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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

K League MVP announces presence with free kick goal in World Cup tuneup

Before leaving for the national team's U.S. training camp for the FIFA World Cup last month, South Korean midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong said he wanted to represent the domestic league the best he can. Lee was one of six players from the K League 1 named to the country's 26-man squad and brought impressive credentials as the 2025 MVP for Ulsan HD FC. Still, Lee will have to beat out strong competition to see action at the World Cup, as there is no shortage of attacking midfielders on the team with the likes of Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers). They all have more international experience and pedigree than Lee Dong-gyeong. For one match, at least, Lee did his best to announce his presence, netting South Korea's lone goal in their 1-0 win over El Salvador at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday. It was South Korea's last match before the World Cup begins next week, following a 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday. And Lee was one of just three players to start both matches, as head coach Hong Myung-bo sought

Jun 4, 2026By Yonhap
K League MVP announces presence with free kick goal in World Cup tuneup
Sports

Korea beat El Salvador in final match before World Cup

PROVO, United States — Korea edged out El Salvador 1-0 on Wednesday in their final friendly match before the upcoming FIFA World Cup, as they enter the big tournament on the heels of two straight victories. Midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong curled home a free kick in the 57th minute of the match at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, for Korea's only goal of the match. Korea previously beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 on Saturday. The Taegeuk Warriors will now travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, to set up their World Cup base camp. Korea will play all three of their Group A matches in Mexico — two in Guadalajara and one in Monterrey. Their first match will be against Czechia at 8 p.m. June 11 (local time) at Estadio Guadalajara, or 11 a.m. June 12 (Korean time). Head coach Hong Myung-bo made whole changes to his starting lineup from the one that began the Trinidad and Tobago match, as eight new faces took the field. Defenders Lee Gi-hyuk and Lee Han-beom, and winger Lee Dong-gyeong were the only three players to make consecutive starts. Those new players, though, were sloppy with the ball in their own zon

Jun 4, 2026By Yonhap
Korea beat El Salvador in final match before World Cup
Sports

San Francisco's Lee Jung-hoo ties career high with 11-game hitting streak

Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants has equaled his career high by hitting safely in his 11th straight game. Lee batted 2-for-4 in a 1-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday (local time). Lee raised his batting average to his season-high .310, the sixth-best mark in the National League. Lee, who struck out in his first at-bat, kept his streak going in his second time up with a single in the fourth inning. Lee bunted for a single in the eighth to complete his fourth multihit effort in his past six games. Lee also had an 11-game hitting streak as a rookie in 2024. Elsewhere in the majors, Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves recorded his first hit and RBI in five games, helping his team to a 7-3 win. With the Braves down 1-0 in the bottom second at Truist Park in Atlanta, Kim knocked in the tying run with a single to shallow left field. He finished the game 1-for-4 and is batting .102 for the season.

Jun 4, 2026By Yonhap
San Francisco's Lee Jung-hoo ties career high with 11-game hitting streak
Sports

Nvidia's Jensen Huang to throw out ceremonial 1st pitch at KBO game

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before a Korean baseball game in Seoul this weekend. The Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Thursday that Huang will do the honors before their game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul at 5 p.m. Sunday. The Bears said Huang will don a Bears jersey bearing No. 93, a nod to his chip company's founding year of 1993. The Bears added Doosan Group Chairman Park Jeong-won will stand in the batter's box wearing No. 96, with the group having been founded in 1896. Park is also the owner of the baseball team. Huang is scheduled to arrive in Korea as early as Thursday evening and hold a series of meetings with Korean business executives, industry figures and students. Known as a baseball fan, Huang has previously thrown out ceremonial pitches before games in the Chinese Professional Baseball League in his native Taiwan and in Major League Baseball.

Jun 4, 2026By Yonhap
Nvidia's Jensen Huang to throw out ceremonial 1st pitch at KBO game
Sports

WT Performance Team and Ciao thrill Italian crowds

ROME — On the Spanish Steps and surrounding plazas, the World Taekwondo Performance Team and Italy’s Ciao peformace team turned athletic skill into a public spectacle, offering measured previews of the week’s competitions. Thousands gathered as athletes executed precise kicks, broke boards and performed synchronized patterns, demonstrating the speed and control that will be on display at the upcoming events. The demonstrations, staged Wednesday at the Spanish Steps and nearby Piazza di Spagna, aimed to build interest ahead of the World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix on Thursday and the World Taekwondo Grand Prix, scheduled for Friday to Sunday at Foro Italico. Ciao Team, the Italian Taekwondo Federation’s freestyle demonstration squad, added an extra layer of showmanship with acrobatic, highly choreographed routines that blurred the line between competition and performance. Their sequences, designed as much for spectacle as for precision, helped draw in passersby who might otherwise have overlooked the sport. Locals and tourists alike paused to watch, drawn by the contrast between Ro

Jun 4, 2026By Choi Won-suk
WT Performance Team and Ciao thrill Italian crowds
Sports

