Would You Remember National Team Player Jeong Yonghwan?

A Story of Two Men: Soccer Legend Defender and Fan Club President

The kind of bond between these two men is rare in today's world.

One was a figure who represented South Korean football in the 1980s, and the other is the owner of a Chinese restaurant selling jajangmyeon.

They met in the summer of 2003, twenty years ago. Song Chun-yeol, who runs a small Chinese restaurant in Gaegum-dong, Busan, was a member of a football club made up of Chinese restaurant owners and also a fan of professional football like many others.

One day, while eating at a regular restaurant near his shop, the female owner of the restaurant asked Song and his group, who were lively talking about football, if they knew ‘Jung Yong-hwan.’ She said, “He is my cousin, so if you want to meet him, I can call him.” The members thought it was just boasting.

Soccer national team defender Jeong Yong-hwan during his playing days.

Jung Yong-hwan is a nostalgic name that certifies the ‘5060’ generation who experienced actors or stars of that time. Cha Bum-kun is so famous that it does not distinguish generations.

When the name of a former national football team player came up and a reliable ‘fan meeting’ was arranged, Song’s smile, which started at the corners of his mouth, stretched to his ears. Thus began the ‘journey’ of the two men: Jung Yong-hwan, born in 1960, and Song Chun-yeol, born in 1961.

“The moment I saw Coach Jung, I was drawn to his pure humanity. He was a quiet and solid man.”

On the first meeting day, when the rumor that ‘Jung Yong-hwan is right in front of you’ spread, more than 40 football club members gathered, temporarily closing the Chinese restaurant or delegating deliveries.

Jung Yong-hwan, grateful for the unexpected hospitality, invited them to the Busan National University grass stadium and gave a special football lecture. The fans, mostly in their 40s at the time, even got a promise from Jung to meet monthly.

Director Jeong Yong-hwan (left) and Chairman Song Chun-yeol of the Supporters Association.

Song took the position of chairman, and on July 29, 2004, the ‘Jung Yong-hwan Supporters’ Association’ was officially formed. The group was not created to financially support the retired ‘former star.’

“We formed the group to support Jung Yong-hwan’s path and his dream of donating his talent to nurture youth football hopefuls.”

The Jung Yong-hwan Supporters’ Association made jajangmyeon for youth football players and occasionally provided scholarships with care. On the 10th anniversary, as they shared friendship and spent a ‘honeymoon’ period, a thunderbolt struck the star and the supporters’ association.

In 2014, Coach Jung Yong-hwan was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In the summer of 2015, after about a year of battling the illness, Coach Jung quietly told Song Chun-yeol, the supporters’ chairman who came to visit him in the hospital, “I want to live a little longer.”

After leaving the cancer treatment center, the supporters gathered at a kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) restaurant. They agreed to send Coach Jung to Germany, where cancer treatment technology was the best, for treatment.

Until then, the supporters had been supporting Coach Jung’s work, but now they decided to help him directly. Members sold all 3,000 tickets for a ‘one-day hof’ event everywhere. Adding personal donations, they planned to raise 50 million won and easily achieved the goal.

However, two days before the night of support event, their ‘star’ fell.

The funeral hall at Goryeo Hospital in Gijang-gun, Busan, was filled with tears from middle-aged and older men. But that sea of tears was not the end; it marked a beginning.

A vehicle with a support board for Jeong Yong-hwan. This car was used as the deceased's hearse.

About a month after Coach Jung passed away in July 2015, the ‘Jung Yong-hwan Supporters’ Association’ changed its name to the ‘Jung Yong-hwan Football Dream Scholarship Foundation.’ Chairman Song Chun-yeol, Secretary General Park Haeng-su, and existing members carried out scholarship fundraising projects until the following year. Since 2017, they have held the annual Jung Yong-hwan Cup Dream Football Tournament. They also held scholarship award ceremonies to nurture football hopefuls.

This year, on June 6, Memorial Day, the 7th tournament will be held in Gijang-gun, Busan, the hometown of the late Jung Yong-hwan. At the end of the year, scholarships will be awarded to young players recommended by various sports clubs.

Song Chun-yeol, chairman of the ‘Jung Yong-hwan Scholarship Foundation,’ said, “To honor the late’s dedication to youth football, we plan to build a statue and a memorial hall in Gijang-gun,” adding, “There is great interest from Gijang-gun and the council.”

Since 2021, the scholarship foundation has also created the ‘Jung Yong-hwan Award’ in professional football, presenting plaques and prize money. There had to be many places with ‘Jung Yong-hwan.’

What started mainly with Chinese restaurant owners has now spread across various fields, including politicians, businessmen, and journalists.

“If I didn’t talk to (Coach Jung) even for a day, I couldn’t sleep,” said Chairman Song with a smile, revealing that in his heart, the ‘star’ had never truly fallen.

Song Chun-yeol, the chairman of the scholarship foundation, is introducing the projects to be promoted this year.

# The Jung Yong-hwan Football Dream Scholarship Foundation is the first sports fan club scholarship organization in Korea. It revives the legacy of Jung Yong-hwan by holding annual tournaments and scholarship projects. The late Jung Yong-hwan set a great record by appearing over 100 times in international matches as a national football team player and contributed to the development of youth football after retiring in 1994. He passed away on June 7, 2015, at the age of 56.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.