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The Real Reason Hong Myung-bo Is Being Criticized: A Korean Fan’s Perspective

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The Real Reason Hong Myung-bo Is Being Criticized: A Korean Fan's Perspective

Recently, many YouTube and Instagram Reels videos have been criticizing South Korea’s national team coach, Hong Myung-bo. However, many people outside Korea seem to think that he is only being criticized because the team lost. I often see comments saying things like, “It’s just a game. Korean fans are taking this way too seriously.”

As a Korean football fan, I want to explain why so many Korean fans are angry.

The frustration did not start with the World Cup. It has been building up for decades.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) has long been accused by many fans of operating through personal connections and an old-boy network. Before the 2002 World Cup, there were widespread accusations that the federation had significant influence over national team selections instead of leaving them entirely to the coach, and that personal relationships or university connections mattered more than ability.

This is one of the main reasons many Korean fans prefer foreign coaches. They believe foreign coaches are more independent and are less likely to be influenced by the KFA when selecting players.

Today, many important positions within the KFA are still occupied by former members of the 2002 World Cup team and people connected to Korea University. Many of them have remained in influential positions for nearly two decades, and many fans believe the organization has become very closed and resistant to outside voices.

The KFA president, Chung Mong-gyu, has also been president for about 12 years. During that time, he appointed many people close to him as vice presidents. There are currently nine vice presidents, which many fans see as another example of the federation’s internal network.

For years, Korean football fans have watched these problems continue.

Hong Myung-bo was previously the head coach at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. South Korea finished with one draw and two losses. The team lost 4-2 to Algeria and even lost 1-0 to Belgium despite Belgium playing with ten men for almost the entire second half. He was dismissed after the tournament, but he continued working in senior positions within the KFA afterward.

After the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Paulo Bento left following disagreements with the KFA.

When looking for a new coach, KFA president Chung Mong-gyu reportedly made the decision to appoint Jürgen Klinsmann despite criticism and without broad support. That appointment became a major failure, and after Klinsmann was dismissed, the KFA reportedly had to pay a huge compensation package.

For the Olympic team, the KFA appointed Hwang Sun-hong, another member of the 2002 World Cup generation. Despite disappointing results, he remained in charge, and when the senior national team was left without a coach, he was also appointed interim manager.

Because he had to manage both the senior team’s World Cup qualifiers and the Olympic team’s qualification campaign at the same time, many fans believe the Olympic team did not receive enough attention. South Korea ultimately failed to qualify for the Olympics, ending a streak of ten consecutive Olympic appearances spanning 40 years.

After that, instead of quickly appointing a permanent national team coach, the KFA continued using interim managers. Many fans believed they were hoping one of their preferred domestic coaches would succeed and eventually become the permanent coach, but that plan did not work.

Several experienced candidates were reportedly interested in the job. Jesse Marsch, now Canada’s national team coach, was widely reported to have shown serious interest. David Wagner reportedly prepared a 50-slide presentation for his interview. Gustavo Poyet was also said to have been ready to begin immediately with his coaching staff.

However, the KFA made a very different decision.

Instead of choosing one of the candidates who formally applied and interviewed, they appointed Hong Myung-bo, who reportedly neither applied nor interviewed. The KFA wanted Hong, who was then coaching Ulsan HD in the K League. Officials reportedly met him at a bakery near his home late at night to persuade him to take the job. The other candidates were rejected, and the KFA publicly stated that Hong was the only person capable of saving Korean football.

His second spell as national team coach has also produced disappointing results.

Before the World Cup, South Korea lost 4-0 to Ivory Coast and 1-0 to Austria in friendly matches. Although Korea defeated Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador, many fans were alarmed because the team’s overall performances were poor despite those opponents being ranked around 100th in the FIFA rankings.

Finally, at the World Cup, South Korea was eliminated in the group stage with one win and two losses. Many Korean fans believe this was one of the most favorable groups South Korea has ever had, with one of the strongest squads in the country’s history.

This is why so many Korean fans are angry. For many of us, this is not simply about losing football matches. It is about years of frustration over how Korean football has been managed and the belief that the same problems keep repeating themselves.

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