Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

North Jeolla Province North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...

that competes in the

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the

K League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions ...

a record nine times, including five consecutive titles between 2017 and 2021, and the

Korean FA Cup The Korea Cup (), formerly the Korean FA Cup, is a national Association football, football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the competition was established in 1996, two simil ...

five times. Internationally, the club have won the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

twice, first in 2006, becoming the first club from East Asia to win the tournament since it was rebranded in 2003. Jeonbuk have also made two appearances in the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

, most recently in the 2016 edition. The club's home ground is the

Jeonju World Cup Stadium Jeonju World Cup Stadium is a football stadium in Jeonju, South Korea. It is the home of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The stadium's capacity is 34,276. History The Jeonju World Cup Stadium was constructed for the 2002 FIFA World Cup which was co-host ...

History

Beginnings

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' predecessor was founded in January 1993 under the name Wansan Pumas. Oh Hyung-keun was the founder of the team, the first to be named after its home location in

history. However, they failed to raise enough funds and the club went bankrupt before they could take their place in the K League. Many people wanted to keep the club and Bobae Ltd., a local alcohol producer, offered financial support to the club. In 1994, they joined the K League after renaming as

Chonbuk Buffalo Chonbuk Buffalo () was a South Korean professional football club, based in Jeonbuk. Lasting only one year in the K League, the club was the root of the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. However, K League K League () is South Korea's professional footb ...

, but ran into financial problems and were dissolved after the final match of the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

season. In 1994, South Korea was in the campaign to host the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, so

Hyundai Motors Hyundai Motor Company, often referred to as Hyundai Motors, ( ) and commonly known as Hyundai (), is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, which was founded in 1967. Currently, the company ow ...

, who was in the process of building Hyundai Jeonju Plant, took over the Buffaloes' players and formed a new club called Chonbuk Dinos on 12 December 1994. The K League's official policy is that Chonbuk Buffalo and Chonbuk Dinos (later renaming as Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) are two different clubs.

Domination in K League and success in Asia (2005–2021)

Since 1994, Jeonbuk had not seriously challenged for the K League title, often languishing in mid-table. After Choi Kang-hee was appointed manager in July 2005, Jeonbuk won the

in December of that year. In 2006, Jeonbuk finished a disappointing eleventh in the K League, however, they won their first

title. En route to the final, they defeated the Japanese champions,

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's home stadium is Panasonic Stadium Suita. They form a ...

, and China's

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District. The owner of Shanghai Shenhua is ...

, as well as Ulsan Horang-i, the South Korean champions, in the semi-finals. They then triumphed 3–2 on aggregate over Al-Karamah, the champions of Syria, in the final. As AFC Champions League winners, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors qualified for the

2006 FIFA Club World Cup The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament held in Japan between 10 and 17 December 2006. It was the third FIFA Club World Cup. The c ...

. They lost their first game 1–0 to América in the quarter-finals on 10 December, however, they defeated

Auckland City Auckland City () was a territorial authority area with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Au ...

3–0 on 14 December and finished fifth in the tournament. In 2009, Jeonbuk became the Korean champions for the first time after beating Seongnam Ilhwa 3–1 on aggregate in the

K League Championship The K League Championship was the final competition (playoffs) of the K League season. The K League originally had playoffs after regular seasons, but the name of playoffs was officially decided in 2009. This competition was abolished in 2011. All ...

. They repeated the feat in 2011 and won their second domestic title after defeating Ulsan Hyundai 4–2 in the final. The same year, they also reached the AFC Champions League final, where they lost to

Al-Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars League. Locally, it i ...

after a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2009 from acrofan

With significant investment from its parent company, Jeonbuk completed its state of the art Yulsori Clubhouse (club training center) in nearby

Wanju County Wanju County (, ) is a county in North Jeolla province, South Korea. It almost entirely surrounds the city of Jeonju. History Ancient In the Three Han period it was part of the Mahan confederacy, and in 555 ( Wideok 2) Jeonju week was installed ...

in 2013. Hyundai's generous support and Choi Kang-hee's aggressive play style led to the club dominating the K League for the next several years, with the club winning the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

titles. 2016 was a tumultuous year for Jeonbuk. The club won their second AFC Champions League title after defeating

Al-Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...