Pope Leo XIV awarded honorary 10th dan of taekwondo

VATICAN CITY — World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won presented an honorary 10th dan certificate and "dobok" (athletes' uniform) to Pope Leo XIV during Wednesday’s General Audience, continuing the sport federation’s long-standing ties with the Vatican. Choue was accompanied by seven young refugee athletes from the Azraq and Za’atari camps in Jordan: Laour Fahed Alahmad, Marwa Ealawi Almahmoud Alshaeikh, Loujain Wesam Alrefaei, Sereen Mohammad Ghuzlan, Huda Khaled Alkhaled, Baraa Mohammad Aldamad and Remas Yaser Haji Ramadan. The refugees, all Syrian nationals, are between 7 and 14 years old. The meeting was Choue’s first with Pope Leo XIV since the pontiff’s election in May last year, underscoring World Taekwondo’s cooperation with the Vatican on sport development and humanitarian initiatives. The 10th dan is the highest rank in taekwondo; Choue praised the pope’s support for humanitarian causes and said the award reflected shared values of peace and human dignity. As Choue presented the dobok, he joked about the pope’s well-known enthusiasm for tennis and suggested

Jun 4, 2026By Choi Won-suk
Pope Leo XIV awarded honorary 10th dan of taekwondo
Sports

KBO reaches 5 mil. fans in record-breaking fashion

The South Korean baseball league has topped 5 million fans for the season in record-breaking style. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Thursday its attendance for the season reached 5,041,891 fans following five games the previous evening. Those five games drew a combined 105,441 fans across the nation. The KBO surpassed 5 million in 275 games, beating the previous record of 294 games set during the 2025 season. The KBO went on to set a single-season attendance record last year with over 12.3 million fans and is now on pace to break that mark. The league has topped every million milestone this season in record-setting fashion. The KBO said teams needed just 13 days to go from 4 million to 5 million, also a record. Four of five games played Wednesday were sold out. The Doosan Bears hosted the Hanwha Eagles before 23,750 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The NC Dinos visited the Samsung Lions and 24,000 fans at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju had 20,500 fans on hand for the game between the home team Kia Tigers and the Lotte Giants.

Jun 4, 2026By Yonhap
KBO reaches 5 mil. fans in record-breaking fashion
Sports

KBO-leading Twins sign new pitcher Rios, cut Chirinos

The defending Korean baseball champions LG Twins announced their signing of new pitcher Yacksel Rios on Wednesday. In a corresponding move, the 2025 Korean Series winners released slumping starter Yonny Chirinos. The Twins said Rios will be paid $350,000 in guaranteed salary for the rest of this Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season and can make another $100,000 in incentives. The Puerto Rican right-hander was a 12th-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He made his MLB debut with them in 2017, and went on to pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Seattle Mariners, the Boston Red Sox, the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago Cubs. In 93 MLB games, all of them coming in relief, Rios went 8-2 with a 6.21 ERA in 100 innings and recorded 95 strikeouts against 56 walks. He appeared in 11 games for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate this year and had a 0-3 record with a 4.24 ERA across 17 innings. Rios also pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings for Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic in March. Rios has made 184 appearances in Triple-A and only two have c

Jun 3, 2026By Yonhap
KBO-leading Twins sign new pitcher Rios, cut Chirinos
Sports

Veteran midfielder gearing up for final World Cup

HERRIMAN, United States — Midfielder Lee Jae-sung is preparing for his third FIFA World Cup, which kicks off next week in Mexico for Korea. The 33-year-old believes it will also be his last one. Lee, 33, previously represented the country at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Captain Son Heung-min, another 33-year-old and a close friend of Lee's, hasn't ruled out the possibility of playing in another World Cup. But Lee was adamant Tuesday that he won't be around for another. "I think this will be my final World Cup as a player," Lee told reporters before a training session at Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman, in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. "You just never know when you will have another opportunity like this. Every player here is not thinking about the next World Cup. We are all concentrating on this year's World Cup." The soft-spoken veteran said his previous World Cup experience has done little to calm his nerves ahead of his third appearance. "I think I will get even more nervous as we get closer to the tournament, because I know how precious and how important this opport

Jun 3, 2026By Yonhap
Veteran midfielder gearing up for final World Cup
Sports

Powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq say they will start handing in weapons to authorities

IRBIL, Iraq — Two of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed militias said on Tuesday they would begin handing in their weapons to the authorities, a major step in the new government’s effort to rein in militias that have long operated on their own even though they were nominally under state command. One of the groups, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said it had formed a committee to oversee the move, inventory its fighters, weapons and equipment, and coordinate with the commander-in-chief of Iraq's armed forces. It cast the decision as a response to calls by Iraq’s top Shiite religious authority and the Iran-aligned Coordination Framework , the largest bloc in Parliament that dominates Iraqi politics. The second group, the Imam Ali Brigades, made a similar announcement saying the time has come “to build a strong state with full sovereignty.” It added that its aim was now to have weapons only with the state and help boost state institutions. The war in the Middle East , which the United States and Israel launched on Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran, has exposed the fragility of Iraq’s state instit

Jun 3, 2026By AP
Powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq say they will start handing in weapons to authorities
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