2025 K League 2 Writers' Choice Awards

The K League 2 season has finally drawn to a close. Incheon United announced their intention to depart the league in October, and will be joined in K League 1 by Bucheon FC 1995. With all that in mind, our K League 2 writers hand out the gongs after another fascinating season of Korean football.

We choose the winners - and losers - from 10 categories in our K League 2 Writers' Choice Awards. The first three relate to the best team, manager and player awards of the season. Then we get to the first disappointment and surprise package nominations, which feature a variety of clubs and, in one case, a player.

After that, the writers share their own personal highlights and low-lights, and thoughts on K League expansion. Finally, they look at how relegated Daegu FC will fare in the division next year. The Sky Blues have possibly been afforded an unlikely lifeline after the K League announced they will be expanding the top tier from 2027. With more spots available, can Daegu make an instant return?

The men responsible for the task of selecting the winners and losers are Andrew (Suwon Bluewings correspondent), Diogo (Seongnam FC correspondent), Luke (Incheon United correspondent), and Mike (Ansan Greeners correspondent).

Please share and comment on who you think we got right or wrong, and what other suggestions you'd make.

Without further ado....

K League 2 Team of the Season

Andrew: Bucheon FC 1995. The key is in the wording. Incheon are the best team, but Bucheon's turnaround from eighth in 2024 to K League 1 promotion, on a shoestring budget, is an outstanding achievement. And they did it with such flair, tearing Suwon FC to shreds in Castle Park to seal their first-ever promotion. Let's not forget they also made the Korea Cup semis, too.

Incheon United picked up three votes for Team of the Season.

Diogo: Incheon United. Even though Seongnam came a close second, due to the massive improvement from last season, I had to pick the runaway winners of K League 2.

Luke: Predictable, but Incheon United. Many clubs have been relegated and found life in K League 2 difficult. For some, it has even felt like they've fallen into the abyss. Incheon regrouped, refocused, and came out with a plan. They have succeeded where many others have failed. On top since Round 6, they never looked back.

Mike: It feels lazy to say, but I will go for Incheon United. They coasted the league with a monster budget, but there was something about how they did it, with a ‘job done’ mentality. Teams have come down to K2 and had a hard time, such as the Bluewings and Seongnam, but Incheon got the job done. Their two visits to Wa Stadium were not spectacular, but that was likely the key ingredient to their season: Get in, control the ball, get the three points any which way. Notable shout-outs to the lesser-funded but other standout clubs in the promoted Bucheon 1995 and Seoul E-Land, who should really be planning for a full-on push next year.

K League 2 Player of the Season

Mike: I almost exclusively watch Ansan, so this is a difficult one. I will pick out one individual performance, though in Incheon’s Shin Jin-ho, who put in one of those performances at the Wa that you only really get to acknowledge if you are front row and pitch side (which running tracks deprive many youngsters from witnessing). There was no flair or key pass, but instead constant, clever off-the-ball movement that was the defining factor for me in Incheon getting a fortuitous goal and claiming another three points. I must also point to Rodrigo Bassani, who entered legendary K League status with his two imperious performances and goals in the Promotion-Relegation Playoff.

Leonardo Ruiz celebrates his match winner in Mokdong. Sadly, the Portuguese picked up his eight booking of the season, and missed the following round against Bucheon.

Andrew: Kim Geon-hee, Incheon United's 23-year-old defender, was the standout player in the title-winning campaign. Incheon finished six points clear of Suwon, but that might give an inaccurate reflection of how close the race was. Incheon had the title wrapped by the beginning of autumn. One reason their stay in K League 2 lasted just one season was that they had the meanest defense in the division. And Kim was the only ever-present in that back line. He played 90 minutes in all 39 matches.

Diogo: Leonardo Ruiz (Seongnam FC). Second-highest goalscorer (17), Ruiz scored the only goal in Mokdong to set Seongnam up with a tie against Bucheon. Unfortunately, he was suspended, and Seongnam failed to win.

Luke: Park Seung-ho (Incheon United). He's been the glue that has held the Incheon attack together and has often done so without much ceremony or praise, while other players have taken the headlines. Incheon look much worse off when he's not on the pitch.

