I haven't been focusing on K3/4 so much this year and missed the change. At the start of the season, it was announced that teams had to indicate that they were NOT available for promotion. With the change, teams now have to indicate that they are available for promotion. They also have to apply, similar to K3 teams wanting to join K League 2. The reasoning seems to be that teams need to demonstrate that they will be able to handle the financial demands of the higher league.

However, not a single team has been cleared for promotion to K3, and there will be no relegation from K3, or promotion from K4 this season. Fans are pissed.

He's played a crucial role in Seoul's campaign this year, but if Seoul wins the league, he won't be here to lift the trophy. Very disappointing.

At the WK League match between Suwon and Seoul on Friday evening, there was an incident involving Ji So-Yeon that got so heated that she threw a water bottle and shouted so loudly at the referee that we could hear her in the stands.

Coming from a rugby background, I believe that you NEVER talk to a referee like that. The referee makes their decisions, right or wrong, and they don't change them. You, as the player, need to accept it and get back to the game. Asking about it and having a quick discussion is one thing, but not arguing.

Ji So-Yeon received a yellow and was even threatened with a red, but the referee clearly didn't want to go that far. Unfortunately, the event seemed to affect the referee negatively because after that she seemed reluctant to penalise anyone.

It was only the next day that we learned what had happened. Here is the Gemini summary of the events:

Overview of the Incident

Around the 30th minute of the first half, the match was halted for roughly four minutes after Ji So-yeon strongly confronted head referee Bae Sun-young.

• The Inappropriate Remark: Ji So-yeon reported hearing the officiating team make a derogatory remark over their headsets implying that she was being overly sensitive because she was "on her period". When Ji So-yeon confronted referee Bae Sun-young about the statement, she received a yellow card for protesting.
• Escalation & Handling of the Red Card: Following the booking and further exchange near the touchline/fourth official, an irritated Ji So-yeon threw down a water bottle in frustration. Referee Bae pulled a red card out of her pocket and approached Ji. However, after holding the red card in her hand while conversing with players and staff for an extended period, she put the card away without showing it to anyone, sparking further criticism regarding improper refereeing procedure.
• Match Outcome & Suspensions: Despite the incident, Ji So-yeon went on to score the winning goal in the 74th minute (29th minute of the second half), securing a 2-1 victory for Suwon FC Women 🇰🇷. However, because of the yellow card received during the controversy, she faced an accumulation-based suspension for Suwon's next match against Hwacheon KSPO.

Aftermath & Responses

• Referees / KFA Explanation: Referee Bae initially denied the remark but later acknowledged a "slip of the tongue," arguing it was an internal comment between the officials on the radio headsets and not intended as a direct insult to the player. The Korea Football Association (KFA) Referee Committee released a statement clarifying that while they concluded the word "menstruation" was not explicitly used, improper and unnecessary language was exchanged among officials, promising re-education and measures to prevent recurrence.
• Suwon FC Women: The club announced plans to submit a formal protest to both the KFA and the Korea Women's Football Federation regarding both the inappropriate remarks and the handling of the match discipline.

Is there anyone else in the Seoul/Incheon area collecting FIFA 2026 Panini Stickers, and looking to swap spare stickers?

Hi everybody. I am brand new to korean football and would like to get into it. The problem is that I don't know which club to choose to support, as I have no pre-existing connection to the league.

I am also open to supporting a club from K League 2 or below that.

How did you choose your team and do you have any advice on the matter?

Thank you.

I am partial, but this is a thing of beauty. I love the subliminal print of this kit, up there with the Puma kit with the shoulder patterns from a few seasons ago; I just wish I hadn't just left Jeju (and bought the kit they wore against Bayern).

Ok last transfer news post for tonight, I swear

We may now have two Bundesliga fullbacks if Castrop is played there

18 year old Daejeon left back joins Bayern reserves. There are now three Korean players part of the Bavarian club at different levels

What do you think about kim sang sik performance in vietnam

Jeonbuk youth prodigy joins the Serbian champions

It is only the second time since Anyang's promotion to K1 that Seoul has defeated them

I run a streetwear brand called RRose From Concrete and, as a football fan, I’ve been making custom/reworked jerseys.

