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    Inside Korea's fiercest football derbies: Local rivalries fuel K League's passion

    Everywhere this summer, the World Cup is turning football into a global obsession — and Korea is no exception. But inside the country, interest in the sport doesn't begin or end with the national team; it lives week in, week out in the K League, where, much like in Europe's traditional football heartlands, club rivalries, called "derbies," shape how fans see the game and themselves. Rival cities trade songs, banners and barbs, and even those who can’t explain the offside rule quickly understand what is at stake: pride, belonging and the right to say, “our side won.” For local fans who love their club, football is not just a game but a ritual where the city’s identity is tested and defended for ninety breathless minutes. With that in mind, The Korea Times mapped out four key K League derbies that, based on interviews with 12 devoted, lifelong fans who would do anything to see their club win, offer a vivid window into Korean football’s culture and dynamics. East coast derby: Ulsan vs. Pohang In the K League 1 with 12 teams, the east coast derby is a quintessential regional riva

    8 MIN READBy Lee Hae-rin
    Inside Korea's fiercest football derbies: Local rivalries fuel K League's passion
  • Sports

    Defending champion Argentina reaches World Cup final by beating England 2-1

    2 MIN READBy AP
    Defending champion Argentina reaches World Cup final by beating England 2-1
  • Sports

    Why is 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey, not Mexico's iconic Estadio Azteca?

    3 MIN READBy Hankookilbo
    Why is 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey, not Mexico's iconic Estadio Azteca?
  • Sports

    Son Heung-min returns to LAFC with big smile on his face

    2 MIN READBy Xportsnews
    Son Heung-min returns to LAFC with big smile on his face
  • Sports

    World Taekwondo sends federation flag into orbit ahead of 2027 world championships

    2 MIN READBy Jhoo Dong-chan
    World Taekwondo sends federation flag into orbit ahead of 2027 world championships
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Sports

Veteran goalkeeper wants to dedicate victories to newborn daughter

Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu became a father last week while training for his fourth and likely final FIFA World Cup. He felt bad about not being around his wife for the big moment, and he knows there's only one way to make up for it. "I am really sorry that I couldn't be with my wife for the birth, and I want to bring home good results from here as my presents," Kim said Sunday before a training session at Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, near Guadalajara. Kim appears to be the favorite to be the first-choice keeper for head coach Hong Myung-bo. Kim and Jo Hyeon-woo have been battling for that role for years. Kim, who made his World Cup debut in 2014 by playing in the final group stage match, was the backup to Jo at the 2018 tournament. Then four years later, Kim was the No. 1 custodian ahead of Jo. That Kim was brought to the press conference four days before Korea's first match against Czechia led many to believe he has beaten Jo for the starting gig at this year's tournament. "We've all been able to get better through our competition. And we've been in great form," Kim said of his r

Jun 8, 2026By Yonhap
Veteran goalkeeper wants to dedicate victories to newborn daughter
Sports

Many players, including Messi, are not yet 100% fit: Argentina coach

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said he did not want to "raise the alarm" shortly before their World Cup opener, but admitted "many players are not yet 100 percent fit" for the defending champions. Superstar Lionel Messi watched Saturday's 2-0 friendly win over Honduras in College Station, Texas from the bench. The captain of the Albiceleste, who will soon be 39, had recently been struggling with a thigh muscle issue. "Leo is making good progress, he has already trained partly with the team and that is very good," Scaloni had said before the match against Honduras. It remains to be seen whether Messi will feature in the final warm-up in midweek against Iceland. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was also not yet involved, along with several other members of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad. He broke a finger before Aston Villa's Europa League final win over Freiburg last month. However, Argentinian media assume he will also be fit for their World Cup opener on June 16 against Algeria. Argentina will also face Austria and Jordan in the group stage.

