2021 in South Korean football

Football in South Korea
Season	2021
Men's football
K League 1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
K League 2	Gimcheon Sangmu
K3 League	Gimpo FC
K4 League	Pocheon Citizen
Korean FA Cup	Jeonnam Dragons
Women's football
WK League	Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels

Last updated October 01, 2025

This article shows a summary of the 2021 football season in South Korea.

National teams

FIFA World Cup qualification

5 June AFC second round, Group H	South Korea	5–0	Turkmenistan	Goyang, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9	Hwang Ui-jo 10', 73' Nam Tae-hee 45+2' Kim Young-gwon 57' Kwon Chang-hoon 63'	Report		Stadium: Goyang Stadium Attendance: 3,932 Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

7 June AFC second round, Group H	South Korea	Cancelled	North Korea	Goyang, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9		Report		Stadium: Goyang Stadium

9 June AFC second round, Group H	Sri Lanka	0–5	South Korea	Goyang, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9		Report	Kim Shin-wook 14', 42' (pen.) Lee Dong-gyeong 22' Hwang Hee-chan 53' Jung Sang-bin 77'	Stadium: Goyang Stadium Attendance: 4,008 Referee: Shen Yinhao (China)

13 June AFC second round, Group H	South Korea	2–1	Lebanon	Goyang, South Korea
15:00 UTC+9	Sabra 50' (o.g.) Son Heung-min 65' (pen.)	Report	Saad 12'	Stadium: Goyang Stadium Attendance: 4,061 Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

AFC second round, Group H table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	6	5	1	0	22	1	+21	16	Advance to AFC third round
2	Lebanon	6	3	1	2	11	8	+3	10	Advance to AFC third round
3	Turkmenistan	6	3	0	3	8	11	−3	9
4	Sri Lanka	6	0	0	6	2	23	−21	0
5	North Korea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrawal

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

2 September AFC third round, Group A	South Korea	0–0	Iraq	Seoul, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9		Report		Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

7 September AFC third round, Group A	South Korea	1–0	Lebanon	Suwon, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9	Kwon Chang-hoon 59'	Report		Stadium: Suwon World Cup Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

7 October AFC third round, Group A	South Korea	2–1	Syria	Ansan, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9	Hwang In-beom 47' Son Heung-min 88'	Report	Kharbin 83'	Stadium: Ansan Wa~ Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

12 October AFC third round, Group A	Iran	1–1	South Korea	Tehran, Iran
17:00 UTC+3:30	Jahanbakhsh 76'	Report	Son Heung-min 48'	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

11 November AFC third round, Group A	South Korea	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Goyang, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9	Hwang Hee-chan 36' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Goyang Stadium Attendance: 30,152 Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)

16 November AFC third round, Group A	Iraq	0–3	South Korea	Doha, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3		Report	Lee Jae-sung 33' Son Heung-min 74' (pen.) Jeong Woo-yeong 80'	Stadium: Thani bin Jassim Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Summer Olympics

22 July Group B	New Zealand	1–0	South Korea	Kashima, Japan
17:00 UTC+9	Wood 70'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Stadium Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa)

25 July Group B	Romania	0–4	South Korea	Kashima, Japan
20:00 UTC+9		Report	Marin 27' (o.g.) Um Won-sang 59' Lee Kang-in 84' (pen.), 90'	Stadium: Kashima Stadium Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)

28 July Group B	South Korea	6–0	Honduras	Yokohama, Japan
17:30 UTC+9	Hwang Ui-jo 12' (pen.), 45+5', 52' (pen.) Won Du-jae 19' (pen.) Kim Jin-ya 64' Lee Kang-in 82'	Report		Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama Attendance: 0 Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)

Group B table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	3	2	0	1	10	1	+9	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	New Zealand	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4	Advance to knockout stage
3	Romania	3	1	1	1	1	4	−3	4
4	Honduras	3	1	0	2	3	9	−6	3

Source: IOC FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

31 July Quarter-finals	South Korea	3–6	Mexico	Yokohama, Japan
20:00 UTC+9	Lee Dong-gyeong 20', 51' Hwang Ui-jo 90+1'	Report	Martín 12', 54' Romo 30' Córdova 39' (pen.), 63' Aguirre 84'	Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama Attendance: 0 Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)

AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification

25 October Group H	South Korea	3–0	Philippines	Jalan Besar, Singapore
18:00 UTC+9	Lee Kyu-hyuk 51' Ko Jae-hyeon 72' Park Jeong-in 89'	Report		Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Attendance: 400 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)