3–2 on aggregate, but the team came under fire in the domestic front for allegedly bribing referees through a scout. The club was fined and had nine points deducted from their

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

league campaign, resulting in rivals

FC Seoul FC Seoul () is a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS G ...

claiming the title. Despite being champions of Asia, the club's participation in the

2017 AFC Champions League The 2017 AFC Champions League was the 36th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 15th under the current AFC Champions League title. Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hil ...

was revoked due to this incident. The club continued to enjoy success in the K League, securing the next five consecutive titles. Additionally, they won the 2020 Korean FA Cup, defeating rising rivals Ulsan over two legs to mark their first-ever domestic double.

Decline (2022–2024)

The 2022 season marked the beginning of Jeonbuk's decline, dramatically losing the title to now chief rivals Ulsan by three points. The club, however, won the

2022 Korean FA Cup The 2022 Korean FA Cup, known as the 2022 Hana 1Q FA Cup due to sponsorship agreement with Hana Bank, was the 27th edition of the Korean FA Cup. Defending champions Jeonnam Dragons were defeated by Busan Transportation Corporation in the round o ...

. The following year led to even poorer results, with the club finishing fourth in the 2023 season, their lowest league finish since 2008. Jeonbuk also failed to win a second consecutive FA Cup, being defeated by

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Ko ...

in the 2023 final. The fourth-place finish and failure to win the FA Cup meant the club was unable to participate in the rebranded

2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) was the 43rd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Elite. The ...

. Jeonbuk's decline escalated in the 2024 season, with the club finishing tenth and flirting with relegation for the first time in its history. The club narrowly avoided relegation to

K League 2 The K League 2 () is the men's second-highest division of the South Korean football league system. It is contested between thirteen professional clubs and operates on a promotion and relegation system with K League 1. History In 2011, the or ...

by defeating Seoul E-Land in the promotion-relegation play-offs.

Poyet era (2025–present)

In December 2024, Jeonbuk appointed Uruguayan manager

Gus Poyet Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer who is the manager of K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his career with s ...

in a bid to achieve its former glory. In the club's first competitive match under Poyet, they defeated Thai side

Port FC A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchest ...

4–0 away in the

2024–25 AFC Champions League Two The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two was the 21st edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Two. This was the fi ...

, including two goals by new signing Andrea Compagno.

Supporters and rivalries

Supporters

Jeonbuk is the most popular football team and the second most popular sports team in South Korea behind only

Kia Tigers The Kia Tigers () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are members of the KBO League and are the most successful ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

. The club draws over two million supporters from all over the country and particularly from the

Honam Honam (; literally "south of the lake") is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Jeju Province and Jeonbuk State. The name "Jeonla-do" is used i ...

region. It has almost half a million followers on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, boosted by the international popularity of former player Cho Gue-sung, who scored a brace in South Korea's group stage match versus Ghana in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. The club's main supporters group is called the Mad Green Boys, who sit at the North Stand of their stadium. Jeonbuk fans at Jeonju WCS

Rivalries

Seoul Metropolitan Area clubs

Jeonbuk shares strong rivalries with

(Jeonseol Match) and

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...

(Gongseongjeon), the two most popular football clubs of the

Seoul Metropolitan Area The Seoul Metropolitan Area (Sudogwon; , ) or Gyeonggi (region), Gyeonggi region (), is the metropolitan area of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, located in north-western South Korea. Its population of 26 million (as of 2024) is ranked ...

. The three-way rivalry these teams share represent the business rivalry between their parent companies

Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...

, LG, and

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

–three of the largest business conglomerates in South Korea. Their rivalry was the most intense in the 2010s, when Jeonbuk came to dominate the K League while Seoul and Suwon declined. Seoul vs

Jeonbuk supporters set a team record of over 7,600 away fans at a league match against Seoul on 3 May 2025, highlighting their rivalry.

Hyundai Derby

Since the late 2010s, Jeonbuk's biggest league rival came to be

Ulsan HD Ulsan HD FC (), formerly Ulsan Hyundai FC, is a South Korean professional football club based in Ulsan that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League in 1984. ...

. Ulsan became the main club to challenge Jeonbuk's domestic dominance, finally breaking the club's five-year title winning streak in 2022. The matches between the two giants, now seen as the biggest derby in the country, continue to be very consequential for both clubs. Although the parent companies of the two clubs share the Hyundai name, they are legally separate business entities.

