Football is one of the most popular sports, both in terms of participants and spectators, inSeoul. It hosted several of South Korea's leading football clubs and has the biggest football stadium in the country, theSeoul World Cup Stadium.
Football was introduced to Koreans by the crew of theRoyal Navy'sHMS Flying Fish in thePort of Incheon in June 1882, and it was adopted as a physical education course atNational Seoul Foreign Language School [ko] in 1904. The first senior football match in Korea was contested betweenKorea Sports Club andKorea YMCA at SeoulDongdaemun Stadium in 1905.[1]
In 1902, after the establishment of a football team atPaichai Academy in Seoul, there was a footballing boom throughout Korea. Many football clubs and school football teams were formed in the 1910s, including Bulgyo Cheongnyeonhoe (불교청년회, Buddhist Youth Club), Geongang Gurakbu (건강구락부, Health Club) and Joseon Football Club (조선축구단) in Seoul. The football clubs in Seoul usually had rivalries against the clubs inPyongyang, the second biggest city in Korea.Kyungsung FC, named according to Seoul's name at the time, was formed in 1933 and became the only Korean club to win theEmperor's Cup in Japan.
Clubs inbold are still active.
Only champions located in Seoul are counted.
| Type | Competition | Total | Club | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | K League 1 | 7 | FC Seoul | 4 (1990,2010,2012,2016) |
| Ilhwa Chunma | 3 (1993,1994,1995) | |||
| Korean Semi-professional League (Spring) | 3 | Seoul City | 3 (1978, 1980, 1988) | |
| Korean Semi-professional League (Autumn) | 2 | Seoul City | 2 (1985, 1989) | |
| K3 League (2007–2019) | 1 | Seoul United | 1 (2007) | |
| Korean FA Cup | 1 | FC Seoul | 1 (2015) | |
| Korean National Championship | 3 | Seoul City | 3 (1980, 1982, 1986) | |
| Korean League Cup | 3 | FC Seoul | 2 (2006,2010) | |
| Ilhwa Chunma | 1 (1992) | |||
| International | Asian Club Championship | 1 | Ilhwa Chunma | 1 (1995) |
In the 1980s,South Korean baseball felt that marketing in Seoul was important for the popularity of theKBO League, so it set up two baseball clubs atDongdaemun Baseball Stadium in Seoul.[2] On the other hand, theK League only superficially assigned locations to its clubs and, until the mid-1980s, ordered all clubs to visit all stadiums in order instead of a home-and-away system. The K League allowed three clubs to settle atDongdaemun Stadium after adopting a home-and-away system; however, the clubs left Seoul in 1996 to comply with theK League decentralization policy.[3]
From 1990 to 1995, the Dongdaemun derby was contested between three clubs, namelyIlhwa Chunma,LG Cheetahs andYukong Elephants.[4][5] The rivalry at Dongdaemun Stadium received attention despite its short period and the great popularity of baseball.[6] Two of the derbies were the1992 Korean League Cup finals between Ilhwa Chunma and LG Cheetahs, and ended in Ilhwa's victory.[7]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Ilhwa | LG | Yukong | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilhwa Chunma (1990–1995) | 76 | 30 | 29 | 17 | 97 | 81 | — | 15W, 14D, 13L 56GF, 52GA | 15W, 15D, 4L 41GF, 29GA | |
| Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso (1990) LG Cheetahs (1991–1995) | 76 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 92 | 95 | 13W, 14D, 15L 52GF, 56GA | — | 11W, 12D, 11L 40GF, 39GA | |
| Yukong Elephants (1991–1995) | 68 | 15 | 27 | 26 | 68 | 81 | 4W, 15D, 15L 29GF, 41GA | 11W, 12D, 11L 39GF, 40GA | — |
Seoul E-Land was founded in April 2014, and entered theK League 2 the next year. It originally played its home matches atSeoul Olympic Stadium, and moved toMokdong Stadium in 2022. E-Land could not playFC Seoul in the league due to the failure of its promotion before meeting FC Seoul in the third round of the2021 Korean FA Cup on 14 April 2021. The first derby between the two clubs ended in E-Land's 1–0 win at Seoul World Cup Stadium.[9]
Suwon Samsung Bluewings had a rivalry with Anyang LG Cheetahs since its foundation, and the rivalry was further developed after LG Cheetahs returned to Seoul with the name ofFC Seoul. It became one of the most popular derbies at theK League, and was named theSuper Match.[10]
Seoul andIncheon are the two biggest cities in theSeoul Metropolitan Area, and the football rivalry between them was naturally formed. The match between FC Seoul andIncheon United is called theGyeongin derby [ko]. The violent incidents are often caused by both supporters whenever the derby is finished.[11][12] As of 2024, FC Seoul leads the all-time series with 28 wins, 22 draws and 18 losses.
In 2004, Anyang LG Cheetahs returned to Seoul, their hometown before thedecentralization policy, and was renamed FC Seoul. The club's relocation brought itself into conflict withAnyang fans, who started to call it insulting nickname "Bukpae", which means Northern Immorality (Bukjjok-eui Paeryun).[13] The government of Anyang founded its football clubFC Anyang in 2013, and joined theK League 2 that year. On 19 April 2017, the first match between two clubs was held in the round of 32 of the2017 Korean FA Cup, and Seoul defeated Anyang 2–0.[14] Their rivalry attracted attention again after Anyang was promoted to theK League 1 in 2025.[15]
| |||||||
| National teams |
| ||||||
| League system |
| ||||||
| Cup competitions |
| ||||||
| Other competitions | |||||||
| Lists |
| ||||||
