Not only Korean dramas, but South Korean fever has invaded Southeast Asian football. For football fans, the names of Korean coaches in Southeast Asian countries are familiar. Shin Tae Yong, for example, recently made history by leading Indonesia to the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Championship 2024. Kim-Sang Sik, meanwhile, recently agreed to coach Vietnam.
It's not just Indonesia and Vietnam, though, with several other Southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia and Timor-Leste also relying on Korean coaches.
High Demand for South Korean Coaches: What's Behind It?
South Korean coaches bring proven expertise from their experience coaching in the highly competitive K-League. The K-League is ranked third in Asia on the AFC website, just behind the Saudi Pro League and the J-League.
In addition, South Korean coaches can offer almost the same quality as European coaches at more affordable prices.
Interestingly, a study by Eunah Hong and Yejee Jeong of Ewha Womans University on "Coach Leadership Style and Korean Professional Soccer Team Performance: Collective Efficacy as a Mediator' in August 2020 sheds light on this.
An analysis of 106 K-League footballers found that transformational and authentic coaching styles had a positive impact on team collectivism, encouraging participation and innovation. Collective efficacy, influenced by these coaching styles, also played a crucial role in improving team performance.
This may explain why Korean coaches are highly sought after in Southeast Asia, as their authentic leadership styles can motivate and improve the overall skills and performance of teams.
List of Countries with Korean coaches
Recently, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) hired South Korean coach Kim Sang-sik to replace Philippe Troussier after the latter's defeat against Indonesia in the qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Kim Sang-Sik is not the first South Korean coach to take charge of Vietnam. Previously, Park Hang-seo became the first South Korean coach to make his mark in Southeast Asia when he began his career as Vietnam coach in 2017.
Under Park Hang-seo's leadership, Vietnam have enjoyed remarkable success in Southeast Asia, including finishing runners-up at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship, winning gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games for the Vietnam U-23 national team, and winning the 2018 AFF Championship for the Vietnam senior national team.
Park Hang-seo's success has inspired ASEAN countries to recruit other South Korean coaches, such as Shin Tae-yong, who will take charge of the Indonesian national team in 2020. In his four years with Indonesia, Tae-yong has led the national team to significant success.
This success has led to the Indonesian senior national team finishing runners-up at the AFF Championship 2020, while the U-23 national team finished runners-up at the 2023 AFF U-23 Championship and won the bronze medal at the SEA Games 2021. On the Asian stage, Tae-yong led the senior side to the last-16 of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 and the U-23 side to the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024 for the first time in Indonesian football history.
The presence of South Korean coaches in Southeast Asia continues to grow, with Kim Pan-gon taking charge of Malaysia in 2022 and Park Soon-tae coaching Timor-Leste from 2023.
New Hope For Regional Football
The presence of Korean coaches has breathed new life into Southeast Asian football. In the past half-century, not a single team from the region has reached the World Cup. Even competing at Asian Cup level with the likes of Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia has been a challenge.
However, there is renewed hope for regional football in the future after Vietnam finished runners-up at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship and Indonesia reached the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024.
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