Kwon Chang-hoon

Kwon Chang-hoon (Korean: 권창훈; born 30 June 1994) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and the South Korea national team.

Kwon Chang-hoon

Kwon with Gimcheon Sangmu in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Kwon Chang-hoon[1]
Date of birth	(1994-06-30) 30 June 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth	Seoul, South Korea
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Number	77
Youth career
2007–2009	Joongdong Middle School [ko]
2010–2012	Suwon Samsung Bluewings[note 1]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	90	(18)
2017	Dijon II	3	(2)
2017–2019	Dijon	61	(13)
2019–2021	SC Freiburg	35	(2)
2021	SC Freiburg II	1	(0)
2021–2023	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	11	(1)
2022–2023	→ Gimcheon Sangmu (draft)	41	(2)
2024–	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	8	(2)
International career‡
2009–2010	South Korea U17	10[α]	(2)
2011–2013	South Korea U20	18[β]	(6)
2015–2021	South Korea U23	25[γ]	(11)
2015–	South Korea	43	(12)
Medal record Men's football Representing  South Korea AFC U-23 Championship Runner-up 2016 Qatar Team AFC U-19 Championship Winner 2012 United Arab Emirates Team EAFF Championship Winner 2015 China Team Runner-up 2022 Japan Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 November 2022

In this Korean name, the family name is Kwon.

Kwon Chang-hoon
Hangul	권창훈
Hanja	權昶勳
RR	Gwon Changhun
MR	Kwŏn Ch'anghun
IPA	[kwʌn.tɕʰaŋ.ɦun]

Early life

Kwon started playing football when he was in YangJeon Elementary School in Seoul. After he graduated from Joongdong Middle School, he went to Maetan High School to join the under-18 team of Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

Club career

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Kwon in a match against Mexico during the 2016 Olympics

Suwon Samsung Bluewings signed Kwon under homegrown player rule during the 2012 K League draft. He made his senior debut as a substitute in the 79th minute in an AFC Champions League match against Kashiwa Reysol on 3 April 2013. He also made his K League debut against Daegu FC on 6 April, playing as a substitute for 25 minutes. He was selected for the K League 1 Best XI in 2015 and 2016 while playing for Suwon. He challenged France's Ligue 1 after growing as one of the top midfielders in the K League.

Dijon

In January 2017, Kwon joined Dijon on a 3.5-year deal. The transfer fee paid to Suwon was estimated at €1.5 million.^[2] In the 2017–18 Ligue 1, Kwon quickly established himself as an ace player for Dijon, finishing joint Dijon's top scorer with 11 goals in 34 league appearances. However, he injured his Achilles tendon during the last league match, and failed to show his former performance since then.

SC Freiburg

On 28 June 2019, Kwon joined Bundesliga side SC Freiburg.^[3][4] He usually played as a substitute during two years in Freiburg.

Return to Suwon

Kwon left SC Freiburg to do mandatory military service in South Korea. He returned to his former club Suwon Samsung Bluewings, and prepared to enlist in military football club Gimcheon Sangmu.^[5]

Kwon did not feature for Suwon during the 2023 season, which saw the club getting relegated to K League 2, due to persistent injuries; he subsequently left the club, following the expiration of his contract.^[6][7] He received support from Suwon to overcome a long-term injury, whereas he was criticised for being unconcerned with the club and club's fans.^[8]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

On 7 January 2024, Kwon joined fellow K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on a free transfer.^[7][9]

International career

Kwon was named in the South Korean under-19 squad for the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship in the United Arab Emirates.^[10] After winning the AFC Championship, Kwon was called up to under-20 team for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.^[11]

Kwon was called up to the senior national team for the 2015 East Asian Cup. He made his international debut in an East Asian Cup match against China. On 3 September 2015, at the Hwaseong Stadium, he scored his first senior goals, a brace, in an 8–0 home win over Laos in the second round of qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[12]

Kwon participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics, and scored a crucial goal in a 1–0 win over Mexico to advance to the quarter-finals.

Kwon was named in South Korea's preliminary 28-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the last game of the 2017–18 French season, however, Kwon injured his Achilles tendon and was ruled out for the World Cup through injury.^[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 December 2024^[14][15]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2013	K League 1	8	0	1	0	—		2[a]	1	—		11	1
	2014	K League 1	20	1	0	0	—		—		—		20	1
	2015	K League 1	35	10	1	0	—		7[a]	1	—		43	11
	2016	K League 1	27	7	4	1	—		4[a]	1	—		35	9
	Total		90	18	6	1	—		13	3	—		109	22
Dijon II	2016–17	National 3	3	2	—		—		—		—		3	2
Dijon	2016–17	Ligue 1	8	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		8	0
	2017–18	Ligue 1	34	11	1	0	1	0	—		—		36	11
	2018–19	Ligue 1	19	2	3	1	1	0	—		1[b]	1	24	4
	Total		61	13	4	1	2	0	—		1	1	68	15
SC Freiburg	2019–20	Bundesliga	23	2	0	0	—		—		—		23	2
	2020–21	Bundesliga	12	0	2	1	—		—		—		14	1
	Total		35	2	2	1	—		—		—		37	3
SC Freiburg II	2020–21	Regionalliga Südwest	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2021	K League 1	11	1	—		—		—		—		11	1
Gimcheon Sangmu (draft)	2022	K League 1	33	0	1	0	—		—		2[c]	0	36	0
	2023	K League 2	8	2	1	0	—		—		—		9	2
	Total		41	2	2	0	—		—		2	0	45	2
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2024	K League 1	8	2	0	0	—		3[d]	1	1[c]	0	12	3
	2025	K League 1	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	Total		8	2	0	0	—		3	1	1	0	12	3
Career total			250	40	14	3	2	0	16	4	4	1	286	48

1. Appearances in AFC Champions League
2. Appearance in Ligue 1 relegation playoffs
3. Appearances in K League promotion-relegation playoffs
4. Appearances in AFC Champions League Two

International

Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kwon goal.^[16]

List of international goals scored by Kwon Chang-hoon

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 September 2015	Hwaseong Stadium, Hwaseong, South Korea	Laos	3–0	8–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2				6–0
3	8 September 2015	Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon, Lebanon	Lebanon	3–0	3–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	24 March 2018	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	1–0	1–2	Friendly
5	10 October 2019	Hwaseong Stadium, Hwaseong, South Korea	Sri Lanka	8–0	8–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	5 June 2021	Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea	Turkmenistan	4–0	5–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	7 September 2021	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Lebanon	1–0	1–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	15 January 2022	Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey	Iceland	2–0	5–1	Friendly
9	21 January 2022	Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey	Moldova	3–0	4–0	Friendly
10	1 February 2022	Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Syria	2–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	14 June 2022	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	Egypt	4–1	4–1	Friendly
12	20 July 2022	Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan	China	2–0	3–0	2022 EAFF Championship

Honours

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

• Korean FA Cup: 2016^[17]

South Korea U20

• AFC U-19 Championship: 2012^[18]

South Korea U23

• AFC U-23 Championship runner-up: 2016^[19]

South Korea

• EAFF Championship: 2015^[20]

Individual

• K League All-Star: 2015, 2022^[21][22]
• K League 1 Best XI: 2015, 2016^[23][24]

Notes

1. Played for Maetan High School [ko], which was an academy of Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

1. Includes one appearance against non-national team.
2. Includes one appearance against non-national team.
3. Includes six appearances and one goal as an overage player (four appearances in Summer Olympics, two appearances and one goal in friendlies).