28 October Group H	Timor-Leste	0–6	South Korea	Jalan Besar, Singapore
18:00 UTC+9		Report	Park Jeong-in 29', 32', 49' Choi Jun 31' Oh Hyun-gyu 82' Kim Se-yun 87'	Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Attendance: 166 Referee: Ngô Duy Lân (Vietnam)

31 October Group H	South Korea	5–1	Singapore	Jalan Besar, Singapore
21:30 UTC+9	Kim Chan 3' Cho Sang-jun 6' Mahler 25' (o.g.) Park Jeong-in 40' Choi Jun 52'	Report	Adam 57'	Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Attendance: 993 Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Group H table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	3	3	0	0	14	1	+13	9	Qualification for AFC U-23 Championship
2	Singapore (H)	3	1	1	1	4	7	−3	4
3	Timor-Leste	3	1	1	1	3	8	−5	4
4	Philippines	3	0	0	3	0	5	−5	0

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Friendlies

Senior team

25 March	Japan	3–0	South Korea	Yokohama, Japan
19:20 UTC+9	Yamane 16' Kamada 27' Endo 83'	Report		Stadium: Nissan Stadium Referee: Rowan Arumughan (India)

Under-23 team

12 June	South Korea	3–1	Ghana	Seogwipo, South Korea
	Lee Sang-min 18' Lee Seung-mo 59' Cho Gue-sung 66'	Report	Obeng 76'	Stadium: Jeju World Cup Stadium Attendance: 2,532 Referee: Chae Sang-hyub (Korea)

15 June	South Korea	2–1	Ghana	Seogwipo, South Korea
	Jeong Woo-yeong 41' Lee Dong-jun 65'	Report	Barnes 51'	Stadium: Jeju World Cup Stadium Attendance: 2,337 Referee: Choi Hyun-jae (Korea)

13 July	South Korea	2–2	Argentina	Yongin, South Korea
	Lee Dong-gyeong 35' Um Won-sang 90+2'	Report	Mac Allister 12' Vaenzuela 55'	Stadium: Yongin Mireu Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)

16 July	South Korea	1–2	France	Seoul, South Korea
	Kwon Chang-hoon 63' (pen.)	Report	Kolo Muani 84' Mbuku 89'	Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

Women's team

27 November	South Korea	2–1	New Zealand	Goyang, South Korea
14:00 KST (UTC+9)	Moore 59' (o.g.) Lim Seon-joo 81'	Report	Hand 25'	Stadium: Goyang Stadium

30 November	South Korea	0–2	New Zealand	Goyang, South Korea
19:00 KST (UTC+9)		Report	Satchell 83' Rennie 85'	Stadium: Goyang Stadium

Leagues

K League 1

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation^[a]
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (C)	38	22	10	6	71	37	+34	76	Qualification for Champions League group stage
2	Ulsan Hyundai	38	21	11	6	64	41	+23	74	Qualification for Champions League play-off round
3	Daegu FC	38	15	10	13	41	48	−7	55	Qualification for Champions League play-off round
4	Jeju United	38	13	15	10	52	44	+8	54
5	Suwon FC	38	14	9	15	53	57	−4	51
6	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	38	12	10	16	42	50	−8	46

7	FC Seoul	38	12	11	15	46	46	0	47
8	Incheon United	38	12	11	15	38	45	−7	47
9	Pohang Steelers	38	12	10	16	41	45	−4	46
10	Seongnam FC	38	11	11	16	34	46	−12	44
11	Gangwon FC (O)	38	10	13	15	40	51	−11	43	Qualification for relegation play-offs
12	Gwangju FC (R)	38	10	7	21	42	54	−12	37	Relegation to K League 2

Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league was split into two groups, the top six and the bottom six.

K League 2

Regular season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or qualification
1	Gimcheon Sangmu (C)	36	20	11	5	60	34	+26	71	Promotion to K League 1
2	FC Anyang	36	17	11	8	51	37	+14	62	Qualification for promotion play-offs semi-final
3	Daejeon Hana Citizen	36	17	7	12	53	48	+5	58	Qualification for promotion play-offs first round
4	Jeonnam Dragons	36	13	13	10	38	33	+5	52	Qualification for promotion play-offs first round and Champions League group stage ^[a]
5	Busan IPark	36	12	9	15	46	56	−10	45
6	Gyeongnam FC	36	11	10	15	40	45	−5	43
7	Ansan Greeners	36	11	10	15	37	49	−12	43
8	Chungnam Asan	36	11	8	17	38	41	−3	41
9	Seoul E-Land	36	8	13	15	40	39	+1	37
10	Bucheon FC 1995	36	9	10	17	32	53	−21	37

Source: K League Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions
Notes:

↑ Qualified as Korean FA Cup champions.

