Newcastle United fans, there's a K League team you can adopt - South Korea's Magpies

English Premier League side and 2025-2026 Carabao Cup winners Newcastle United FC will travel to South Korea this summer for pre-season, where they will play Team K League and Tottenham Hotspur in the 2025 Coupang Play Series. Newcastle United's fans should know a few things about Korean football before arriving in Korea, one of which is the existence of a similar club on the outskirts of the capital region, which shares the same nickname and a similar history, Seongnam FC. Fans of Newcastle United should consider adopting Seongnam FC as an "affiliate club," and the reasons are below.

Nickname "The Magpies" and Team Identity

Both clubs share the same nickname, but for different reasons. Newcastle United adopted the nickname "The Magpies" due to the famous black and white stripes on their jersey, similar to the plumage of the magpie. On the other hand, Seongnam FC adopted the same nickname when they moved from Cheonan to Seongnam. The city of Seongnam is heavily linked with the bird magpie, and so, the then newly relocated Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma changed their identity, from the logo going from a Pegasus to a magpie and the jersey going from a bright yellow to a black and white striped jersey.

Early Success In The Early Years

Newcastle and Seongnam enjoyed some success shortly after their foundation. The English club went on to win three English first division titles and one FA Cup in the first 20 years of existence and then many more titles throughout the 1920s, 1950s, and 1960s, including two minor continental trophies.

Seongnam also had a great start to life. In the first 20 years of their existence, Seongnam FC won seven K League titles (Korean first division), one Korean FA Cup, three Korean League Cups, one Super Cup, and three major continental titles, two of them being the AFC Champions League and the other one being the Asian Super Cup.

[READ: 2025 Team K League Squad Announced]

The "Sleeping Giant"

Newcastle United and Seongnam FC had a beautiful start to life, but both fell away somewhat. Both clubs have played second division football multiple times; Newcastle most recently in the 2016-17 season, and Seongnam has been playing in K League 2 since 2023. The South Korean magpies are struggling to come back to the K League, finishing rock bottom in K League 2 in 2024 and being in the middle of the pack so far in the 2025 season. The lack of major silverware in recent years has taken its toll on the team's reputation, but, much like Newcastle, who ended their trophy drought last season with the Carabao Cup, without a doubt, both teams have a special place in their respective countries' football history.

Easy and Free Access To Seongnam FC and Korean Football Matches

Newcastle's fans who really want to give it a go to this "affiliate club" idea have the possibility to watch and follow Seongnam FC matches for free and very easily with TV.KLeague.com. Every single match from the K League and the K League 2 is streamed for free.

For any Geordies who are travelling over to South Korea, Seongnam FC are away to Bucheon FC 1995 the day before the friendly with Tottenham Hotspur. Bucheon is also located in the capital area of South Korea. More information on how to get to Bucheon from Seoul can be found here.