Ji Dong-won (,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 池東沅, or ; born 28 May 1991) is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n professional

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, rugb ...

who plays as a winger 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 game ...

and the South Korea national team.

Early life

Born in Chuja Islands, an archipelago of

Jeju City Jeju City ( ko, 제주시, Jeju-si; ) is the capital of the Jeju Province in South Korea and the largest city on Jeju Island. The city is served by Jeju International Airport (IATA code CJU). Located on an island off the Korean Peninsula, Jeju ...

, Ji began his football career at Gwangyang Jecheol High School. (

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 ...

under-18 team). One of the best prospects in South Korea, Ji was sent to an English club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

in 2007 by the

Korea Football Association The Korea Football Association () is the governing body of football and futsal within South Korea. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur football in South Korea. Founded in 1933, the governing body became affiliated with F ...

. After a brief spell in Reading Academy, Ji moved back to his home country to rejoin

' youth team, where he started his career. It was announced in November 2009 that Ji was promoted to the first team of Jeonnam Dragons.

Club career

Jeonnam Dragons

Ji scored 13 goals during 29 appearances in his first professional season including a hat-trick against

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 Worl ...

in the

2010 Korean FA Cup The 2010 Korean FA Cup, known as the 2010 Hana Bank FA Cup, was the 15th edition of the Korean FA Cup. It began on 6 March 2010, and ended on 24 October 2010. The champions Suwon Samsung Bluewings qualified for the 2011 AFC Champions League. Sch ...

. He became a national player due to his notable performance, although he conceded the

K League Young Player of the Year The K League Young Player of the Year Award means the best player among under-23 K League players. This award has been awarded since the 1985 season, the third season in the K League. K League 1 winners (1985–present) Rookie of the Year (1985 ...

award to his rival

Yoon Bit-garam Yoon Bit-garam ( ko, 윤빛가람; or ; born 7 May 1990) is a South Korean professional association football player. Club career Yoon created the most chances among participants of the 2020 AFC Champions League, leading Ulsan Hyundai to ...

. The next year, Ji agreed a move to Premier League side Sunderland in the summer transfer window.

Sunderland

In June 2011, Ji agreed a deal to join

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

of the English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

as a summer transfer after impressing manager

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising scho ...

with his performance in the

2011 Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the fifte ...

, in which he scored four goals and provided two assists in six games. He signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee (believed to be around £2 million). Upon joining the club, Ji was given a number 17 shirt ahead of the new season. Ji made his first appearance for his new club in a 1–1 draw with

Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of ...

in the club's pre-season tour of Germany. He scored his first goal for Sunderland in a pre-season friendly against Darlington. Ji made his league debut for Sunderland on 13 August 2011 coming on for

Asamoah Gyan Asamoah Gyan ( ; born 22 November 1985) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who last played as a striker for Legon Cities FC and is the former captain of the Ghanaian national team. Gyan began his career in 2003 with Ghanaian Premier Leag ...

in the 66th minute against

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. Ji scored his first Premier League goal in the 90th minute against Chelsea from a

Nicklas Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a forward. His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the right side of attack, and occasionally on the left. A large ...

assist on 10 September 2011, to which Sunderland lost 2–1. Just 12 minutes after coming on as substitute in the second–half against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

on 1 January 2012, Ji scored the winning goal in the 90th minute, in a 1–0 win. However, his first team opportunities at Sunderland was limited, due to his fitness and he appeared invariably as a late substitute. As a result, he played in the reserve side to regain his match fitness. Towards end of the 2011–12 season, Ji's first team opportunities was further limited by new Manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his play ...

. Despite this, Ji went on to make the total of 21 appearances and scoring 2 times in all competitions. Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Ji was told by Manager O’Neill that he needs to develop in the Premier League physically if he is fully deliver on his potential. However, he failed to appear in the first team throughout the first half of the season and appeared in the reserve side instead. In the 2013–14 season, Ji made his first Sunderland appearance in over a year, where he came on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–0 loss against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

in the opening game of the season. He appeared in the first team under the management of

Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward ...

and rejected a £5 million bid from an unnamed club for him. However, after Di Canio, Ji was hardly featured in the first team following a new management of

Gus Poyet Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer. He is currently the head coach of the Greece national football team. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his car ...

