Ulsan and Pohang compete to crown Korea’s soccer champions

The Korea Cup final, which determines the best in Korean soccer among professional and amateur teams, is set to feature an 'East Coast Derby' between Ulsan and Pohang.

Professional soccer's K League 1 (first division) teams, Ulsan and Pohang, will face off in the 2024 Korea Cup final at the Seoul World Cup Stadium next Saturday. Ulsan, the K League 1 champions this season, will aim to secure their second Korea Cup title this year and their second overall since 2017. Pohang, last year’s champions, will seek their second consecutive title and sixth overall, which would make them the team with the most wins. Pohang’s victory last year tied them with Jeonbuk and Suwon for the most titles (five).

Founded in 1996, the tournament was known as the Korea Football Association (FA) Cup until last year. The KFA renamed it to emphasize its identity as a Korean soccer competition and to avoid confusion with the English FA Cup. In previous years, the final was often played as a two-game 'home-and-away' series, but this year, the champion will be decided in a single match.

Ulsan and Pohang, set to compete in the final for a 300 million won prize, are fierce rivals rooted along Korea’s east coast. Pohang has been part of the league since 1983, the inaugural year of professional soccer, while Ulsan joined a year later in 1984. The two teams have faced each other 155 times in the K League, with Pohang holding the all-time edge with 57 wins, 47 draws, and 51 losses. This season, however, Ulsan leads the head-to-head record with three wins to Pohang’s one.


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com