Promotion play-offs

First round			Semi-final			Final

			2	FC Anyang	1

			3	Daejeon Hana Citizen	3
3	Daejeon Hana Citizen	0

4	Jeonnam Dragons	0
						Daejeon Hana Citizen	1	1	2

						Gangwon FC	0	4	4

K3 League

Regular season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Cheonan City	28	16	6	6	50	25	+25	54	Qualification for Championship final
2	Gimpo FC (C, P)	28	14	10	4	35	20	+15	52	Qualification for Championship semi-final and K League 2
3	Mokpo City	28	14	8	6	34	23	+11	50	Qualification for Championship first round
4	Gyeongju KHNP	28	13	7	8	39	30	+9	46	Qualification for Championship first round
5	Gimhae FC	28	12	8	8	39	35	+4	44
6	Busan Transportation Corporation	28	11	8	9	32	33	−1	41
7	Ulsan Citizen	28	9	11	8	32	24	+8	38
8	Changwon City	28	9	11	8	28	27	+1	38
9	Daejeon Korail	28	8	12	8	32	30	+2	36
10	Paju Citizen	28	8	11	9	32	36	−4	35
11	Cheongju FC	28	9	7	12	37	39	−2	34
12	Hwaseong FC	28	8	10	10	29	34	−5	34
13	Gangneung City	28	4	8	16	23	42	−19	20
14	Yangju Citizen	28	4	8	16	17	43	−26	20
15	Pyeongtaek Citizen (R)	28	5	7	16	20	38	−18	2	Relegation to K4 League

Source: Soccerway Flashscore
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Wins
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Championship play-offs

First round			Semi-final			Final

			2	Gimpo FC	2

			3	Mokpo City	0
3	Mokpo City	1

4	Gyeongju KHNP	1
							Gimpo FC	1	2	3

						1	Cheonan City	0	2	2

K4 League

Regular season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Pocheon Citizen (C, P)	30	21	6	3	80	28	+52	69	Promotion to K3 League
2	Siheung Citizen (P)	30	21	4	5	75	32	+43	67	Promotion to K3 League
3	Dangjin Citizen (O, P)	30	19	5	6	60	40	+20	62	Qualification for promotion play-off
4	Chungju Citizen	30	17	6	7	60	31	+29	57	Qualification for promotion play-off
5	Jinju Citizen	30	16	8	6	57	28	+29	56
6	Geoje Citizen	30	13	8	9	50	39	+11	47
7	Pyeongchang United	30	14	4	12	43	49	−6	46
8	Gangwon FC B	30	11	7	12	50	44	+6	40
9	FC Namdong	30	11	3	16	39	47	−8	36
10	Chuncheon Citizen	30	10	6	14	40	51	−11	36
11	Seoul Nowon United	30	9	5	16	40	53	−13	32
12	Yeoju FC	30	8	6	16	34	58	−24	30
13	Yangpyeong FC	30	7	8	15	39	52	−13	29
14	Seoul Jungnang	30	6	7	17	33	62	−29	25
15	Jeonju Citizen	30	7	3	20	39	71	−32	24
16	Goyang Citizen	30	5	4	21	30	84	−54	19

Source: Soccerway JoinKFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Goals scored; 5) Wins
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Promotion play-off

When the match was finished as a draw, its winners were decided on the regular season rankings without extra time and penalty shoot-out.

14 November 2021

14:00 (UTC+9)

Dangjin Citizen	1–1	Chungju Citizen

Dangjin Stadium, Dangjin

WK League

Regular season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels (C)	21	17	1	3	51	14	+37	52	Qualification for play-offs final
2	Gyeongju KHNP	21	16	3	2	59	17	+42	51	Qualification for play-offs semi-final
3	Suwon UDC	21	9	3	9	35	27	+8	30	Qualification for play-offs semi-final
4	Seoul WFC	21	9	3	9	28	44	−16	30
5	Hwacheon KSPO	21	7	7	7	28	30	−2	28
6	Boeun Sangmu	21	5	7	9	16	30	−14	22
7	Sejong Sportstoto	21	4	2	15	17	44	−27	14
8	Changnyeong WFC	21	1	6	14	19	47	−28	9

Source: Soccerway
(C) Champions

Championship play-offs

Semi-final			Final

			1	Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels	1	1	2
2	Gyeongju KHNP	5		Gyeongju KHNP	1	0	1
3	Suwon UDC	4

Domestic cups

Korean FA Cup

Round of 16 (Fourth round)		Quarter-finals (Fifth round)		Semi-finals (Sixth round)		Final (Seventh round)



