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| Full name | Gangwon Football Club 강원도민프로축구단 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2008; 18 years ago (2008) | ||
| Ground | Chuncheon Songam Sports Town Gangneung Stadium | ||
| Owner | Gangwon Province Government | ||
| Chairman | Kim Jin-tae (Governor of Gangwon) | ||
| Manager | Chung Kyung-ho | ||
| League | K League 1 | ||
| 2025 | K League 1, 5th of 12 | ||
| Website | gangwon-fc | ||
 Current season | |||
Gangwon FC (Korean:강원 FC) is a South Koreanfootball club based inGangwon Province. They joined theK League as its 15th club for the2009 season. The club is sponsored byHigh1 Resort.
Gangwon Province's governor Kim Jin-sun announced a schedule for the foundation of the 15th professional football club to participate in theK League on 28 April 2008.[1] A committee, the "Foundation of Football Club in Gangwon Preparation Committee", was organized on 18 June 2008 to facilitate the foundation.[2] Preparations had advanced enough that by 17 November 2008, 14 players had joined Gangwon FC in its first nomination. On 20 November 2008, Gangwon FC organized its first full squad, totaling 23 players, including nine from the 2009 K League draft.[3] Gangwon FC was formally founded on 18 December 2008, in time to participate in the 2009 edition of the K League.
Gangwon FC played its first ever K League match againstJeju United on 8 March 2009, atGangneung Stadium, winning 1–0 with a decisive goal fromYoon Jun-ha. The team continued their winning start with a further four victories on the trot and causing a sensation in the first half of the2009 K League season.[4] Gangwon was unable to maintain their initial success, and by round 19 had fallen into the lower half of the league table. By the conclusion of their first season in the K League, they placed 13th among 15 clubs.
In the2009 Korean FA Cup, Gangwon entered the competition in the round of 32 and defeated their first opponent IncheonKorail FC in apenalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw. They then faced theChunnam Dragons, losing 1–0. In the2009 Korean League Cup, Gangwon finished bottom of their group with only a single win (againstDaejeon Citizen).
Gangwon FC had a difficult season in 2010, even though first strikerKim Young-hoo scored 13 goals in the league. The club finished 12th out of 15 clubs. The 2011 season was the worst since the club's establishment. Gangwon finished last in the league, with the entire team scoring only 14 goals in thirty matches.
In the 2012 season, K League imposed a new promotion-relegation structure: bottom two teams in the top-tier league were to be relegated to second division. In the 43rd round, Gangwon managed to remain in the top-tier withBaek Jong-hwan's decisive goal that won the away game againstSeongnam Ilhwa, avoiding relegation by one point.[5]
In the 2013 season ofK League Classic, the first season in which K League implemented automatic relegation of the bottom two teams and the third from the bottom team having to play in the promotion-relegation playoffs against the champion of theK League Challenge, Gangwon finished the season third from last and subsequently relegated to the K League Challenge after losing toSangju Sangmu Phoenix over two legs in the playoffs.[6]
Halfway through the2018 season, on 12 August 2018,Kim Byung-soo was appointed as new head coach, leading the club to eighth place in theK League 1.[7]
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Thefollowing season,Kim Ji-hyeon was awardedK League Young Player of the Year, as Gangwon finished sixth in the league table. In his first full campaign in 2019, manager Kim Byung-soo earned praise for pushing an entertaining brand of football dubbed "Byung-soo ball." That year, Gangwon led the K League in ball possession, pass attempts, pass completion percentage and forward pass completion percentage, while finishing third in goals.[8]
Focusing on defensive reinforcements prior to the2020 season, which was the team's main weaknesses the previous season, Kim Byung-soo recruitedLim Chai-min,Shin Se-gye andKim Young-bin, among others. With a 2–1 victory at home againstSeongnam on 4 October 2020, Gangwon secured the top spot in the Final B and secured survival in the K League 1.[9]
In the lead-up to the2021 season, players such asMasatoshi Ishida, who had been a mainstay ofSuwon the season before,Sin Chang-moo, who was at the heart ofDaegu's attack, and national team playersYun Suk-young,Rim Chang-woo and Uzbekistani playerRustam Ashurmatov were recruited.[10] On 21 March 2021, they won their home game againstIncheon United with a 2–0 victory to make it their first win in the first six games of the season. On 3 November 2021, in serious danger of suffering relegation to theK League 2 after a humiliating 4–0 loss againstPohang Steelers,Kim Byung-soo was removed from his position.[8] Under his successor,Choi Yong-soo, Gangwon managed to stay up in the top division after beating Daejeon Hana Citizen over two legs in the relegation play-offs.[11]
In the2024 K League 1 season, the club achieved a record-high ranking after finishing as league runners-up behind championsUlsan HD and qualified for the2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite. The impressive performance of Gangwon was in part thanks toK League Young Player of the Year Award winnerYang Min-hyeok, who was signed byTottenham Hotspur after the season.[12]
Gangwon has two home stadiums:Gangneung Stadium (known as the Gangneung High1 Arena for sponsorship reasons) in the coastal city ofGangneung, andChuncheon Songam Stadium inChuncheon, the capital of Gangwon Province.[13]
The club's training ground, called the Orange House, is in Gangneung.[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Season | Captain |
|---|---|
| 2009 |  Lee Eul-yong |
| 2010–11 | Chung Kyung-ho |
| 2011 | Seo Dong-hyeon |
| 2011 | Lee Eul-yong |
| 2012 | Kim Eun-jung |
| 2013 | Chun Jae-ho |
| 2014 | Kim Oh-gyu |
| 2015 | Hwang Kyo-chungBaek Jong-hwan |
| 2016–17 | Baek Jong-hwan |
| 2018 | Jung Jo-gook |
| 2019–20 | Oh Beom-seok |
| 2020–21 | Lim Chai-min |
| 2022 | Kim Dong-hyun |
| 2023 | Rim Chang-woo |
| 2024 | Han Kook-youngYun Suk-young |
| 2025 | Kim Dong-hyunLee You-hyeon |
| 2026 | Lee You-hyeon |
On 13 September 2010, Gangwon FC U-12 team was established inGangneung. On 2 November 2011, Gangwon FC made an agreement with Gangneung Jeil High School (under-18 team) and Jumunjin Middle School (under-15 team).