K League 2 Manager of the Season

Luke: Before their playoff success, my pick was Lee Young-min at Bucheon. Now that they've secured top-flight football for the first time, I don't think there can be any qualms. Lee has put together a very good squad with a mix of experience and young talent. For much of the second half of the season, they've been in the top four and even looked like they might challenge Suwon Bluewings for second at one stage. They've done all of this on a much smaller budget than the teams around them, too.

Lee Young-min collected three votes.

Mike: Lee Young-min. In terms of points per spending and the actual achievements of the season, there is no equal in terms of managerial performance. A third-place league finish, promotion through the play-offs, including seeing off a Seongnam side that found a hidden gear at the end of the season, and also a cup semi-final… Bucheon have the best man in place if they want to maintain their K League 1 status for the foreseeable future.

Andrew: Lee Young-min of Bucheon FC 1995 should have won this award at the official K League ceremony earlier this month. Taking his club with a market value of €5.53 m (10th overall) from mid-table mediocrity to K League 1 is worthy of a Netflix documentary. Lee is also responsible for improving players who arrived from other clubs, especially Rodrigo Bassani. This must be celebrated as one of K League's great performances.

Diogo: Jeon Kyeong-jun (Seongnam FC). From bottom to fifth. Seongnam won their final five regular-season matches, then beat Seoul in Mokdong. Their promotion ended without defeat.

Biggest Disappointment of the Season

Diogo: Probably Busan IPark, since they are always in the playoffs.

Suwon supporters demand answers after a disappointing year.

Luke: Suwon Bluewings. Many predicted a straight shoot-out between Incheon and Suwon for the title, but an inability to keep clean sheets and a knack for conceding late, damaging goals have cost them. As a result, they've been playing catch-up from a long way behind for the entire season. Their capitulation in the play-offs adds to this. Top scorers in K League 2 this year, they never troubled a relatively poor Jeju SK side.

Mike: Personally, seeing the first Ansan professional team to actually finish bottom of the league in 18 seasons. But it was always on the cards. Jeonnam’s end-of-season collapse will also be felt by their fans, but also perhaps predictable. So I will go with the (all) blue side of Suwon. Second place was a respectable finish, but their play-off capitulation, coupled with the team below them achieving promotion, will leave one of the country’s biggest travelling support wondering why Pohang and Jeonju are not on their travel list next year, but Paju and Cheonan are.

Andrew: I waited until the conclusion of the playoffs before filling in this gap. Ultimately, Suwon's feeble submission to Jeju SK, which followed a season mixed with frustration, desperation and entertainment, earns them this award. Despite averaging two goals a match, when it really mattered, they fired blanks in the playoffs, whilst their defense was again exposed due to player error.

Surprise Package of the Season

Andrew: Shin Jae-won had the best season of his career. The 27-year-old Seongnam right back played 3,800 minutes this season, almost doubling his total career minutes in one season. From a bit-part player at three clubs to a spot in the Best XI. Shin ended the regular season with a career-high nine assists. His 10th came against Seoul E-Land in the playoffs. He missed the Bucheon match through injury, and Seongnam crashed out.

Shin Jae-won (left), Ruiz, and Seongnam surprised our pundits.

Diogo: Seongnam FC, from an abysmal season to an incredible one.

Luke: Hwaseong FC. In their debut season in K League 2, they amassed 40 points to finish 10th. Beyond this, I think Cha Du-ri has them playing good football, and if they continue to develop, they could finish in the top half sooner rather than later.

Mike: A fifth-placed finish may seem unimpressive, but Seongnam finished rock bottom last season with just five wins and a 32-goal deficit. The momentum they had built up toward the end of the season, breaking into the play-offs and then going and beating a free-scoring Seoul E-Land side in Mokdong… it would not have been a surprise if they went all the way. Their fans turned up in force in the playoffs and seemed to have rekindled their verve of old. They were stopped only by a fantastic Bucheon side.

Personal highlight

Mike: I did see Ansan win a league game back in May… but other than that, it was witnessing Bucheon secure promotion at Castle Park that was the standout moment for me.