. On 1 January 2014, when he made his first start, in his first appearance under Poyet, in a 1–0 loss against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...

, in what turns out to be his last appearance. Although he went on to make the total of seven appearances by the time of his departure, it was revealed that Sunderland failed gain international clearance from the German Football Association, resulting a fine by the Premier League. During his time at Sunderland, Ji earned a cult hero status among the club's supporters.

Loan to FC Augsburg

When his opportunities in Sunderland were limited, Ji was linked with Jeonnam Dragons and

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded ...

. On 1 January 2013, Ji signed for FC Augsburg on loan for the rest of the season, where his national teammate midfielder

Koo Ja-cheol Koo Ja-cheol (; or ; born 27 February 1989) is a South Korean footballer who plays for Jeju United as a midfielder. Koo is one of the three most successful South Korean players with careers in the German Bundesliga, alongside Cha Bum-kun an ...

was also on loan. On 20 January 2013, Ji made his Augsburg debut against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

. On 24 February, he scored his first goal for Augsburg in a 2–1 win over 1899 Hoffenheim. On 14 April, Ji scored two goals against Eintracht Frankfurt, single-handedly clinching a 2–0 victory for his side. Afterwards, he also scored in two victories against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

and Greuther Fürth, helping Augsburg avoid relegation. The club remained interested in signing Ji at the end of the season on a permanent basis, but failed to reach the deadline of purchase option. On 17 January 2014, Sunderland announced that Ji had signed a contract with FC Augsburg on a permanent switch for an undisclosed fee until the end of the

2013–14 Bundesliga The 2013–14 Bundesliga was the 51st season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 9 August 2013 and the final matchday was on 10 May 2014. The winter break started on 23 December 2013 and ended on 24 January 2 ...

season and would sign for

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

on 1 July 2014. On 25 January 2014, Ji started his second spell with FC Augsburg in style against his future employer Borussia Dortmund; after being substituted into the game with 20 minutes left to play, Ji scored a header to draw the game 2–2. Since making his debut for the club, Ji continued to remain in the first team for the rest of the season, even though he suffered injuries later on.

Borussia Dortmund

Ji signed a four-year contract with

on 1 July 2014 after finishing his loan spell with Augsburg. However, he only made appearances with the reserve team, prompting a return to Augsburg. This also combined with injuries as well. Prior his move to Augsburg, Ji found the six months spell at with injuries and playing in the reserve side, as "difficult" there.

Return to FC Augsburg

On 22 December 2014, after failing to appear competitively for Borussia Dortmund, Ji signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with FC Augsburg, until 30 June 2018. On 5 November 2015, Ji scored his first Europa League goal in a 4–1 win over AZ. During the 2015–16 season, however, he struggled to regain his form due to his repetitive injuries and failed to score in the Bundesliga. In the 2016–17 season, Ji started the season well when he was a given a handful of first team appearances for the side and found himself competing in the attacking midfield position with

Takashi Usami is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for Gamba Osaka in the J1 League. He plays as a forward or a winger. Club career Gamba Osaka Usami made club history by making his professional debut for Gamba Osaka at the age of 17 years and 1 ...

Caiuby Caiuby Francisco da Silva (born 14 July 1988), commonly known as Caiuby, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Regionalliga Bayern club Türkgücü München. Career Caiuby was born in São Paulo. His former clubs inc ...

and

Jonathan Schmid Jonathan Schmid (born 22 June 1990) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or right back for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg. Early and personal life Schmid was born in 1990 in Strasbourg to an Austrian father who comes from ...

. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...

on 30 September 2016. The following month, on 26 October 2016, he scored again in a 3–1 loss against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

in the second round of the DFB–Pokal. By the end of 2016, Ji added two more goals against Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund. As the 2016–17 season progressed, Ji began playing into a forward role following the absent of

Alfreð Finnbogason Alfreð Finnbogason (born 1 February 1989) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a forward for Danish Superliga club Lyngby Boldklub and the Iceland national team. With Heerenveen, Alfreð was the Dutch Eredivisie's top scorer ...

and Raúl Bobadilla but struggled to score under the new position. Despite this, Ji played all 34 matches in the

2016–17 Bundesliga The 2016–17 Bundesliga was the 54th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 26 August 2016 and ended on 20 May 2017. Bayern Munich were the defending champions. Fixtures for the 2016–17 season were anno ...

. On 1 March 2019, Ji scored twice against his former club

and led Augsburg to a stunning 2–1 upset over the league leaders.

FC Seoul

After a long spell in Augsburg, Ji moved to

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the t ...

and

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding members of the Bunde ...

, but wasn't impressive in both clubs. On 7 July 2021, it was announced that Ji would join

International career

After representing the under-20 side, Ji was called up for the under-23 team prior to the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several event ...

. During the bronze medal match against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, he scored dramatic equaliser and winning goal in the 88th and 89th minute respectively, bringing a 4–3 victory and a medal. Ji was called up to the senior team ahead of the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the fifte ...

. He made his senior debut and scored in a 1–0 win over

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

on 30 December 2010. He was selected for the Asian Cup team after showing his worth in the friendly. He scored two goals in a group match against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Ji then scored twice for the second time in the third place match against

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, earning a bronze medal. During the tournament, Ji scored four goals in six games, catching

manager

's eye. Two years later, Ji participated in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. He was a substitute until the end of the group stage, but appeared as a starter in the quarter-finals against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

. He scored the opening goal against Great Britain, remunerating his manager

Hong Myung-bo Hong Myung-bo ( ko, 홍명보, Hanja: 洪明甫; ; born 12 February 1969) is a South Korean former footballer who played as a sweeper, and the current head coach of Ulsan Hyundai. Hong is often considered one of the greatest Asian footballers ...

for believing him. He won a bronze medal after his team defeated

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 n ...

in the bronze medal match. Ji played in the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...

as a substitute. He made two appearances against

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

in the group stage.

Personal life

Ji is nicknamed the "Tuna", because his name was the same as

Dongwon Industries Dongwon Industries, Ltd. ( ko, 동원산업주식회사) is a South Korean seafood company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Founded by Kim Jae-chul in 1969, it is the main representative of the Dongwon , a family conglomerate comprising 15 aff ...

, a company famous for canned tuna in South Korea. In June 2017, Ji married Kang Ji-eun, an older sister of

Kang Ji-young Kang Ji-young (born January 18, 1994), also known as Jiyoung or JY, is a South Korean singer and actress based in Japan. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Kara. Life and career Kang Ji-young was born on January 18, 1994, in Paju ...

, a former member of K-pop girl group

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...

. The couple first met in 2015.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ji goal''.

Honours

South Korea U23 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

bronze medal:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

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 ...

bronze medal:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

South Korea *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

third place:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

Individual *

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 ...

top goalscorer:

References

External links

*
Ji Dong-won – National Team Stats
at KFA * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ji, Dong-Won 1991 births Living people Association football forwards South Korean footballers South Korean expatriate footballers South Korea under-20 international footballers South Korea under-23 international footballers South Korea international footballers Jeonnam Dragons players Sunderland A.F.C. players FC Augsburg players Borussia Dortmund II players Borussia Dortmund players SV Darmstadt 98 players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Eintracht Braunschweig players FC Seoul players K League 1 players Premier League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Expatriate footballers in England South Korean expatriate sportspeople in England South Korean expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Expatriate footballers in Germany South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Germany 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of South Korea Olympic medalists in football Olympic bronze medalists for South Korea Sportspeople from Jeju Province Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2014 FIFA World Cup players Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games 2019 AFC Asian Cup players