Kim Shin-wook (; ; born 14 April 1988) is a South Korean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inau ...

club

Kitchee Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional Association football, football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. The club has won 12 List of Hong Kong football champion ...

Club career

Ulsan Hyundai

Kim spent his youth training either as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

or a defensive midfielder, but upon suggestion by his manager, he changed his position into a forward a few weeks after signing his first professional contract with

Ulsan Hyundai 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 198 ...

. At first, he struggled to adjust in the new position but lately he has been proving his worth by being one of the top forwards in the Korean football league. His improvement as a striker the last few years is evidenced by his ever-increasing goal scoring record. Kim was a very influential figure during Ulsan's road to the

2012 AFC Champions League The 2012 AFC Champions League was the 31st edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 10th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea wo ...

winning title. Kim performed at a top level in all of the 13 matches he played in and ended the tournament with 6 goals scored. With such performance, he was nicknamed as the " Advancing Giant (Shingeki no Kyojin)" or "

Chinook Chinook may refer to: Chinook peoples The name derives from a settlement of Indigenous people in Oregon and Washington State. * Chinookan peoples, several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest ** Chinook Indian Nation, an organiza ...

Shanghai Shenhua

On 8 July 2019, Kim joined

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 ...

club

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 ...

and was reunited with his manager at

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

, Choi Kang-hee. He would make his debut in a league game against

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

where he also scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat. After that game Kim quickly established himself as an integral member of the team and he would personally score 10 goals in 15 games as the club moved away from the relegation zone and went on to win the 2019 Chinese FA Cup.

Lion City Sailors

On 15 November 2021, Kim joined

Singapore Premier League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as the SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), wh ...

club

Lion City Sailors Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as the Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional association football, football club based in Bishan, Singapore, Bishan. It competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Si ...

on a three-year contract reportedly worth more than SGDS$3 million, after his contract at Shanghai had ended. He would make his debut in the 2022 Singapore Community Shield game against

Albirex Niigata (S) , simply known as Albirex Niigata (S), is a football (soccer), football club based in Jurong East, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League. The club is a satellite team of Albirex Niigata of J2 League, Japan. Mostly the team is mad ...

where he scored his first goal and a brace for the club in a 2–1 win, winning his first silverware with the Sailors in a dream debut. On 1 April, Kim scored his first hat-trick for the Sailors, as the club cruised to a 4–0 victory against

Balestier Khalsa Balestier Khalsa Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Toa Payoh, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League. Founded in 1898, the club is considered as the oldest Football in Singapore, foot ...

during the

2022 Singapore Premier League The 2022 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 5th season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, sin ...

season. On 6 May, Kim scored his second hat-trick in a 4–3 home win against

Hougang United Hougang United Football Club is a professional football club based in Hougang, Singapore. The club competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singaporean football. Founded in 1998 as Marine Castle United, the club changed its ...

. He would then go on to scored his third hat-trick against Young Lions in the club biggest ever 10–1 win on 13 August. Kim recorded his fourth hat-trick for the club on 26 August in a 9–4 away win against Hougang United where he become the first player in the league history to scored four hat-trick in a single season. On 30 January 2023, Kim departed from Lion City Sailors by mutual consent amidst criticism of his mobility and cost cutting at parent company Sea Limited. He scored 24 goals in 35 appearances for the club in all competition.

Kitchee

On 2 February 2023, Kim officially joined

club

on a free transfer, signing a contract until 2026. He made his debut for the club on 4 March in a 4–0 league win against HK U23. Being unable to score in the 2022–23 season after making 7 appearances in all competitions, there are rumours that Kitchee was going to terminate Kim’s contract. However, Kim still appears on the team squad in the 2023–24 season and on 27 August 2023, he scored a hat-trick on his first appearance in the league against

HKFC Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC; ), established in 1886, is a private members' club in Hong Kong. The name reflects the origin as a club for playing association football and rugby. The club is situated in Happy Valley, with the sports pitches ...

in a 8–0 win. On 8 November 2023, Kim became the first player to play in 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 ...

with 5 different clubs after coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against Thailand side

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club () is a professional football club based in Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Known as Bangkok University Football Club until 2009, the club was relegated from the 2010 Thai Premier League only four years afte ...

