Ulsan HD FC (), formerly Ulsan Hyundai 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

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

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. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined 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 ...

in 1984. Their home ground is

Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium The Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium () is a association football, football stadium in Ulsan, South Korea with a capacity for 37,897 spectators. Since 2001, it has been the home ground of K League 1 team Ulsan HD FC, Ulsan HD. The stadium was built ...

. The club is owned by

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI; ) is the world's largest shipbuilding company and a major heavy equipment manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Ulsan, South Korea. History HHI was founded in 1972 by Chung Ju-yung as a division of ...

. Ulsan HD have won the league title five times, most recently in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, 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 ...

once, in

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 ...

. At the international level, they 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, in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and are the only club to have won the tournament twice without defeat.

History

Early years: before Ulsan (1983–1989)

The club was founded on 6 December 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, with tiger as its mascot (horangi means tiger in Korean). Their original franchise area was

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

and

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

. They joined the professional

from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

season. While they finished their debut season as 3rd place, the team's striker Baek Jong-chul became the K League Top Scorer, scoring 16 goals in 28 matches. They won their first professional trophy in 1986, winning the Professional Football Championship, which is the origin of

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 ...

. From the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

season, the club moved their franchise from

and

to Gangwon Province. In the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

season, they finished the season as the runners-up in the league.

Move to Ulsan and rise to power (1990–1999)

Beginning in the

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

season, the club moved their franchise to

, where the headquarters of several branches of owner company

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 ...

are located at, from Gangwon Province. Former

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

's striker

Cha Bum-kun Cha Bum-kun (; or ; born 22 May 1953) is a South Korean former football manager and player. A forward, he was nicknamed Tscha Bum or "Cha Boom" in Germany because of his name and thunderous ball striking ability. He showed explosive pace an ...

took the managerial position in the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

season, leading the club to the runners-up position in the league in his debut season. However, he failed to win any trophy and was replaced by Ko Jae-wook after 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. Under Ko Jae-wook, Ulsan won their second Korean League Cup trophy in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, which was his debut season as Ulsan manager. Ulsan won their first ever league title in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, beating

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 ...

3–2 on aggregate in the championship playoffs. The club then entered a long dry-spell in terms of league trophies, although they won their third Korean League Cup trophy in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, beating Bucheon SK 2–1 on aggregate in the finals.

Two Kims era (2000–2013)

Failure to add a major title for years did affect the team negatively. After the exodus of key players like Kim Hyun-seok and a terrible start in the

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 ...

, manager Ko Jae-wook resigned in the middle of the season.

Kim Jung-nam era: Gangsters of Asia (2000–2008)

Ulsan appointed

Kim Jung-nam Kim Jung-nam (; born 28 January 1943) is a South Korean former Association football, football player and manager. International career The combination of Kim Jung-nam and his partner Kim Ho is regarded as one of the greatest South Korean Def ...

, who had formerly managed South Korea, as their next manager. They finished as runners-up in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and started to emerge as a strong force. In 2005, with the return of two key players,

Yoo Sang-chul Yoo Sang-chul (; 18 October 1971 – 7 June 2021) was a South Korean football player and manager. Yoo was regarded as one of the greatest South Korean midfielders of all time. He was selected as a midfielder of the 2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star ...

and Lee Chun-soo, they qualified for the championship playoffs. In the play-off semi-final, they beat Seongnam Ilhwa 2–1, and in the final, they beat

Incheon United Incheon United FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the ...

6–3 on aggregate, with a hat-trick from Lee Chun-Soo in the first leg. They became the league champions for the second time in their history. The club also went on to win the

A3 Champions Cup A3 Champions Cup (also known as East Asian Champions Cup) was an annual football (soccer) tournament jointly organized by the China PR, Japan and Korea Republic football Association. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of Chinese Supe ...

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 ...

, in which they participated as K League champions. Although they lost their first match in the competition against

JEF United Ichihara Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. History Furukawa Electric SC (19 ...