International

In the 2010s, Jeonbuk developed an intense international rivalry with Chinese side

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club (), previously Guangzhou Evergrande (), was a Chinese professional football club based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Historically, Guangzhou FC played its home matches at various grounds in their home city, most notably at T ...

from frequently playing each other in the

. The two teams were the dominant sides of their respective leagues and their most frequent representatives on the continental stage. Several South Korean players and staff members were instrumental to Guangzhou's victories over Jeonbuk and in Asia, as the club and other

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

teams used their large financial backing to attract South Korean talent.

Stadium

Jeonbuk has played its home games at the

since 2002, after the stadium was completed the year before. It has a capacity of 34,276 seats. Their previous home ground was the

Jeonju Sports Complex Stadium Jeonju Sports Complex Stadium (also Jeonju Civil Stadium; ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Jeonju, South Korea. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 people and was built in 1980. Jeonbuk Hyundai M ...

. The club's reserve team, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors N, plays at the Wanju Public Stadium in nearby

Jeonbuk owns one of the most modern club training facilities in Asia: the Yulsori Clubhouse in Bongdong-eup, Wanju. The state-of-the-art training center, modeled after the training facilities of top European clubs, includes a large hydrotherapy room, indoor and outdoor training grounds, personal sleeping rooms, a gym, and a cafeteria.

Players

Current squad

:''As of 14 June 2025''

Out on loan

Backroom staff

Coaching staff

*First team manager:

*First team coaches:

Mauricio Taricco Mauricio Ricardo Taricco (born 10 March 1973) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player who is currently the assistant coach of K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Taricco, whose father was Italian and hailed from Sardi ...

, Diego Poyet, Jung Jo-gook *Goalkeeping coach: Hwang Hee-hoon *Fitness coach: Panagiotis Voulgaris *N team manager: An Dae-hyun *N team coaches: Kim Kwang-suk, Jung Boo-sun, Woo Jung-ha Source: Official website

Support staff

*Team doctor: Song Ha-heon *Physiotherapist: Gilvan Oliveira *Medical trainers: Kim Byeong-seon, Lee Gyu-yeol, Noh Sang-keun *N team medical trainer: Park Jeong-hun *Analyst: Lee Sun-gu *N team analyst: Park Jun-wan *Kit manager: Choi Jae-hyeok *Interpreters: Kim James Min-su, Pyo Seok-hwan Source: Official website

Honours

Domestic

**Winners (9):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

**Runners-up (3):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

**Winners (5):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

**Runners-up (3):

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Results Finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statistics is tha ...

**Runners-up (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Korean Super Cup The Korean Super Cup was the annual curtain-raiser to the South Korean football season from 1999 to 2006, and was contested between the champions of K League and Korean FA Cup. It was dropped from the South Korean football calendar in 2007. After ...

**Winners (1): 2004 **Runners-up (2): 2001, 2006 *

Korean President's Cup The President's Cup National Football Tournament is a football competition, held by Korea Football Association, for South Korean semi-professional and amateur football clubs. This competition was originally one of major club competitions of Sout ...

**Runners-up (1): 1999 (reserve team)

International

**Winners (2):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

**Runners-up (1):

Asian Cup Winners' Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an Asian football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-Asian club competition organised by Asian Football Confedera ...

**Runners-up (1):

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Managers

Season-by-season records

Domestic record

AFC Champions League record

All results list Jeonbuk's goal tally first.

References

External links

Official website
{{Hyundai Motor Group Association football clubs established in 1994 K League 1 clubs Sport in North Jeolla Province Hyundai Motor Company Sport in Jeonju 1994 establishments in South Korea Works association football clubs in South Korea AFC Champions League Elite winning clubs

History

Beginnings

Domination in K League and success in Asia (2005–2021)

Decline (2022–2024)

Poyet era (2025–present)

Supporters and rivalries

Supporters

Rivalries

Seoul Metropolitan Area clubs

Hyundai Derby

International

Stadium

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Backroom staff

Coaching staff

Support staff

Honours

Domestic

International

Managers

Season-by-season records

Domestic record

AFC Champions League record

See also

References

External links