Kyoung-rok Choi has followed in the footsteps of Koreans in the Bundesliga like Bum Kun Cha and Heung Min Son. Choi made his 2. Bundesliga debut for <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/st-pauli-tv-schedule/">St. Pauli</a>‘s first team in April 2015 in a match against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Choi scored a brace within the first 16 minutes of the game.



In May 2018, Karlsruher SC, newly relegated to the 3. Liga, announced Choi would join for the 2018–19 season having agreed on a three-year contract until 2021. The South Korean midfielder extended his stay with Karlsruhe and remained with the club until the end of the 22/23 season. In January 2024, Choi joined K League 1 club Gwangju FC and has made 26 appearances for the side, which is currently seventh in the South Korean top tier.



Choi spoke to World Soccer Talk‘s Ben McFadyean about his career and what he misses about the German side that gave him his professional debut.



<h2>Kyoung Rok Choi interview</h2>



Question: Kyoung-rok, you have been back playing in Korea since January. How are you enjoying the experience so far? 



Kyoung-rok: I am happy to be back in my country. I am enjoying playing in the K-League. 



How is the standard of the K-League compared to the 2. Bundesliga? 



Kyoung-rok: I have already played 26 matches since coming back and I must say that the standard here is pretty impressive. We are very well-prepared here. 



There are new names in the top tier. Clubs like Seoul signed Jesse Lingard from Manchester United. What impact are signings like this having on the K-League? 



Kyoung-rok: Well-known players like Jesse Lingard in the league, of course, also add a challenge. I would like to see more going forward, it brings a lot to our league. 



<h5>A historic club to start one’s career with</h5>



You played for St. Pauli for four seasons. The Millerntor stadium is well-known for its atmosphere, there is also an intense atmosphere in the World Cup Stadium in Daejeon. How do the grounds compare? 



Kyoung-rok: Millerntor is uniquely intense. Twenty-nine-thousand at home almost every game sold out, you cannot really compare with many places. Here in Korea, the fans are very organized though. Very good atmosphere for the 8,000 who were here tonight. Even away we get a good following as you saw tonight. 



St. Pauli were promoted to the Bundesliga this season. Did you celebrate the promotion with the players? 



Kyoung-rok: I follow their games, and I sent some messages to the club via Instagram. Pauli is my first club, and I am always inspired to see the guys doing well. Getting back to the Bundesliga is a huge thing for the fans and the club. 



You came up through the U19 to the first team and had some successful seasons with the club, do you keep in touch with many of the players at St. Pauli? 



Kyoung-rok: I moved to Karlsruher SC in 2018, I am more in touch with the guys there, friends like Dirk Carlson who I played with at Karlsruhe, who is now at <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.com/skn-st-polten/startseite/verein/2662" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">St. Pölten</a> in Austria and is a good pal from my time in the German league. We keep in touch. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240929_WST_530234_Choi-Karlsrusher-1200x675_4b6896ee.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-530895" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Choi-Karlsrusher-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Choi-Karlsrusher-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Choi-Karlsrusher-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Choi-Karlsrusher-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/09/Choi-Karlsrusher.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



<h5>Memories of time spent in Germany</h5>



The rivalry between Hamburger SV and St. Pauli is mythical. What did it mean for the smaller club in Hamburg to get promoted ahead of HSV? 



Kyoung-rok: HSV has been desperate to get back since they were relegated in 2018 but without success. As a St. Pauli player of course, like all former players, I am super happy that Pauli made it back. 



You played in the German leagues for 9 seasons, it was a huge part of your career. What are the special experiences you look back on? 



Kyoung-rok: There are many special moments but of course my debut against Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2014/15. I scored a brace and gave an assist, a special way to get my professional career started. 



The Euro 2024 was in Germany this summer, what did you think of the standard of the German team and the tournament? 



Kyoung-rok: I watched a lot of games, Germany did well. Julian Nagelsmann seems like the right coach for the side. He brings new strategies and ways of doing things I like what is going and I think it has good prospects. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Tore des Jahres - FC St. Pauli - Saison 2014/2015" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-J25Z_w1GOs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
</div></figure>



<h5>Keeping Germany and St. Pauli close even in South Korea</h5>



Do you still have the chance to visit Germany, and do you maintain ties over there?



Kyoung-rok: My brother lives in Hamburg so I will be visiting again when I have the chance. I am always pleased to have the chance to go back and also watch some Bundesliga games. 



You mentioned your strong affinity with St. Pauli. Will you go to a game at Millerntor when you get back over? 



