a match there at least once a season after that. Seoul United FC was formed when two amateur teams joined to enter the new K3 League. The club had dreams of being a home-grown Seoul team, for the fans, by the fans. At this match, I sat on the side of the visitors because I spent a few years working in Icheon. But on the opposite side of the small stand were four guys with a drum, singing and chanting in support of United. This tiny group of supporters and the history of the team left an impression on me, and they became the amateur team I supported.
Seoul United won the inaugural season of the K3 League, but as is often the case in non-professional leagues, they struggled financially. The team were never able to repeat the feat of their first season and became a consistent bottom-half team. When the K3 league was split into two, they were relegated to the then K3 League Basic, and when the National League joined the K3 League, United were placed in the K4 league we know today. And this is where this story begins.
I don't recall the exact standings, but going into the final round of the season, United were in 9th place, and I was predicting that, on form, they would be lucky to finish 5. Still a fantastic result considering the season. But, there was a chance, a tiny chance, that they could qualify for the single playoff spot, and I wanted to be there just in case. So I paid Nowon a semi-annual visit to see what would happen. And boy, am I glad I was there. United scored a 6-0 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls. And with some good results from other matches, they managed to leapfrog everyone and finish the season in 8th. The team went to Pocheon for the promotion-relegation playoff, where they suffered a heartbreaking 2-3 loss because their star player and league’s leading scorer, Kim Dong-wook, didn’t have permission to play after the regular season.
The leader of the team's small supporters club wrote this just after their loss in the final game:
오늘 우리는 패배했지만 실패하지 않았다.적지 한가운데에서 우리 팬들의 응원으로 경기장을 가득 채웠고, 주전 스쿼드를 쓸 수 없는 상황에서도 상위리그 팀을 압도하며 90분 내내 당당하고 치열하게 모든 힘을 다해 싸웠다.17년간 수많은 동지와 적이 우리의 곁을 떠나갔지만, 우리는 죽지도 잊혀지지도 않고 또 한 시즌을 살아남았다.우리는 무수히 패배했고 무수히 좌절했지만 결코 버릴 수 없는 꿈을 위해 다시 내년 봄 마들에 설 것이다. 우리가 포기하지 않기에, 서유는, 노원은 절대 실패하지 않는다.“2024 시즌을 함께 한 모든 분들 고생 많으셨습니다.”
Approximate translation:
*Today we lost, but we didn't fail.*
*We filled the stadium with our fan support in the middle of the enemy territory, and even though they could not use the main squad, they overwhelmed the higher league team and fought with all their might for 90 minutes.*
*For 17 years, many comrades and enemies have left our side, but we survived another season without dying or being forgotten.*
*We have been defeated and frustrated countless times, but we will stand again and the fountain of our dream will not be abandoned. Nowon, never fails because we will never give up.*
*Thank you for all your hard work in the 2024 season.*
As the 2025 season approached, I started learning more about the teams and leagues. Despite being interested in lower league football, I never really made an effort to find out just who the teams and players were. I was looking at home grounds, reading news about new teams and just generally spending too much time planning weekend adventures.
And then tragedy struck. Seoul Nowon United FC posted on Instagram that there were internal conflicts, and Nowon Council revoked, or at least did not renew, the agreement for the club to play at Madeul Stadium. With no grounds to play at, and the start of the season so close, they were forced to withdraw and be banned from the league for the 2026 season. Management decided they would disband the team instead, hinting that they might be back someday.
I had no team to follow, but there was still a league and the hope that the team would come back. And that the new adventure was created, visit every team in the K4 league at least once, and sprinkle in some visits to close K3, K5-7 and WK League teams, and document the experience. Specifically, I want to document the off-field action, the travels to get there and the happenings at the match, not the on-field action.
And with that plan in mind, and a notebook in hand, I’m off to watch some K4 League.
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