Busan IPark


title: "Busan IPark" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["busan-ipark", "association-football-clubs-established-in-1979", "k-league-1-clubs", "sports-clubs-and-teams-in-busan", "1979-establishments-in-south-korea", "k-league-2-clubs", "works-football-clubs-in-south-korea", "afc-champions-league-elite-winning-clubs"] topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busan_IPark" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox football club"]

FieldValue
clubnameBusan IPark
imageBusan IPark.svg
image_size170
fullnameBusan IPark Football Club
부산 아이파크 축구단
founded
groundBusan Gudeok Stadium
capacity12,349
ownerHDC Hyundai Development Company
(affiliated with HDC Group)
chairmanChung Mong-gyu
managerJo Sung-hwan
leagueK League 2
season2025
positionK League 2, 8th of 14
website
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body1FF0000
rightarm1FF0000
shorts1FF0000
socks1FF0000
leftarm2FFFFFF
body2FFFFFF
rightarm2FFFFFF
shorts2FFFFFF
socks2FFFFFF
::

| clubname = Busan IPark | image = Busan IPark.svg | image_size = 170 | fullname = Busan IPark Football Club 부산 아이파크 축구단 | nickname = | short name = | founded = | ground = Busan Gudeok Stadium | capacity = 12,349 | owner = HDC Hyundai Development Company (affiliated with HDC Group) | chairman = Chung Mong-gyu | manager = Jo Sung-hwan | league = K League 2 | season = 2025 | position = K League 2, 8th of 14 | website = | pattern_la1 = | pattern_b1 = | pattern_ra1 = | pattern_sh1 = | pattern_so1 = | leftarm1 = FF0000 | body1 = FF0000 | rightarm1 = FF0000 | shorts1 = FF0000 | socks1 = FF0000 | pattern_la2 = | pattern_b2 = | pattern_ra2 = | pattern_sh2 = | pattern_so2 = | leftarm2 = FFFFFF | body2 = FFFFFF | rightarm2 = FFFFFF | shorts2 = FFFFFF | socks2 = FFFFFF Busan IPark FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan that competes in K League 2, the second tier of the South Korean football pyramid. They play their home games at the Busan Gudeok Stadium.

Busan IPark was founded as a semi-professional team in November 1979 by Saehan Motors. The club was one of the original five founding members of the K League and continuously competed in the first division from 1983 to 2015, when they were relegated for the first time. Initially, the club was called Daewoo Royals, in reference to the motor company that originally owned and financed it. Since the early 2000s, Busan has received financial backing from the HDC Group and its apartment brand IPARK, rebranding as Pusan i.cons and later as Busan IPark.

History

Daewoo Royals

After topping the league for most of the 1983 season, Daewoo finished second in their debut season, losing the title by one point to Hallelujah FC after a goalless draw against Yukong Elephants in the Masan Series. In its second season, the club turned professional, renamed as Daewoo Royals, and clinched its first league title after defeating Yukong Elephants by an aggregate score of 2–1 in the 1984 K League Championship playoff.

Daewoo Royals headed into the 1986 K League season as continental champions after clinching the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship, becoming the first South Korean side to accomplish this feat after defeating Al-Ahli 3–1 after extra time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Despite the continental success, the team suffered a poor season and failed to reach the 1986 K League Championship playoff after finishing fourth in the first round of the league and third in the second.

The Royals clinched their second league title after finishing atop the league with 46 points in the 1987 season. They won their third title in 1991 after finishing ten points clear of their nearest rivals that season, Hyundai Horang-i. The Royals' momentum didn't last as the club struggled in subsequent seasons, finishing at or near the bottom of the league.

Pusan Daewoo Royals

At the end of the 1995 season, K League sides began the process of "localizing", and the club became known as Pusan Daewoo Royals () in reference to its city of residence. In 1997, they won their fourth league title, becoming the first team to win the K League Championship four times.

Although the 1998 season marked the emergence of a forward Ahn Jung-hwan, the Royals finished mid-table. The club did however manage to qualify for the 1999 K League Championship playoffs after finishing fourth in the regular season. During the playoffs, the Royals managed to knock out Chunnam Dragons and Bucheon SK to secure the right to face the defending champions, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, but lost in the final 4–2 on aggregate.

Pusan i.cons

As a company-owned club, the Royals' success was invariably linked to the health and success of its owner, Daewoo Corporation. In the early 2000s, the company parted ways with its once-successful sports franchise due to major financial problems that had accumulated since the late 1990s. IPark Construction, the domestic construction division of Hyundai, secured ownership of the club and acquired all of its history and records. The new owners not only renamed the club as Pusan i.cons, but also changed the club's home colours from blue to red and relocated the club from Busan Gudeok Stadium to Busan Asiad Stadium.