Kyoung-rok: I would very much like to see a game, especially in the Bundesliga for sure. I plan to. 



St. Pauli is known to be a unique football club with a special culture. What makes the club so unique? 



Kyoung-rok: If I think back about the Millerntor, I think of the players’ tunnel. You come out of this dark tunnel with the red lights, and you see the pitch ahead of you. You hear the fans, the intensity is like almost no other ground. An electrifying experience even thinking of it. 



Do you have something to share with the St. Pauli fans? 



Kyoung-rok: I would like to say to the fans who remember me there that I had an unforgettable time at the club. St. Pauli is part of me. 



Finally, Choi, it’s early days. Yet, St. Pauli has lost Fabian Hurzeler (Coach) to Brighton. Do you believe that the Brown and Whites can stay up in the Bundesliga? 



Kyoung-rok: For me, there is no doubt they can do it. 



PHOTOS: IMAGO

Kyoung Rok Choi interview about St Pauli and the K-League

Former St. Pauli player Kyoung-rok Choi talks about his time with the German club and his move back to South Korea's K-League.

featured

The Korean Football Association (KFA) has announced that they will implement a full promotion/relegation system by 2027. Soccer in South Korea already has a form of promotion and relegation throughout their six tiers. Nevertheless, it is currently impossible for clubs at the bottom of the pyramid to make it all the way to the top.



The top two tiers, K League 1 and K League 2, consist of fully professional teams. Clubs in these two divisions can only currently move up and down in these particular leagues through promotion and relegation. Semi-professional teams fill the third and fourth leagues in the Asian nation. The bottom two tiers are then only amateurs at the moment. Semi-professional clubs can only take part in levels three and four, and amateur teams are then stuck in tiers five and six.



However, this will all change in the next few years. These semi-professional and amateur clubs are set to able to move as high as the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2020/05/06/beginners-guide-to-koreas-k-league/">South Korean top flight</a>. As a result, top-tiered teams will then have the possibility to drop down multiple levels as well. Along with opening up the entire system, KFA officials also plan to create a new seventh tier as well. 



<h2>Including playoffs in Korean leagues is still an option</h2>



Although soccer authorities will introduce a full promotion-relegation system, lower-level clubs must first obtain certain licenses to be able to feature in the K League 1. This will help ensure that every club can prepare for the massive move.



“For a semi-pro K3 League side to earn promotion in 2026, they must win the league in addition to obtaining a K League club license, which requires each club’s venue, administrative capacity, and youth academy to fulfill the minimum conditions per K League standards,” <a href="https://twitter.com/realstevescores/status/1773194845923713350" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">explained</a> soccer journalist Steve Han.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="670" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240402_WST_498979_K-League-Promotion-Relegation-1200x670_9351247f.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=670" alt="" class="wp-image-499032" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/K-League-Promotion-Relegation-1200x670.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/K-League-Promotion-Relegation-300x168.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/K-League-Promotion-Relegation-768x429.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/K-League-Promotion-Relegation.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



Precise details regarding how clubs will be promoted/relegated are not yet known. “Whether K3 League winners will earn direct promotion remains undecided for now,” continued Han. “The KFA is considering a few options, including a promotion/relegation playoff between the bottom KL2 side and K3 winners. In the K5 League, the top two sides will be promoted to the K4 League.”



<h2>American soccer fans generally want pro/rel in U.S.</h2>



The decision by the KFA was widely met with praise on social media. After all, full promotion/relegation is extremely popular amongst soccer fans. It is typically the most preferred way to determine which clubs play in the top divisions around the world.



Nevertheless, the system is not currently in use here in the United States. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/mls-tv-schedule/">Major League Soccer</a> teams, no matter how terrible they are, have a safety net knowing that they will never suffer relegation to the second tier. This concept generally does not sit well with fans. 



Despite the intense disapproval by the fans, things will likely not change anytime soon in MLS. Team owners pay a massive price to become members of MLS. In fact, the current rate for a new MLS expansion club is about $500 million. These owners are not going to pay this fee only to potentially drop down a tier in the soccer pyramid.



However, it would be nice if the U.S. Soccer Federation tried to get more involved in creating a true promotion/relegation pyramid. This is a more attractive option than allowing MLS, USL, NISA and other leagues to continue their soccer wars.



PHOTOS: IMAGO

Korea makes landmark promotion/relegation decision

The Korean Football Association (KFA) has announced that they will implement a full promotion/relegation soccer system by 2027.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "k league"

News

Kyoung Rok Choi interview about St Pauli and the K-League

News

Korea makes landmark promotion/relegation decision