3–2, they beat Dalian Shide 4–0 and

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 ...

6–0 to clinch the trophy. Lee Chun-soo became the competition's top scorer, scoring six goals in three matches. They repeated the merciless attacks in the

that season, beating Al-Shabab 6–0 in the first leg of the quarter-finals. These overwhelming attacks they showed in the season gave Ulsan the nickname "Gangsters of Asia". Ulsan won the 2007 Korean League Cup, beating

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 ...

2–1 in the final on 27 June 2007. In 2008, the team changed their official name from Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i to Ulsan Hyundai FC.

Kim Ho-kon era: Iron Mace Football (2009–2013)

Manager Kim Jung-nam stepped down after the 2008 season. Kim Ho-kon, who had managed the South Korea under-23 team that reached the quarter-finals in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

was appointed as Ulsan's next manager. Kim Ho-kon did not enjoy Ulsan fans' full support for his first few seasons at the club, mainly because of his defensive tactical style and unsatisfying outcomes. The 2011 season was a dramatic changeover; Ulsan won their fifth Korean League Cup, beating

Busan IPark 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 ...

3–2 in the final. Ulsan also finished the season as runners-up in the K League that season. Their unique style of having many players pushing forward in counterattacks earned them the nickname "Iron mace football". In 2012, the club won the

, defeating Al-Ahli 3–0 in the final on 10 November. In the run up to the final, Ulsan went on an unbeaten run throughout the twelve games of the competition, winning nine consecutive games and scoring 27 goals in the process.

Downfall of the club (2014–2016)

Ulsan Hyundai went trophyless for three years after both

Cho Min-kook Cho Min-Kook (; born July 5, 1963) is a South Korean former footballer and football coach who played for the whole of his career as a defender for Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso and LG Cheetahs. He managed K League Classic side Ulsan Hyundai for the ...

and Yoon Jong-hwan failed to guide the club to any major honours.

Return of the golden generation (2017–present)

On 21 November 2016, Ulsan Hyundai hired Kim Do-hoon as their manager. He restored the club status back by guiding the club to the 2017 Korean FA Cup final and winning it 2–1 on aggregate against Busan IPark, the club's first trophy in five years. Three years later, Kim also led Ulsan Hyundai to victory in the

2020 AFC Champions League The 2020 AFC Champions League was the 39th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 18th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai won their second Cham ...

, defeating Iranian club

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

2–1 in the final. Júnior Negrão scored a brace to secure the club's second AFC Champions League trophy, subsequently qualifying for the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, where Ulsan finished sixth. For the 2021 season, Ulsan Hyundai signed former South Korea international player

Hong Myung-bo Hong Myung-bo (also spelled Hong Myeong-bo, , Hanja: 洪明甫; ; born 12 February 1969) is a South Korean football manager and former footballer who played as a sweeper. Hong is often considered one of the greatest Asian footballers of all t ...

as their manager. He guided the club to consecutive league titles in the

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 ...

and

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 ...

seasons. The 2022 title was won in dramatic fashion, as Ulsan defeated rivals

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 ...

, the winners of the previous five K League 1 seasons, with two goals scored by Hungarian international Martin Ádám in injury time. It was Ulsan's first league title since 2005. In December 2023, Ulsan Hyundai changed its name to Ulsan HD and unveiled a new emblem ahead of the 2024 season. The "HD" comes from the club parent company ' HD Hyundai', which was renamed from Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings in December 2022. In April 2024, the team qualified for the expanded

2025 FIFA Club World Cup The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, also marketed as FIFA Club World Cup 25) is the 21st edition and the first of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, an international club soccer competition organized ...

by defeating Yokohama F. Marinos at home in the first leg of the semi-final of the

2023–24 AFC Champions League The 2023–24 AFC Champions League was the 42nd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 21st and final under the AFC Champions League title, as the competition would be rebra ...

