When the Korea Football Association (KFA) announced the list for the national football team to fight for the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup Asian qualifiers final, Gimcheon Sangmu stood out with the most players.
Head coach Paulo Bento selected 26 players for the ties against Iraq and Lebanon on September 2 and 7 respectively, including Tottenham winger Heung-min Son and K League stars Hyun-woo Cho and Chang-hoon Kwon, and as many as four players from Gimcheon Sangmu - namely, Sung-yoon Ku, Seung-hyun Jung, Ji-soo Park and Kyu-sung Cho.
Among all K League clubs, even the likes of Ulsan Hyundai and Jeonbuk Hyundai who are closely competing for the trophy this season do not have as many representatives in the national team.
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Why is Gimcheon Sangmu called 'military club'?
Gimcheon Sangmu is a unique club, which can only be found in the K League. The club is owned by Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps. Korean players who are obliged to serve in the military, can continue with their football careers while serving their national defense duties by joining this club.
However, this not an open opportunity for everyone. Only a few selected players under 27 can join. Such process ensures that only the finest of all candidates to join the squad. If there becomes any vacancy by players leaving the club after fulfilling military duties, other players will be next in the line to join. Since this is a part of the national duties, there is no need to pay any transfer fee.
The worldwide famous South Korean footballer, Heung-min Son had once almost joined Gimcheon Sangmu. However, he was given an exemption for his mandatory military service by winning the gold medal in the 18th Asian Games in 2018. According to the Military Service Act, South Korea allows granted exemptions for those high-profile athletes, who either won Olympic medals regardless of its colors or became a gold medalist at the Asian Games.
What else is unique about Gimcheon Sangmu?
The style of football by Gimcheon Sangmu is often referred to as 'the football with happiness' by fans. This is not about surviving through a fierce competition, as in any professional clubs, but rather considered as opportunities for learning and improvement. There are some cases of players who returned to their original club to become key players, after having played and earned their experiences from Gimcheon Sangmu.
Since Gimcheon Sangmu is the only military club that exists in the K League, it has a unique role like no others. But this is the place where many players from the different clubs are gathering to practice and play as a team together. It is the same to compete over the promotion and relegation in the league. This is just another type of football with joy.
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What is Gimcheon Sangmu's market value?
In May 2021, Transfermarkt announced the rank of professional football clubs' market values around the world. From the K League, Gimcheon Sangmu was ranked on the top with the value of 17.75 million euros. This result was quite a surprise, since club was more valued than the former K League and FA cup champion, Jeonbuk (17.48 million euros) as well as Ulsan (17 million euros) who is a former AFC Champions League winner.
Tae-wan Kim, the head coach of Gimcheon Sangmu, commented, "It seems that such a record was because we have the best players in the team. If they got paid any wages, their performances would have been even better. Since this a national duty, they must play for one year and six months without getting paid. I hope they will earn experiences without getting injured while being with us."