. On 4 November 2023, he scored a brace during the

Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield The Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield (), known commonly as the Senior Shield, is the Association football, football Single-elimination tournament, knockout inter-club competition held in Hong Kong and the List of oldest football competitions, fo ...

in a 7–0 against Resources Capital. On 13 December 2023, Kim played in the final AFC Champions League group stage fixture against his former club Lion City Sailors at the

Jalan Besar Stadium Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a football stadium located in Kallang, Singapore. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that includes the stadium as ...

International career

Kim was selected for South Korea's squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, and showed great performances in aerial duels against Algerian and Belgian players. He was expected to dominate the air in the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

like in the previous tournament, but failed to exert influence on

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

defenders. In October 2014, he and his teammates were awarded with a conscription exemption after winning the gold medal at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

Personal life

Kim is known to be a devout

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

who reads the bible before games and is nicknamed "church brother" by his teammates. He sometimes participates in evangelizing activities.

Style of play

A tall

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, with a slender physique, Kim was known for possessing a good first touch, as well as an eye for goal; however, he was also known for his lack of significant pace, strength, power, and athleticism, while his movement occasionally came under criticism from fans. He usually played as a target man in a striker role throughout his career due to his ability to hold up the ball with his back to goal and link-up with his teammates. Although he was criticised in his youth for his limited ability in the air, despite his height, and for his inability to out–jump other players, he was also known for his longevity, and had a penchant for scoring acrobatic goals from

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kim goal.''

Honours

Ulsan Hyundai *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Shanghai Shenhua *

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. The current holders are Shanghai Port, having beaten Shandong Taishan in 2024 for their first title. H ...

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 ...

Lion City Sailors *

Singapore Community Shield The Singapore Community Shield (also known as the AIA Community Shield due to sponsorship reasons; formerly the Charity Shield) is the curtain-raiser to the football season in Singapore. The match is contested between the champions of the previou ...

: 2022 Kitchee *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Hong Kong FA Cup Hong Kong FA Cup () is a knockout cup competition in Hong Kong football, run by and named after The Hong Kong Football Association. The first edition of the competition was held in 1975, before then the cup was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. T ...

: 2023–24 *

HKPLC Cup The Hong Kong Premier League Committee Cup () was a football competition contested by clubs in the top-tier Hong Kong domestic football league. The cup was launched for the 2023–24 season during the time when the Hong Kong national football tea ...

: 2023–24 South Korea U23 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

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 ...

South Korea *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

third place:

EAFF Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship, known as the East Asian Football Championship from 2003 to 2010, and the EAFF East Asian Cup for the 2013 and 2015 editions, is a men's international football competition in East Asia for member nations of the East ...

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 ...

Individual *

top goalscorer:

* K League All-Star: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 * K League 1 Most Valuable Player:

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 ...

* K League 1 Best XI:

* K League 1 top goalscorer:

top goalscorer:

All-Star Squad:

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 ...

Player of the Month: May 2019

Notes

References

External links

Kim Shin-wook – National Team stats
at KFA *
Kim Shin-wook
at Asian Games Incheon 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Shin-wook 1988 births Living people People from Gwacheon South Korean men's footballers South Korean expatriate men's footballers South Korea men's under-23 international footballers South Korea men's international footballers Ulsan HD FC players Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players K League 1 players Expatriate men's footballers in China South Korean expatriate sportspeople in China Chinese Super League players Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Singapore Singapore Premier League players Lion City Sailors FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Hong Kong Premier League players Kitchee SC players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Chung-Ang University alumni Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Men's association football forwards South Korean Christians Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games 2018 FIFA World Cup players Footballers from Gyeonggi Province AFC Champions League Elite–winning players 21st-century South Korean sportsmen