Jun 7, 2026By DPA
Many players, including Messi, are not yet 100% fit: Argentina coach
Sports

Young Syrian refugees conclude Rome taekwondo tour with private Colosseum visit

ROME — Seven young taekwondo athletes from refugee camps in Jordan capped off a busy week in Rome early Sunday morning with an exclusive visit to the Colosseum. Courtesy of the Italian Taekwondo Federation (FITA), the refugee children and World Taekwondo delegates were the only guests inside the historic landmark. The athletes — Laour Fahed Alahmad, Marwa Ealawi Almahmoud Alshaeikh, Loujain Wesam Alrefaei, Sereen Mohammad Ghuzlan, Huda Khaled Alkhaled, Baraa Mohammad Aldamad and Remas Yaser Haji Ramadan — are Syrian nationals between the ages of 7 and 14 based at the Azraq and Za’atari camps. The private Sunday tour concluded an eventful itinerary for the children. Earlier in the week, they joined World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won for a visit to the Vatican to meet with Pope Leo XIV. They also stepped onto the mats at the Foro Italico to compete in the Kim and Liù youth tournament, held concurrently with the Rome 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix. During their morning at the Colosseum, the children watched the World Taekwondo Performance Team and FITA’s Ciao Team delive

Jun 7, 2026By Choi Won-suk
Young Syrian refugees conclude Rome taekwondo tour with private Colosseum visit
Sports

Career-best hitting streak reaches 14 games for SF Giants' Lee Jung-hoo

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants has now hit safely in 14 consecutive games. Lee extended his career-best hitting streak by going 2-for-4 with a run and a steal against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday (local time). The Korean outfielder raised his batting average from .321 to .324, the fourth-best mark in Major League Baseball (MLB) with evening games still to be played. Lee flied out in his first two trips to the plate before hitting a single in the top of the seventh inning off reliever Jacob Webb. He then swiped second base for his first steal of the season, though he was stranded. Then with the game tied at 1-1, Lee hit a one-out single in the ninth inning off Daniel Palencia. Lee later scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Matt Chapman. The Cubs, however, tied things up in the bottom of the ninth on Pete Crow-Armstrong's solo home run and then walked off the Giants in the bottom of the 10th. With Dansby Swanson at second base, Michael Busch singled to charging right fielder Victor Bericoto, who replaced Lee in right as the Korean shifted over t

Jun 7, 2026By Yonhap
Career-best hitting streak reaches 14 games for SF Giants' Lee Jung-hoo
Sports

Korea coach looking to polish up strategies with World Cup nearing

With precious little time left to train before his team's first match at this year's FIFA World Cup, Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo said Saturday he will try to mold his squad into a more complete unit. Korea had their first training session in Mexico, where they will play all three Group A matches, on Saturday. It was a "Community Training Session" organized by FIFA, with hundreds of fans gathered at Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, near Guadalajara. The Taegeuk Warriors arrived in Mexico on Friday after undergoing about three weeks of altitude training in the U.S. state of Utah and playing two friendly matches there. They will open the World Cup on Thursday at Estadio Guadalajara against Czechia, better known as the Czech Republic. The opening training session Saturday was not an intense one, and the real work will begin Sunday. "After playing two matches, we analyzed our strengths and weaknesses," Hong said at a press conference held at the training facility. "The key is to polish up our strategies over the remaining days. And since weather conditions here are different than in Utah, we

Jun 7, 2026By Yonhap
Korea coach looking to polish up strategies with World Cup nearing
Sports

Rome hosts dual taekwondo tournaments, pairing youth festival with Grand Prix

ROME — The historic Foro Italico complex has transformed into a sprawling, dual-level arena for global taekwondo this weekend, running Europe’s largest youth martial arts tournament concurrently with an elite international Grand Prix. The Kim and Liù tournament has drawn a formidable field of approximately 2,000 children between the ages of 6 and 11 from across Europe. Named after two fictional characters from an educational comic book created nearly two decades ago by the Italian Taekwondo Federation, the event operates as an immersive youth sports festival, blending the intensity of technical form competitions and age-bracketed sparring with foundational educational activities. Far more than just a grassroots festival, the tournament has long served as the essential incubator for Italy's national team. It was at previous Kim and Liù events that current titans of the sport — including Olympic medalist Vito Dell'Aquila and world champion Simone Alessio — took their very first competitive steps. Operating under the bold theme "Taekwondo to the Future!" this year’s edition pus

Jun 7, 2026By Choi Won-suk
Rome hosts dual taekwondo tournaments, pairing youth festival with Grand Prix
Sports