Under new ownership, the club rarely challenged for the title, finishing mid-table or near bottom of the league in the 2000s. Aside from winning the Korean FA Cup for the first time in the club's history in 2004 under the guidance of Scottish manager Ian Porterfield (defeating Bucheon SK in a penalty shoot-out), the trophy cabinet remained largely empty.

Busan IPark

On the onset of the 2005 season, the owners changed the club's name to Busan I'Park (currently Busan IPark). After winning the first round, Porterfield's Busan side reached the 2005 K-League Championship play-offs, but lost to a traditionally lightweight, but then-inspired Incheon United side led by Chang Woe-ryong.

For the 2008 season, Hwang Sun-hong took over as manager. Although Busan did not win any silverware during his tenure, he did manage to bring in players such as Kim Chang-soo, Jeong Shung-hoon, Yang Dong-hyun and Kim Geun-chul while injecting the team with much needed youth by giving prospects such as Han Sang-woon, Park Hee-do, and Park Jong-woo first team opportunities. In his final season in charge of Busan, Hwang managed to lead his side to the 2010 Korean FA Cup final.

For the 2011 season, the board appointed An Ik-soo to take over from Hwang Sun-Hong who had left to manage his former club, Pohang Steelers. Under An, Busan managed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2005 after finishing fifth on the league table in the regular season. An's Busan side was knocked out in the first round of the play-offs by Suwon Samsung Bluewings by a familiar scoreline of 1–0.

In February 2012, an adjustment was made to the club's name by dropping an apostrophe making the official name read Busan IPark.

In 2015, after nine successive bottom-half finishes, Busan IPark were relegated to the second-tier K League Challenge for the first time in their history.

Towards the end of the 2016 season, with an immediate return to the K League Classic looking unlikely, IPark moved back to their smaller, previous home ground, the Gudeok Stadium.

Busan IPark had an impressive 2017 season, although this was overshadowed by the death of then-manager Cho Jin-ho with only two weeks remaining in the season. Busan finished runners up in the K League Challenge to Gyeongnam FC, losing only 6 games all season. With caretaker manager, Lee Seung-yub in charge, Busan defeated Asan Mugunghwa, in the playoff semi-final, but lost on penalties after a two-legged final to Sangju Sangmu FC, who became the first K League Classic team to retain their league status via the playoffs. Busan also reached the final of the FA Cup, knocking out higher league opposition in Pohang Steelers, FC Seoul, Jeonnam Dragons and Suwon Bluewings but once again lost over a two-legged final, this time to Ulsan Hyundai.

For the 2018 season in the newly re-branded K League 2, Choi Yun-kyum was appointed manager after previously gaining promotion with Gangwon FC. Busan IPark eventually finished third in the K League 2, but for the second consecutive season lost in the two-legged playoff final, this time to FC Seoul. Despite again failing in their promotion bid, Busan broke numerous attendance records for the K League 2, including over 10,000 for the home leg of the playoff final. After failing to get promoted, manager Choi Yun-kyum resigned in the off-season and was replaced by Cho Deok-je. Busan enjoyed a successful 2019 season, with Cho Deok-je implementing an attacking brand of football that saw Busan finish as the top-scoring team in the division. Cho's side were built around young talents such as Kim Moon-hwan, Lee Dong-jun, and Kim Jin-kyu, as well as then national team striker Lee Jung-hyup, veteran midfielder Park Jong-woo, and Brazilian playmaker Rômulo. Busan IPark finished second in the K League 2 behind Gwangju FC, entering the promotion playoffs for the fourth season in a row. After defeating FC Anyang 1–0 at home, Busan faced local rivals Gyeongnam FC in a two-legged final. After a goalless first leg at the Gudeok Stadium, Busan won the away fixture 2–0 to secure their return to Korea's top division for the first time since 2015.

The 2020 season brought quite the opposite feelings, in comparison: the club quickly found itself fighting against relegation, and coach Cho Deok-je eventually left the club in September after a poor run of results. Former Incheon United coach Lee Ki-hyung took over in a caretaker capacity for the remaining four games of the season. After taking four points from his first two games in charge, Busan only needed a single point from either of their final games of the season to guarantee their top flight status for another year. However, despite leading at half-time against both Incheon United and Seongnam FC, Busan lost both games and finished in last place, thus getting relegated back to the K League 2.

Because of this major blow, at the start of 2021 Busan's board chose to pursue a general rebuild, which was opened by massive changes in the locker room: a multi-phased trade with Ulsan Hyundai saw Lee Kyu-seong and homegrown rising star Lee Dong-jun depart, in favour of Choi Jun, Park Jeong-in, Lee Sang-heon and Jung Hoon-sung; other prominent players, including Han Ji-ho (who went to Bucheon FC 1995), Kang Min-soo (to Incheon United), Rômulo (to Chengdu), Kim Moon-hwan (who joined MLS club Los Angeles FC) and Kwon Hyeok-kyu (due to military service at Gimcheon Sangmu), left the club as well; the previous year's top scorer and MVP, An Byong-jun, as well as Ahn Joon-soo, Park Min-gyu (on loan), Valentinos Sielis, Domagoj Drožđek and Ryan Edwards, were all brought in.