Jeonnam Dragons (p)	2 (5)

Busan Transportation Corporation	2 (3)
		Jeonnam Dragons	1

		Pohang Steelers	0
Pohang Steelers	3

Chungnam Asan	1
				Jeonnam Dragons	2

				Ulsan Hyundai	1
Ulsan Hyundai	3

Gyeongnam FC	0
		Ulsan Hyundai	2

		Yangju Citizen	0
Yangju Citizen (p)	0 (10)

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	0 (9)
						Jeonnam Dragons (a)	0	4	4

						Daegu FC	1	3	4
Daegu FC	2

Gimhae City	0
		Daegu FC	2

		Gimcheon Sangmu	1
Gimcheon Sangmu (a.e.t.)	3

Seongnam FC	2
				Daegu FC	1

				Gangwon FC	0
Gangwon FC	2

Seoul E-Land	0
		Gangwon FC	2

		Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0
Suwon Samsung Bluewings (p)	0 (4)

FC Anyang	0 (2)

International cups

FIFA Club World Cup

Team	Result	Round	Score	Opponent
Ulsan Hyundai	Sixth place	Quarter-finals	1–2	UANL
Ulsan Hyundai	Sixth place	Fifth place match	1–3	Al-Duhail

AFC Champions League

Team	Result	Round	Aggregate	Score	Opponent
Daegu FC	Round of 16	Group I	Runners-up	1–3	Kawasaki Frontale
				2–3	Kawasaki Frontale
				7–0	United City
				4–0	United City
				5–0	Beijing Guoan
				3–0	Beijing Guoan
		Round of 16	2–4	2–4	Nagoya Grampus
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Quarter-finals	Group H	Winners	2–1	Chiangrai United
				3–1	Chiangrai United
				2–2	Gamba Osaka
				2–1	Gamba Osaka
				9–0	Tampines Rovers
				4–0	Tampines Rovers
		Round of 16	1–1 (4–2 p)	1–1 ( a.e.t. )	BG Pathum United
		Quarter-finals	2–3	2–3 ( a.e.t. )	Ulsan Hyundai
Pohang Steelers	Runners-up	Group G	Runners-up	2–0	Ratchaburi Mitr Phol
				0–0	Ratchaburi Mitr Phol
				0–3	Nagoya Grampus
				1–1	Nagoya Grampus
				4–1	Johor Darul Ta'zim
				2–0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
		Round of 16	1–0	1–0	Cerezo Osaka
		Quarter-finals	3–0	3–0	Nagoya Grampus
		Semi-finals	1–1 (5–4 p)	1–1 ( a.e.t. )	Ulsan Hyundai
		Final	0–2	0–2	Al-Hilal
Ulsan Hyundai	Semi-finals	Group F	Winners	1–0	Viettel
				3–0	Viettel
				2–0	BG Pathum United
				2–0	BG Pathum United
				3–0	Kaya–Iloilo
				2–1	Kaya–Iloilo
		Round of 16	0–0 (3–2 p)	0–0 ( a.e.t. )	Kawasaki Frontale
		Quarter-finals	3–2	3–2 ( a.e.t. )	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
		Semi-finals	1–1 (4–5 p)	1–1 ( a.e.t. )	Pohang Steelers

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league was split into two groups, the top six and the bottom six.

[table_note_res_CLGS0.14554373833609-2] Qualified as Korean FA Cup champions.

[a]

[a]

v t e 2021 in South Korean football
« 2020 2022 »
National teams	FIFA World Cup qualification Summer Olympics Friendlies
Leagues	K League 1 K League 2 K3 League K4 League WK League
Domestic cups	FA Cup
International cups	FIFA Club World Cup AFC Champions League
Club seasons	FC Seoul Suwon Samsung Bluewings

v t e 2021 in association football
AFC	Australia China India Indonesia Japan Lebanon 20'–21' 21'–22' South Korea Thailand
CAF	Algeria
CONCACAF	Canada United States
CONMEBOL	Brazil
OFC	New Zealand 20'–21' 2021
UEFA	Belgium Croatia England France Germany Italy Netherlands Poland Scotland Slovakia Spain Switzerland Turkey Ukraine

2021 in South Korean football

Contents

National teams

FIFA World Cup qualification

Summer Olympics

AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification

Friendlies

Senior team

Under-23 team

Women's team

Leagues

K League 1

K League 2

Regular season

Promotion play-offs

K3 League

Regular season

Championship play-offs

K4 League

Regular season

Promotion play-off

WK League

Regular season

Championship play-offs

Domestic cups

Korean FA Cup

International cups

FIFA Club World Cup

AFC Champions League

See also

References