If you’ve been watching the World Cup this year, you’ve likely heard a lot about the 24-year-old South Korean Cho Gue-sung by now.
You’ve probably seen the pictures of him circulating the internet, accompanied by thousands of likes and gushing fan girls in the comments. With his K-drama star handsome looks, Cho has people all over the world swooning.
After scoring two headers against Ghana in the World Cup, his popularity has skyrocketed (he also started at center forward against Portugal in a dramatic 2–1 comeback win). His Instagram followers, which hovered around 30–40K pre-World Cup, has now ballooned to over 2.5 million (and rising).
Cho’s rapid rise to stardom this year is uncannily similar to what fellow South Korean World Cup star Ahn Jung-hwan experienced in 2002. But the similarities don’t end at mere increases in popularity or handsome looks.
Digging deeper, you can see that there are further similarities between the two.
Cho Gue-sung was born on January 25th, 1998, in Gyeonggi Province. Guess who else was born in late January in Gyeonggi Province? You guessed it. Ahn Jung-hwan, who was born on January 27th, 22 years before Cho.
As mentioned previously, they are both extremely marketable players with looks more befitting an actor or a model than a footballer.
Ahn’s model looks helped him become one of the most popular stars in South Korea in the 2000s. He appeared in numerous cosmetics ads, including one with popular Korean actor Hyun Bin.
Similarly, it would be no surprise if Cho Gue-sung landed many endorsement deals and TV appearances after the World Cup this year.
In terms of football itself, it may be strange to compare Cho to Ahn. Cho Gue-sung is a 1.88m center forward while Ahn Jung-hwan is a 1.78m shadow striker and attacking midfielder. They have vastly different styles of play and contribute in different phases on the pitch.
But there are certain aspects of their contributions to their club and national teams that are eerily similar.
They have both been successful in domestic club play. Ahn won the K League MVP on a second-place team in 1999 while Cho won the Golden Boot this past season, also ironically on a second place team.
Ahn and Cho also both have shown a tendency to show up in the clutch.
Cho Gue-sung helped lead Jeonbuk to the 2022 Korean FA Cup title. In the semifinals of the FA Cup, he scored the winning goal in the 109th minute against league champions Ulsan Hyundai. Then he scored three goals over two legs of the finals to clinch the title for Jeonbuk over FC Seoul.
For those old enough to remember Ahn and what he did for the South Korean national team, no introduction is necessary.
Many will remember the legendary golden goal against Italy that eliminated the Azzurri, leading the Koreans into the quarterfinals.
Some will remember his crucial game-tying header off the bench against the USA and the subsequent celebration that followed. His imitation of a Korean speedskater being controversially disqualified at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics is still well known even today.
Others will remember his game-winning goal off the bench against Togo in the 2006 World Cup.
With three goals in World Cup play, Ahn Jung-hwan has shown a proclivity for scoring clutch goals in big situations. He is tied with Park Ji-sung and Son Heung-min as the top all-time goal scorer for Korea Republic at the World Cup, with three goals.
Despite the eventual loss, Cho Gue-sung’s two huge goals against Ghana to tie the match after being down 2–0 has shown that he can also rise to the challenge. Even though Cho and Ahn are vastly different players, they have both proven themselves on the biggest stage for South Korea.
Although Ahn’s headers are more iconic and helped South Korea pick up points, we may look back on Cho’s two goals as a turning point for the national team and its youth movement.
Fellow World Cup debutant and former Valencia starlet Lee Kang-in was instrumental in the first goal, stealing the ball and unleashing a picture-perfect cross to Cho.
Now, the charismatic and witty Ahn Jung-hwan is a commentator for MBC at the World Cup. He’s been mostly working as a popular entertainer for shows like Netflix’s Gentleman’s League, where he manages a football team made up of former Korean Olympians and athletes. The World Cup completely changed his life.
For the 24-year-old Cho Gue-sung, who knows what lies ahead? But as the top scorer in the K League 1 this past season and his efforts in the World Cup, he’s off to a good start.
He’s already being linked with clubs like Celtic, who have a strong history with Asian players. Players like Ki Sung-yueng, Cha Duri, and Shunsuke Nakamura have played for Celtic in years past. Currently, they also have a strong contingent of Japanese players including Furuhashi, Maeda, Hatate, and Ideguchi. If Cho continues to develop well, there will be no lack of suitors for his services.
South Korea are now out of the World Cup with a 4–1 loss against world powerhouse Brazil in the Round of 16. But this South Korean team can still hold their heads up high.
They showed resiliency in their games against Ghana and Uruguay, pulled out a legendary performance against Portugal, and ran their hearts out all tournament long.
Cho Gue-sung is still only 24. The aforementioned Lee Kang-in is 21, Hwang In-beom is 26, Jeong Woo-yeong is 23, Kim Min-jae is 26, Hwang Hee-chan is 26, and even Son at 30 may have one more World Cup left in him.
The future is bright for South Korea.
Originally published at https://fightingstripes.substack.com on December 6, 2022.
