In Korean soccer, it has become a trend for younger players to copy the goal celebrations of their seniors. From Choi Yong-su and Park Ji-sung to Son Heung-min, many goal celebrations have been passed down.
At the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup 2023 in Thailand, players from the South Korean national team are copying the Taegeuk Warriors seniors.
Forward Yoon Do-young (Chungnam National Institute of Technology) has been wearing the same number 7 as A team captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) at the tournament and has been performing Son’s signature “click” after every goal. Yoon Do-young also performed the “click” after scoring the team’s third goal in the quarterfinals against Thailand on Sept. 25.
Forward Kim Hyun-min (Yeongdeungpo Public High School), who came on as a substitute in the second half of the game, also copied his senior’s gesture. Kim celebrated the victory by performing the control tower ceremony after scoring a goal with a right-footed curling kick on a counterattack in the 39th minute.
The control tower ceremony was created by internet broadcaster Gamst and is characterized by a ridiculous arm movement while jumping in place. Moon Sun-min (Jeonbuk Hyundai) of the Korea National A team is the main performer of this goal serenade.
This is not the first time that South Korea’s national team has mimicked a goal celebration.
Former Gangwon FC coach Choi Yong-soo and Jeonbuk Hyundai coach Park Ji-sung have both had their share of goal celebrations. 안전놀이터
After scoring a goal against Kazakhstan in the 1998 World Cup final qualifier in France, Choi leaped onto a billboard. His foot slipped and he fell down the billboard, creating a sensation.
Lee Seung-woo (Suwon FC) reenacted the scene. After Lee scored the winning goal against Japan in overtime of the 2018 Asian Games final in Jakarta-Palembang, he performed a gesture of climbing up a billboard for Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan.
In May 2010, Park Ji-sung scored the game-winning goal in a South Korea-Japan match in Japan, and afterward, he took a stroll while facing the booing Japanese crowd. The “stroll” has since become a symbol of victory in Korea-Japan matches. It has since become a symbol of victory in the Korea-Japan game. Park’s seniors Lee Dong-gook and women’s soccer veteran Ji So-yeon also joined the ranks of the strollers.