Kim Young-gwon

Kim Young-gwon (김영권; born 27 February 1990) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for Ulsan HD and the South Korea national football team.

Early life
Kim is a native of Jeonju. When he was in middle school, he was not a highly regarded prospect as coaches viewed his slight frame as a disadvantage. Kim began considering becoming a professional footballer when national youth team manager Hong Myung-bo visited Kim's high school to speak to his team.

Kim played college football and futsal for Jeonju University. In 2009, he participated in the Futsal League of the Korea Football Association, and became the champion and the top scorer. His futsal career was a big help to his techniques.

Club career
In 2010, Kim joined J1 League side FC Tokyo, starting his professional career. He scored his first senior goal with a direct free kick in the 2010 J.League Cup against Kyoto Sanga FC. After his first season, Kim transferred to Omiya Ardija, because FC Tokyo was relegated to the second tier by finishing 16th in the league.

In July 2012, Kim transferred to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande. He contributed to the best period of Guangzhou Evergrande, showing foreign player's worth. Guangzhou Evergrande won all of the four league titles in addition to two AFC Champions Leagues during the initial four years with Kim from 2013 to 2016, and Kim was also selected for the Team of the Year every year. However, he lost his influence in Guangzhou due to his injury and the removal of Asian quota in the CSL since 2017.

International career
Kim's first international tournament was the Universiade. He played the 2009 Summer Universiade for South Korean Universiade team.

In the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Kim was the regular center defender of South Korean under-20 team, and scored a goal during the last group match against the United States, which resulted South Korea's advancing to the knockout stage.

Kim also played the 2009 Asian Indoor Games for the South Korea national futsal team.

Kim won the bronze medal with South Korean under-23 team in the 2010 Asian Games. Afterwards, he was named in the primary list for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, but he wasn't selected for the final squad.

In the 2012 Summer Olympics, South Korean Olympic football team finished third, winning its first-ever Olympic football medal. Kim was regarded as a notable player among the bronze medalists.

Kim was a member of South Korea's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and started in all of the team's group matches. South Korea drew with Russia, and lost to Algeria and Belgium in the group stage. His defense wasn't good this time, especially against Algerian players.

At the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Kim scored the second goal in South Korea's 2–0 semi-final defeat of Iraq on 26 January 2015, putting the nation into the Asian Cup final for the first time since 1988. However, South Korea failed to bring the trophy after losing the final to Australia.

Kim was named in South Korea's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He showed outstanding plays unlike four years ago, becoming a great leader of South Korean defenders. Furthermore, in the final group match against Germany, he scored in the 91st minute to knock out the defending world champions, coupled with a second goal minutes later by Son Heung-min.

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Kim scored a goal in South Korea's crucial match against Portugal to level the score 1–1, followed by Hwang Hee-chan's goal in stoppage time, which promoted South Korea to the round of 16. In the round of 16, Kim played his 100th cap for the national team against Brazil, with Korea went on to lose 4–1.

Personal life
In 2014 Kim married Park Se-jin. They have three children, a daughter and two sons. Kim has made guest appearances with his two older children in several episodes of The Return of Superman.

Honours
Jeonju University
 * Korean FA Futsal League: 2009

Guangzhou Evergrande
 * Chinese Super League: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
 * Chinese FA Cup: 2012, 2016
 * Chinese FA Super Cup: 2016
 * AFC Champions League: 2013, 2015

Gamba Osaka
 * Emperor's Cup runner-up: 2020

Ulsan Hyundai
 * K League 1: 2022, 2023

South Korea U23
 * Summer Olympics bronze medal: 2012
 * Asian Games bronze medal: 2010

South Korea
 * AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2015
 * EAFF Championship: 2015, 2019

Individual
 * Korean FA Futsal League top goalscorer: 2009
 * Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
 * EAFF Championship Best Defender: 2015
 * AFC Champions League Dream Team: 2015
 * Korean FA Player of the Year: 2015
 * J1 League Fans' Best XI: 2020
 * K League 1 Best XI: 2022, 2023
 * K League All-Star: 2023
 * K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 2023