In 2023, another new team joins the K-League. Chungcheongbuk-do Cheongju FC covers Chungcheongbuk-do, centering on Cheongju, the capital city of Chungcheongbuk-do.
Chungbuk Cheongju FC, which joined Cheonan City FC as the youngest team this season, is a club that is more than 20 years old if you go back in history. This is because it is based on the Cheongju Solveig soccer team that existed from 2002 to 2008. From 2009, the name was changed to Cheongju Jikji FC, and it was active until 2013, and the following year, it was transformed into Cheongju FC in Chungbuk. From 2015 to last year, it continued its existence under the name Cheongju FC.
However, they all stayed at the amateur level, and this is the first time they have turned professional in earnest and competed against top teams. Starting the new season in the K-League 2 (Part 2), Chungbuk Cheongju FC has the long-cherished wish of 1.6 million Chungcheongbuk-do residents and 850,000 Cheongju citizens, as well as a blueprint to create a new soccer boom in Chungbuk, which was barren for professional football. They appointed coach Choi Yoon-gyeom, an experienced veteran from the Chungcheong region, and raised expectations by recruiting K-League Ryu Won-woo and Malaysian national team Raj.
Can Chungbuk Cheongju FC create a new wind in the K-League? I met with Kim Hyeon-joo, the head of Chungbuk Cheongju FC, and heard his story.
“Hello. CEO, A soccer team was finally founded in Cheongju, the core city of Chungcheongbuk-do.
“Yes, that’s right. It is true that there has been no professional football team in Chungcheongbuk-do, the core of the central region. I am honored to give it to you.”
“With the formation of a professional football team in our region, we can expect to revitalize our youth football. We can expect the dreams and hopes of local youth to grow in the future, and the birth of 15-year-olds and 18-year-olds, as well as Olympic and national representatives, can be expected in the future. There is. I think this part is very encouraging.”
“Now, Cheongju still has a population of nearly 900,000, so it is a bit of a big city in the provinces, and there have been a few clubs in Daejeon and Chungcheongnam-do, but none in Chungcheongbuk-do. I think you have a blueprint that encompasses it. Please tell me about this.”
“There are 3 cities and 8 counties in North Chungcheong Province. In particular, Cheongju is surrounded by IT companies, bio expos, and industrial areas such as industrial complexes 1, 2, and 3. This means that the population is young and dynamic. That’s right. Chungbuk Cheongju FC wants to create an opportunity for workers in Cheongju and Chungbuk to lead the weekend culture together.”
“A culture that makes them look forward to the next weekend again. A new professional football will create a family culture. Not only this, but I have no doubt that the labor-management culture of companies will be settled properly. And most importantly, I think it will be a great opportunity to introduce Cheongju, the central city of the central region, to the whole country.”
안전놀이터 “As you said, there are many companies such as Hynix in Cheongju. I heard that it is a very dynamic city with a very high percentage of young people nationwide. Are you planning to promote youth marketing in Chungbuk Cheongju FC in line with that?”
“There are seven universities in the Cheongju area. There are also many large corporations. That’s why we can secure a lot of fans of the older generation as well as our young people. We will bring together a diverse fan base and present dynamic content differentiated from existing professional soccer teams. We plan to promote a marketing promotion plan to actively engage young soccer fans in the Chungbuk region.”
“For example, what would be some things if they were differentiated from the existing ones?
” I will not play soccer just for soccer. We will go into the citizens and plan and market events that they can participate in. Through various MD products and SNS activities such as Instagram, we plan to continue to promote projects that our young workers and citizens can do together.
“Not only in Cheongju, but also in Chungcheong-do, it’s a bit quiet and doesn’t express itself well, and there’s not a single image like that, but now, if it’s expressed in soccer, it seems like a derby can form with Daejeon. Maybe I should look forward to that as well.”
“Daejeon Hana Citizen has been promoted, and in K League 2, Chungnam Asan FC and Cheonan City FC, who entered with us, are not with us in K League 2. So, I think these parts of the Chungcheong Derby will be more active. It’s a short distance. It’s only 40 minutes away, so it’s a cheering culture with local attachment, so we can harmonize with each other and become a topic of discussion, but I’m looking forward to it.”