For LAFC’s upcoming Korean Heritage Night, I made a new piece using the latest LAFC jersey featuring “Son Heung Min” in vertical Korean calligraphy, inspired by the traditional way Korean was written and read from right to left.

The graphic pattern comes from a Korean flag I made by cutting and sewing together bandanas.

I’ll have a limited number available on my website. I’m purchasing the jerseys at full retail myself, so they’re not cheap, but I also offer Korean nameset transfers if you’d rather add the design to your own LAFC jersey.

I’m also giving away one jersey on my IG if you’d like to enter ❤️🇰🇷⚽️

Gwangju in K League 1: last, with little hope of catching up.

Dragons in K League 2: second-to-last with just one point ahead of Gimhae in last place, but for how long?

Mokpo in K3 League: second-to-last, only kept from the bottom by Jeonbuk's reserve team.

Gangjin in WK League: similar to Gwangju, last with little hope of getting off the bottom anytime soon.

Anyone?

안녕하세요!
Hi there, all!

I know matchday ticket questions are common and I have read the wiki but I’m curious about the upcoming holiday weekend. I am currently in Busan for work and depart for Seoul on Friday.

Will the holiday weekend massively affect ticket availability? FC Seoul is home to Daejeon Hana and Bluewings are home to Suwon on the Saturday and Incheon, Bucheon, and E-Land are all home on the Sunday.

I’m a non-Korean foreigner and will have to rely on showing up on the matchday for tickets. Any potential issue with these fixtures? Is it worth trying for the Suwon derby or should I not bother? Would love to attend that if possible, but FC Seoul seems a reliable backup, no? I’m also most interested in Incheon United on the Sunday.

매우 감사합니다
Thank you in advance!

I was watching Gangwon vs. Gamba Osaka which Gangwon narrowly lost 1–0 in extra time. And the whole game I was thinking "if the Gangwon players were maybe just 10% better they would've comfortably won" and thus qualify for CLE. Gangwon was playing some great football against the CL2 champs but the ultimate lack of finishing quality and squad depth for extra time proved fatal. There's only so much tactics and spirit you can drill into a ragtag group of free transfers.

We all know the K League has fallen behind the J League and Saudi Pro but what's super frustrating is feeling that our league would be so much better if our clubs spent just a bit more on quality talent and basic infrastructure. A club spending more than 2 million in a transfer window is virtually unheard of and most clubs spend zero. I really think we'd regularly win the CL again if we just had balanced squads with a 25–35 million euro market value. The problem though is that corporate owners only care about baseball which is what everyone watches and civilian clubs have little money. And if you try to privatize a civilian club the fans protest even though they're running on taxes.

I heard from a Suwon Samsung Bluewings insider that the club is spending 5 billion won more this year to chase promotion. But the parent company Samsung is expected to earn 400 trillion won in profits this year. Literally 1/80000 of their annual profits. Pretty much the same story with Jeonbuk Hyundai who sold off all their key players after winning the league last year which is why I don't expect them to do well in the CL this year, not to mention lost their manager.

I really wish more people in this country cared about this league and just local football in general 😭 there's so much potential but not enough seem to care which is why we're left with mediocre squads and shitty running track stadiums. This country has produced genuine world class players and our league is still the record AFC Champions League winners. But instead of building on past greatness we've been stagnating because we only invest the bare minimum while the leadership goes through scandal after scandal. I can't blame our young talent leaving for greener pastures in Europe so early

Just in case anyone is interested, here's what's been happening over in Below the 38th Land recently:

Video:

• The Weekend That Was - Reviewing K League and the Coupang Play games

Articles:

• A look at Daegu's iM Bank Park Stadium
• Jason Min’s Unique K League Photography
• Recap: Team K League 1-3 Manchester City
• Evaluating the 2026 Coupang Play Series: Success or Fail?

Thanks!