The team also had its first permanent foreign manager since 2007, as newcomer Ricardo Peres was appointed, following a conversation between the board and then South Korean national team head coach Paulo Bento, who Peres had worked with for years. Although the young Portuguese manager succeeded in implementing new training strategies at the club and giving young players more chances, he had a controversial relationship with supporters, while the team's results were panned by inconsistency and lack of balance: having the worst defence of the league (with 56 conceded goals) and relying mainly on two players for goals (An Byong-jun and Park Jeong-in), Busan finished fifth in the league and out of the promotion play-offs. Nevertheless, new positives were still taken as backbone player Kim Jin-kyu established himself as one of the best midfielders of the season, while Choi Jun and An Byong-jun were nominated in the league's Best XI, as the latter also won both his second Top Scorer and MVP awards in a row.

Club name history

::data[format=table]

NamePeriod
Saehan Motors FC1979–1980
Daewoo FC1980–1982
Daewoo Royals1983–1995
Pusan Daewoo Royals1996–2000
Pusan i.cons2000–2002
Busan I'Cons2002–2005
Busan I'Park2005–2011
Busan IPark2012–present
::

Youth teams

In 2012, Busan IPark signed an agreement with Gaesong High School, taking the school's pre-existing football team under the club's umbrella as its under-18 team. The team competes in K League Junior, the youth division of K League. IPark were runners-up in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Since 2015, the club has also operated an under-15 team in affiliation with Nakdong Middle School. The club's academy system also operates boys' teams at under-12 and under-9 level. In 2024, Busan IPark became the first professional club in South Korea to launch an under-15 girls' team, announcing plans to further expand their girls' academy provision with under-12 and under-18 teams in the future.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Retired number(s)

Main article: Retired numbers in football (soccer)

12Club supporters (the 12th man)

16 — KOR Kim Joo-sung, 1987–1999 (winger, attacking midfielder, centre-back)

Backroom staff

Coaching staff

Support staff

  • Medical trainer: KOR Kang Hoon
  • Physical therapist: KOR Lee Gwang-dong
  • Trainer: KOR Kim Young-hyun
  • Team doctors: KOR Kim Myeong-jun, KOR Kim Ho-jun
  • Analysts: KOR Jeon Gon-jae, KOR Yeo Seong-hyuk
  • Interpreter: KOR Choi Yu-up
  • Equipment manager: KOR Kang Gun-mo

Source: Official website

Kits

Kit suppliers

  • 1983–1992: Adidas
  • 1993–1995: Erima
  • 1996–1998: Adidas
  • 1999: Fila
  • 2000–2003: Nike
  • 2004: Kappa
  • 2005–2006: Hummel
  • 2007–2011: Fila
  • 2012–2013: Puma
  • 2014–2017: Adidas
  • 2018–2021: None (the club used the Adidas uniform sponsored by Kika)
  • 2022–2023: Puma
  • 2024–present: Mizuno

Honours

Domestic

League

Cups

International

Continental

Worldwide

Invitational

Season-by-season records

::data[format=table]

SeasonLeagueKorean CupACLOtherDivisionGPWDLGFGAGDPtsPos.
19831166732114+7192
19842817654723+24591
1985219752216+6253
19862010282624+2224WAACCW
198732161424120+21461
19882485112830–2215
19894014141244440423
199030121173025+5352
199130171854932+17521
19923071492633–7285LC — 6th
199330515102232–10406LC — 3rd
19943076173756–19276LC — 3rd
19952895143040–10325LC — 3rd
19963299144551–6366QFLC — 3rd
1997181143249+153711RLC(A)W
LC(P)W
1998186482722+5255QFLC(A) — GS
LC(P)W
199927104133736+13724th in league, 2nd in play-offsRo16QFLC(A) — PR
LC(D) — RU
200027921642420296SFLC(A) — QF
LC(D) — GS
200127101163833+5415QFLC — RU
20022768133645–9269QFLC — GS
2003441310214171–30499Ro32
20042461262119+2307WLC — 13th
20052477102831–32810Ro32SFLC — 13th
SC — RU
20062697104042–2348Ro16LC — 10th
20072648142039–192013QFLC — GS
20082657143039–92212Ro16LC — QF
20092878133642–62912Ro16LC — RU
20102889113637–1338RULC — QF
201130137104943+64665th in league, 6th in play-offsQFLC — RU
2012441314174051–11537Ro32
2013381410144341+2526SF
2014381013153749–12438QF
201538511223055–252611↓Ro32
2016240197145239+13645Ro16
201736191165230+22682RU
201836141485335+18563Ro16
201936181357247+256723R
2020127510122538–132512↓QF
2021236129154656–104553R
20224099223452–1836103R
202336201065029+217023R
202436168125545+105653R
2025391413124746+15582R
::