. With the departure of Hong Myung-bo to guide the South Korea national team, Ulsan HD hired former Malaysia national team head coach Kim Pan-gon on 28 July 2024. He successfully guided the team to a third consecutive championship title in 2024, thereby establishing a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

Stadium

Ulsan plays at the

in Nam District, completed in 2001 in preparation for 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 ...

. It is one of the largest football-specific stadiums in South Korea. The club previously played in the

Ulsan Stadium Ulsan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Ulsan Sports Complex, Ulsan, South Korea. Originally, there was Ulsan Civic Stadium at the same location which opened in 1970. The original stadium was demolished in 2003 and replaced with Ulsan ...

of the Ulsan Sports Complex. Ulsan Sports Complex1

The club's players train at the Hyundai Sport Club House, completed in 2002, in the city's Dong District.

Supporters and rivalries

Supporters

The club's main supporters group is called the Cheoyong Warriors (처용전사), founded in 1997. Cheoyong refers to a legendary figure in Korean folklore associated with the city of Ulsan. Ulsan's on-pitch success led to an all-time high average attendance in 2024, with the club recording 348,119 fans across 19 home games in the season, the second highest in the league behind only

. Besides the city of Ulsan, the club's fans hail from all over South Korea and the surrounding

Gyeongsang Gyeongsang Province (; ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Joseon Korea. Gyeongsang was located in southeastern Korea. The provincial capital of Gyeongsang was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the kingdom of Silla, which unified Korea in ...

region in particular. The club's growing popularity has led to continuously increasing revenue, with the club earning a record 48 billion South Korean won in 2024.

Rivalries

Donghaean (East Coast) Derby

Ulsan contests the fierce Donghaean Derby with

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 ...

, based in nearby

Pohang Pohang (; ), formerly spelled Po-Hang, is the largest city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, with a List of cities in South Korea, population of 499,363 as of 2022, bordering the Sea of Japan, East Sea to the east, Yeongcheon to the w ...

, another of the most successful clubs in the K League. The rivalry is one between two of the wealthiest industrial cities in South Korea, with Ulsan being a global center for shipbuilding, automotive manufacturing, and oil refining, while Pohang is home to steel giant and Steelers owner

POSCO POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel manufacturer headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the List of steel producers, world's sixth-largest steelmaker by thi ...

. One of the most memorable matches between the two sides was played in the final round of the 2013 K League Classic season. Ulsan only needed a draw to win the title, but conceded a goal late in injury time and Pohang won the title instead. Ulsan also faced Pohang in the 2024 Korea Cup final, which Pohang won 3–1 after extra time. In January 2025, members of the Cheoyong Warriors supporters group protested a move by the city government of Ulsan to change the color of some of the seating of the Munsu Football Stadium to red, citing that red is the color of their arch rivals Pohang.

Hyundai Derby

Since the late 2010s, Ulsan's chief rivals have been

in a match known as the Hyundai Derby. Ulsan rose to become the primary rival of Jeonbuk, which dominated South Korean football in the 2010s. Once a one-sided affair, Ulsan's eventual triumph over Jeonbuk in the 2022 season led to an intensification of an already heated rivalry that is arguably still the biggest matchup in the league. Although the parent companies of Ulsan and Jeonbuk share the Hyundai brand, the parent companies ( HD Hyundai for Ulsan and

Hyundai Motor Hyundai Motor Company, often referred to as Hyundai Motors, ( ) and commonly known as Hyundai (), is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, which ...

for Jeonbuk) are legally separate entities.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Managers

Honours

Domestic

League

**Champions (5):

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 (10):

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Cups

**Winners (1):

**Runners-up (4):

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 ...

**Winners (5):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

**Runners-up (3):

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

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): 2006 * National Football Championship **Runners-up (2): 1989, 1999 * Korean President's Cup **Runners-up (1): 1990

International

**Winners (2):