On 1 February 2021, it was officially announced that Gangwon would be the first fully professional team to found a reserve team set to play in the semi-professionalK4 League, in order to give their youth players and/or other registered members of the senior team more playing time. The main condition for them would be to have at least seven out of eleven players in the starting formation aged 23 or younger.[16]Lee Seul-gi, who had previously served as first-team coach for Gangwon, was appointed as the manager of the newly established U23 squad.
Chung Kyung-hoPark Yong-hoChoi Hyo-jin,Song Chang-hoJeon Sang-wookOh Beom-seokKim Min-sik Jang Seok-min, Byun Ju-won Jang Young-hoon Kim Ju-youngExecutive office
Kim Won-dong (11 November 2008 – 22 July 2011)[19][20] Nam Jong-hyun (22 August 2011 – 19 September 2012)[21] Kim Deok-rae (caretaker) (14 December 2012 – 28 May 2013)[22]Im Eun-ju (29 May 2013 – 31 December 2015)[23][24] Jo Tae-ryong (4 March 2016 – 30 October 2018)[25][26] Han Won-seok (caretaker) (31 October 2018 – 31 December 2018)[27] Park Jong-wan (1 January 2019 – 31 December 2020)[28]Lee Young-pyo (1 January 2021 – 31 December 2022)[29]Kim Byung-ji (1 January 2023 – present)[30][31]| No. | Name | From | To | Season(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Choi Soon-ho | 2008/11/16 | 2011/04/06 | 2009–2011 |
2 | Kim Sang-ho | 2011/04/07 | 2012/07/01 | 2011–2012 |
3 | Kim Hak-bum | 2012/07/09 | 2013/08/11 | 2012–2013 |
4 | Kim Yong-kab | 2013/08/14 | 2013/12/10 | 2013 |
5 |  Arthur Bernardes | 2013/12/23 | 2014/09/18 | 2014 |
| Park Hyo-jin | 2014/09/18 | 2014/12/24 | 2014 | |
6 | Choi Yun-kyum | 2015/01/05 | 2017/08/14 | 2015–2017 |
| Park Hyo-jin | 2017/08/14 | 2017/11/04 | 2017 | |
7 | Song Kyung-sub | 2017/11/02 | 2018/08/11 | 2017–2018 |
8 | Kim Byung-soo | 2018/08/12 | 2021/11/04 | 2018–2021 |
9 | Choi Yong-soo | 2021/11/16 | 2023/06/14 | 2021–2023 |
10 | Yoon Jong-hwan | 2023/06/19 | 2024/12/06 | 2023–2024 |
11 | Chung Kyung-ho | 2024/12/06 | present | 2025– |
League
| Season | League | Cup | Other | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | |||
| 2009 | 1 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 | 57 | –15 | 28 | 13 | R16 | League Cup: GS |
| 2010 | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 36 | 50 | –14 | 30 | 12 | R32 | League Cup: GS | |
| 2011 | 30 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 14 | 45 | –31 | 15 | 16 | QF | League Cup: GS | |
| 2012 | 44 | 14 | 7 | 23 | 57 | 68 | –11 | 49 | 14 | R16 | ||
| 2013 | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 64 | –27 | 36 | 12↓ | R16 | ||
| 2014 | 2 | 36 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 50 | –2 | 54 | 3 | QF | |
| 2015 | 40 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 64 | 56 | +8 | 51 | 7 | R16 | ||
| 2016 | 40 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 33 | +17 | 66 | 4↑ | R32 | ||
| 2017 | 1 | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 59 | 65 | –6 | 49 | 6 | R16 | |
| 2018 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 56 | 60 | –4 | 46 | 8 | R32 | ||
| 2019 | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 56 | 58 | –2 | 50 | 6 | QF | ||
| 2020 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 41 | –5 | 34 | 7 | QF | ||
| 2021 | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 40 | 51 | –11 | 43 | 11 | SF | ||
| 2022 | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 50 | 52 | –2 | 49 | 6 | R16 | ||
| 2023 | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 30 | 41 | –11 | 34 | 10 | QF | ||
| 2024 | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 64 | 2 | R16 | ||
| 2025 | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 37 | 41 | –4 | 52 | 5 | SF | ||
All results list Gangwon's goal tally first.
| Season | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | League stage |  Shanghai Shenhua | 2–1 | N/a | |
| Chengdu Rongcheng | N/a | 0–1 | |||
 Vissel Kobe | 4–3 | N/a | |||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | N/a | 0–1 | |||
| Machida Zelvia | 1–3 | N/a | |||
 Buriram United | N/a | 2–2 | |||
| Shanghai Port | 0–0 | N/a | |||
 Melbourne City | N/a |
