The Star Has Left, But the Dream Grows... The Late Jeong Yonghwan Soccer National Team 'Night of Support'

Continuing the Lifetime Youth Talent Development Project

Generous Donations to Young Athletes through Membership Fees and Sponsorship Events

"A True Bromance That Never Ends, Even in Death"

A sponsorship event featuring the name of a footballer who once represented the nation is about to take place. It is unusual that the early winter night will see well over 100 attendees, even though he is no longer active and the gathering is not intended to support him directly.

The ‘Night of Support’ is a festival where about 130 comrades gather to fulfill the dream he once had. Since he passed away eight years ago, he will not attend the event. However, the things he wanted to do during his lifetime will be carried out on his behalf that day.

He devoted himself to nurturing young talents by donating his abilities so they could dream of football, and now his ‘fans’ are fulfilling the dreams he could not complete. While deep friendships among men are often spoken of, soon we will witness a scene from this unique bromance that has continued for over seven years even after his death.

The ‘2023 Jeong Yong-hwan Football Dream Scholarship Award Ceremony and Night of Support’ is scheduled to be held at 6 p.m. on the 28th at The Party in Seomyeon, Busan. About 160 members and invited guests will gather, united by one former football star.

2023 Jeong Yong-hwan Soccer Dream Tree Scholarship Award Ceremony and Sponsorship Night Banner.

Born in 1960, Jeong Yong-hwan would be 63 years old if he were alive. After serving as a national football representative, playing for corporate and professional teams, and working as both player and coach, he dedicated himself to a sports business nurturing youth dreamers before passing away in 2015.

About ten years before his passing, in 2004, fans who admired him like an idol formed a support group to assist the youth football projects he was running at the time. After losing their idol, they established a scholarship foundation in his name the following year.

This may have been the first time a support group was created for a retired football player. Also, it is an unprecedented case where fans have taken over the business to continue the dreams of a star who has passed away.

This year, 15 young ‘footballers’ will receive the Jeong Yong-hwan Football Dream Scholarship. They were deliberately selected not from elite sports students but from football club students who show passion and skill. They do not have to be the strongest now; they just need to be saplings with passion for football and potential for the future. That was Jeong Yong-hwan’s dream during his lifetime. Therefore, the scholarship foundation focuses more on promising players or underprivileged teams rather than elites.

On that day, 13 second graders from an elementary school FC club, one promising fifth grader, one special scholarship high school sophomore, and one player from Busan Transportation Corporation will receive a total of 7.2 million won in the ‘Jeong Yong-hwan Scholarship.’ Following the scholarship award, a fundraising event will be held to support other football dreamers.

Jeong Yong-hwan, former national soccer team player.

Song Chun-yeol, chairman of the Jeong Yong-hwan Football Dream Scholarship Foundation, said, “From the Jeong Yong-hwan support group to the scholarship foundation after his passing, we have donated over 84 million won across 15 events.”

Chairman Song runs a small Chinese restaurant, and among the approximately 150 members, about 120 are self-employed business owners like him who operate Chinese restaurants. Currently, scholarship members are increasing to include bus and truck drivers, journalists, legal professionals, police officers, and financial workers.

Busan Bank also donated 5 million won to this Night of Support event, the chairman of the Busan IPark POP Steering Committee donated 550,000 won, and members and invited guests are expected to contribute small donations. Kim Dong-hwi, CEO of Ilpummiso, a meat distribution business, serves as the scholarship foundation’s vice chairman and annually donates meat gift sets to young players.

The scholarship foundation provides an annual development fund of 500,000 won to Chilam Elementary School in Gijang, the alma mater of the late Jeong Yong-hwan. Around June 7, the anniversary of Jeong’s passing, a memorial ceremony is held at the Busan Asiad Stadium in conjunction with Busan IPark’s match schedule. Since 2016, ‘Jeong Yong-hwan Day’ has been held annually, featuring video screenings and a memorial time.

The South Korean national football team that participated in the 13th World Cup held in Mexico in 1986. Player Jeong Yong-hwan is the second from the left in the back row. (Front row from the left: Byeon Byeong-ju, Park Kyung-hoon, Kim Ju-seong, Jo Gwang-rae, Park Chang-shin; Back row from the left: Cha Bum-kun, Jeong Yong-hwan, Heo Jeong-moo, Jo Yeong-jeung, Choi Soon-ho, Oh Yeon-gyo) [Image source=Jeong Yong-hwan Football Dream Tree Scholarship Foundation]

With members coming and going, the scholarship fund has grown to about 60 million won. However, the scholarship foundation members say they need to raise more money. This is because they have decided to build a life-size statue of the late Jeong Yong-hwan in his hometown of Gijang County, Busan.

Currently, a signature campaign for the statue has gathered the support of about 3,500 people, with plans to involve up to 10,000 signatories. Gijang County, which will provide the site, has committed to actively supporting the statue project, and the scholarship foundation plans to focus on fundraising starting next year.

Although sponsorship donations accumulate monthly and yearly, an equal amount is spent on scholarships, so the scholarship foundation’s bank balance grows at an andante pace. Nevertheless, Jeong Yong-hwan’s ‘fans’ are steadily nurturing the tree he planted, aiming to return abundant fruit.

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