;Key

  • W = Winners
  • RU = Runners-up
  • SF = Semi-final
  • QF = Quarter-final
  • Ro16 = Round of 16
  • Ro32 = Round of 32
  • GS = Group stage
  • PR = Preliminary round
  • 3R = Third round
  • 2R = Second round

AFC Champions League record

All results list Busan's goal tally first. ::data[format=table]

SeasonRoundOppositionHomeAwayAgg.
2005Group GVIE Bình Định8–04–01st
THA Krung Thai Bank4–02–0
IDN Persebaya Surabaya4–03–0
Quarter-finalQAT Al-Sadd3–02–15–1
Semi-finalKSA Al-Ittihad0–50–20–7
::

Managerial history

::data[format=table]

No.NameFromToNotes
KOR Lee Jong-hwan19791980Manager of predecessor club Saehan Motors FC
1KOR Chang Woon-soo19811983
2KOR Cho Yoon-ok19841984
3KOR Chang Woon-soo198419861984 K League winner
1985–86 Asian Club Championship winner
4KOR Lee Cha-man198719891987 K League winner
CKOR Kim Hee-tae19891989
5West Germany Frank Engel19901990
6HUN Bertalan Bicskei199119911991 K League winner
7KOR Lee Cha-man19921992
CKOR Cho Kwang-rae19921992
819931994
CKOR Chung Hae-won19941994
9KOR Kim Hee-tae19941995
CKOR Shin Woo-sung19951995
10FR Yugoslavia Dragoslav Šekularac19961996
CKOR Kim Tae-soo19961996
11KOR Lee Cha-man199719991997 K League winner
CKOR Shin Yoon-ki19991999
CKOR Chang Woe-ryong19991999
12KOR Kim Ho-kon20002002
CKOR Park Kyung-hoon20022002
13SCO Ian Porterfield200320062004 Korean FA Cup winner
CKOR Kim Pan-gon20062006
14SUI Andy Egli20062007
CKOR Kim Pan-gon20072007
15KOR Park Sung-hwa20072007Managed only one match in FA Cup
CKOR Kim Pan-gon20072007
16KOR Hwang Sun-hong20082010
17KOR An Ik-soo20112012
18KOR Yoon Sung-hyo20132015
CBRA Denis Iwamura20152015
19KOR Choi Young-jun20152016Relegated to K League Challenge in 2015
20KOR Cho Jin-ho20172017Died on 10 October 2017
CKOR Lee Seung-yub20172017
21KOR Choi Yun-kyum20182018
22KOR Cho Deok-je20192020Promoted to K League 1 in 2019
CKOR Lee Ki-hyung20202020Relegated to K League 2 in 2020
23POR Ricardo Peres20212022
24KOR Park Jin-sub20222024
CKOR Yoo Kyoung-youl20242024
25KOR Jo Sung-hwan2024Present
::

References

References

  1. "South Korea 1984".
  2. "South Korea 1999".
  3. (6 December 2015). "K-League all OK but not special".
  4. "K LEAGUE / K리그".
  5. Marcantonio, Tomas. (2020-12-08). "2020 Season Review: Busan IPark".
  6. Wilde, Todd. (2021-02-11). "2021 Busan IPark Season Preview".
  7. Lee, Do-won. (2021-12-05). "2021 Season Review : Busan IPark".
  8. Hwang, Seok-ha. (15 November 2024). "일제시대부터 ‘우승 DNA’… 개성고 축구부 창단 100주년".
  9. "유소년".
  10. Im, Sung-il. (23 October 2015). "부산, U-15팀 낙동중 창단… 프로-유소년 교류 확대 기대".
  11. Jung, Seung-woo. (12 December 2024). "부산아이파크 유소년 선수단, 해외 전지훈련으로 본격적인 2025시즌 준비 돌입".
  12. Seo, Jung-hwan. (17 July 2024). "부산아이파크 '프로축구단 최초' U15 여자축구팀 창단...엘리트 유소녀 선수 모집".
  13. Lee, Young-ho. (17 July 2024). "K리그2 부산, U-15 여자축구팀 창단…엘리트 선수 모집".
  14. "선수단". Busan IPark.
  15. "코칭스태프". Busan IPark.
  16. (28 February 2024). "Kit Thread: What all 25 K League teams will be wearing in 2024".

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busan-iparkassociation-football-clubs-established-in-1979k-league-1-clubssports-clubs-and-teams-in-busan1979-establishments-in-south-koreak-league-2-clubsworks-football-clubs-in-south-koreaafc-champions-league-elite-winning-clubs