World Taekwondo leadership honors late pioneer Park Young-ghil in Rome

ROME — The World Taekwondo leadership paused during the World Taekwondo Grand Prix, Saturday, to honor the late Grand Master Park Young-ghil, who established taekwondo in Italy. World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won led a delegation to Park's resting place on the outskirts of Rome. Joined by Park's family, the group laid flowers and observed a moment of silence for the master, who died in December 2024. Choue praised Park as an invaluable figure who spent his life establishing taekwondo in Italy and expanding the sport's global reach, noting that the late master's dedication and humble service left a lasting legacy. Park dedicated his life to expanding the martial art across Italy’s southern and peripheral regions. Beginning in 1966, he traveled extensively through Calabria, Sicily and Abruzzo to build the sport from the ground up. His mission extended beyond athletic competition. Park viewed taekwondo as a vehicle for social change and frequently directed instructors to develop "champions of social life." Park utilized the sport's tenets of respect, solidarity and discipline to

Jun 6, 2026By Choi Won-suk
World Taekwondo leadership honors late pioneer Park Young-ghil in Rome
Sports

Spain's 27th seed Milán Cánovas pulls massive upset

ROME — Spain’s Juan Antonio Milán Cánovas, entering as a 27th seed, pulled off a massive upset to win gold Friday on the opening day of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix at the Foro Italico. Milán Cánovas captured the men's under 80 kilogram title, while top seeds Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil and Viviana Márton of Hungary won the women's under 57 and under 67 kilogram divisions in high-profile rematches of previous major championship finals. Cánovas stunned the reigning world champion and 2025 Male Athlete of the Year Henrique Marques Rodrigues Fernandes of Brazil in the under-80 kilogram final, sweeping the bout 15-4 and 22-5. To reach the final, the Spaniard orchestrated a dramatic semifinal comeback against CJ Nickolas of the United States. After losing the opening round 18-1, Cánovas rallied to win the next two rounds 9-7 and 11-9. Rodrigues Fernandes advanced to the title match by defeating reigning European champion Stefan Takov of Serbia in three rounds after dropping the first round. In the women's under 57 kilogram division, Pacheco routed No. 2 seed Kim Yu-jin of South

Jun 6, 2026By Choi Won-suk
Spain's 27th seed Milán Cánovas pulls massive upset
Sports

Giants' Lee Jung-hoo extends career-best hitting streak to 13 games

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants has stretched his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. Lee kept his streak alive with a double against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Friday (local time). He batted 1-for-4 and scored a run while also getting hit by a pitch. The Korean outfielder is batting .321 for the season. With some late evening games to be played Friday, Lee ranked fourth overall in Major League Baseball in batting average. Lee got his lone hit of the game in the fifth inning off Phil Maton for his 14th double of the season. The Giants have hit the most doubles in MLB so far this year with 132. Lee was hit by a pitch from reliever Hoby Milner in the sixth inning and then scored on Matt Chapman's home run. The Giants beat the Cubs 18-3 and pounded out 19 hits — a day after collecting 20 hits in a 12-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Jun 6, 2026By Yonhap
Giants' Lee Jung-hoo extends career-best hitting streak to 13 games
Sports

Landers sign new pitcher Thomas Hatch

The SSG Landers announced Saturday they have signed former major league pitcher Thomas Hatch. In corresponding moves, the Landers waived injured starter Mitch White and terminated their deal with White's temporary replacement, Ginjiro Hiramoto. The Landers said Hatch will earn $590,000 for the rest of this season. Hatch, 31, was a third-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020. In 2022, Hatch was teammates with White and two other current Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) pitchers, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Hanwha Eagles and Jeremy Beasley of the Lotte Giants. Hatch went on to pitch for three other MLB clubs and last appeared in a big league game in 2025 with the Minnesota Twins. In 11 games in Triple-A this year for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Hatch has gone 2-0 with a 4.01 ERA in 11 starts while recording 34 strikeouts against 10 walks in 51 2/3 innings. Hatch, who pitched in Japan in 2024, signed with another KBO club, the Doosan Bears, in November 2024, but the club nixed that deal a month later over

Jun 6, 2026By Yonhap
Landers sign new pitcher Thomas Hatch
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