Choi Jun (; born 17 April 1999) is a South Korean

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

currently playing as a full-back for

FC Seoul FC Seoul ( ko, FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. They play their home games ...

. He is considered one of the most promising players of his generation in South Korea, regarding his versatility (mainly used as a right-back, he can also play as a left-back, a wing-back or a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

), his pace, his technique and his work rate.

Club career

The beginnings

A product of

K League 1 The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...

Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan Hyundai FC ( ko, 울산 현대 축구단) is a South Korean professional football club based in Ulsan that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League in ...

's academy and a graduate from

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

, in 2020 he moved to Ulsan's senior team, after his performances for the national youth teams gained the attention of scouts from several European clubs. However, as the "Horangi" could already count on more experienced players such as Park Joo-ho (on the left side) and Kim Tae-hwan (on the right), Choi was soon loaned to

K League 2 The K League 2 (Hangul: K리그2) is the men's second-highest division of the South Korean football league system. It is contested between thirteen professional clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the K League 1. Hi ...

side

Gyeongnam South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...

, where he consequently played his first professional season.

Gyeongnam

He made his professional debut on July 1, 2020, playing the entirety of a

Korean FA Cup The Korean FA Cup is a national football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the FA Cup was established in 1996, two predecessor competitions named All Joseon Football Tournament ...

match against

Jeonnam Dragons The Jeonnam Dragons (Korean: 전남 드래곤즈) are a South Korean professional football club based in the city of Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. The Dragons play thei ...

, with his side eventually suffering a 4–0 away loss. Being at the start of his senior career, Choi initially had mixed fortunes in

Changwon Changwon () is the capital city of Gyeongsangnam-do, on the southeast coast of South Korea. With a population of 1.07 million , Changwon is South Korea's ninth-most populous city. A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south ...

, registering two assists but also five yellow cards in his first ten matches with Gyeongnam. However, as the season progressed he was praised for showing a hard-working attitude and a good chemistry with his team-mates on the right wing (alternatively,

Ko Kyung-min Ko Kyung-min (; born 11 April 1987) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a forward for Gyeongnam FC in the K League 2. Career He was selected by Incheon United in 2010 K-League The 2010 K League, officially known as Sonata K-League 2010 ...

Negueba Guilherme Ferreira Pinto (born 7 April 1992), known as Guilherme Negueba or simply Negueba, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Thai club Port F.C.. Career Youth Negueba came very young to Flamengo as a futsal p ...

). On October 25, 2020, he registered his first goal ever, by netting the winner in a 4–3 away win against

Bucheon FC 1995 Bucheon FC 1995 (Hangul: 부천 FC 1995) is a South Korean professional football club based in Bucheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. The club was founded in 2007 by a group of former Bucheon SK suppo ...

. As Gyeongnam gained a spot in the promotion play-offs, Choi had the opportunity to take part in two more matches: a 1–1 draw against

Daejeon Hana Citizen Daejeon Hana Citizen Football Club (Korean 대전 하나 시티즌 축구단) is a South Korean professional football team based in Daejeon that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. At the time of its foundation in 199 ...

(Gyeongnam advanced to the following round due to a better placement in the regular league table) and the final against

Suwon FC Suwon FC ( ko, 수원 FC; Hanja: 水原 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based Suwon that competes in the K League 1, the top division of South Korea. They play their home games at Suwon Stadium. History Early years: semi-profe ...

. In this occasion, Choi scored the opening goal of the match, but then

An Byong-jun An Byong-jun (アン・ビョンジュン; born 22 May 1990) is a North Korean footballer who plays as a forward for K League 1 The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean footb ...

equalized, scoring a penalty kick in the final moments of injury time and giving Suwon the promotion to

, again due to better placement. Choi closed his experience in Changwon having registered 20 league appearances and two goals.

Busan IPark

Once returned to Ulsan, Choi soon joined

Busan IPark Busan IPark ( ko, 부산 아이파크) is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan that competes in K League 2, the second tier of the South Korean football pyramid. Its current home ground is Busan Gudeok Stadium. The club was o ...

(who had just been relegated in

) on a permanent basis, together with fellow team-mates

Jung Hoon-sung Jung Hoon-sung (; born February 22, 1994) is a South Korean football player who currently plays as a winger for Busan IPark in the K League 2. Playing career Jung Hoon-sung played for V-Varen Nagasaki and Grulla Morioka is a Japanese associat ...

and Lee Sang-heon, as part of the operation that brought Lee Dong-jun to the "Horangi".

FC Seoul

On 5 January 2024, Jun joined

International career

He has frequently represented South Korea at Under-19 and

Under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

level. In 2018, he took part both in the

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

, where the South Korean selection was eliminated in the group stage, and the AFC Under-19 Championship, where his side reached the final before losing 1–2 to eventual winners

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. In 2019, he was selected by head coach

Chung Jung-yong Chung Jung-yong (, born 1 April 1969) is a retired South Korean association footballer. He is currently a manager of Gimcheon Sangmu FC of K League 2. Honours Manager South Korea U20 *FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2019 Individual *AFC Coach of ...

to take part in the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, being one of the only two players in South Korea's 21-men list (together with Jeong Ho-jin) who hadn't started their senior career, yet. Used as a left-back, he played every match of his side, assisting

Oh Se-hun Oh Se-hun (; born April 12, 1994), also known mononymously as Sehun, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, model and dancer. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo, its sub-group Exo-K and sub-unit Exo-SC. Apar ...

's winner against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the round of 16 and scoring, in order, one penalty in South Korea's successful shoot-out against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

(in the quarter-finals) and the only goal of the victory against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

in the semi-finals. As a result, he played a considerable role in the ''Taeguk Warriors''' road to the tournament's final, then lost to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

with the score of 3–1.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

International

South Korea U19 *

AFC U-19 Championship The AFC U-20 Asian Cup, formerly known as the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship, is a biennial international association football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-20 national teams ...

runner-up: 2018 South Korea U20 *

runner-up:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

South Korea U23 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Individual

* K League 2 Best XI:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Jun 1999 births Living people South Korean men's footballers South Korea men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Yonsei University alumni K League 2 players K League 1 players Ulsan HD FC players Gyeongnam FC players Busan IPark players FC Seoul players South Korea men's under-20 international footballers South Korea men's under-23 international footballers Footballers at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games