Andrew: Has to be Castle Park on a frozen Monday night as Bucheon FC 1995 sealed their first-ever promotion. There were two reasons for this selection: one, Rodrigo Bassani produced the best performance I've seen this season, and two, I spent the final 15 minutes in the away end. I witnessed the club's greatest moment with the people who mattered the most: their fans.

Diogo: Seongnam's three games against Incheon United. I think we showcased our abilities and potential as a football club.

Luke: I've really enjoyed the majority of the away games this year. I've been to each stadium at least once this season, with the exception of Gyeongnam and Busan, and they've been fun days out. I've enjoyed meeting both Incheon fans and home fans at the game, and it has felt like a carnival at times - particularly earlier in the season.

Personal low-light

Luke: I've had very little to grumble about this year, but if I never go to Tancheon again, I'll die happy.  

Mike: I feel like I am being trolled at this point. Was it the 6-0 defeat in Mokdong… or the 4-0 defeat in the pouring rain at the Tancheon? Or the 0-0 at Cheonan when the weather took a real cold turn. Instead, I will give you a low point for you to find yourself… It is Kim Beom-su’s goal back in April, as Seongam came out 1-0 winners at Tancheon. Just go and watch it…

Andrew: I could pick any number of Suwon matches, but the low-light must surely be the events at Jeju World Cup Stadium, particularly within the first minute. After all the hype, the excitement, the travel, the noise, and the colour, to see an experienced defender like Kwon Wan-kyu just gift a goal after 53 seconds to effectively end the promotion chase was especially chastening. The moment the season died.

Diogo: The 2-2 draw against Suwon Bluewings, conceding two goals in the 97th and 99th minutes.

What one change would you make to K League 2?

Diogo: The playoff format. I think it makes the "post-season" less competitive and enjoyable.

Luke: It's more of a fantasy change than a realistic one, but I think teams should play in stadiums appropriate to their fanbase. There's no point in Hwaseong playing in a 35,000-seat stadium. The same goes for Yongin, and for a number of clubs that struggle to get more than a few thousand fans at home. Smaller, football-specific stadiums would at least (in theory) improve the atmosphere at games and make them feel less like behind-closed-doors matches.

Mike: A fan experience metric and a requirement for clubs to meet it. Things have gotten better, with away ends now having shops, but there are more restrictions and rules than there are actually fans! Adding a new domestic cup beginning in May – October for K2-K4 would give something extra to play for the bottom half teams. I do not think relegation is a goer, looking at the general situation in K3, so adding more avenues for increasing competition at this level would be great. Making all teams have the pitch-side stands, perhaps, and have them all the way around, rather than having the away fans in a corner. Make home fans feel like they are really in it for their team by needing to out-sing the away support.

Andrew: The new teams - Gimhae, Paju, and Yongin - have been added, so there's no going back. The league is in need of several big changes, but the biggest one I'd make is a moratorium on expansion teams. K League 2 has ballooned in recent seasons, with the addition of nine clubs. Focus on K3 and let K2 settle.

Thoughts on K League 2 expansion?

Andrew: Not a fan. With the exception of Gyeongnam, the teams in the bottom half of the table were formed after 2017. Expansion isn't making the league stronger; the limited amount of talent is now spread too thinly around the country. We simply don't need more city hall clubs in ridiculously oversized civic stadiums.

Yongin Mireu will host Yongin FC, an expansion club, from 2026.

Diogo: I'm a fan of it, but the football pyramid has to open, to make things more competitive and force teams to use money a bit more wisely.

Luke: At this stage, I think it's unnecessary. There are a number of newer teams playing in vast, empty stadiums with very little opportunity to progress. I definitely think adding new teams now would water down the competitiveness of the league even further, leaving more than half with nothing to play for by the summer.

Mike: On the surface… a great idea. Two divisions with 18 teams apiece… three up, three down, and perhaps having one team go down to K3 also. But, in reality, the quality of the league has dropped in the past few seasons, in tandem with the addition of more teams. This may be due to an increasingly diluted domestic player pool. The league seems to have already prepared for this by removing the cap on overseas players, but too often, these players are not upgrades on domestic talent. Attendances are already poor, and the budgets are low; expansion looks like it will only worsen this problem. Football is nothing without fans. The league needs to develop fanbases, not throw more teams into the mix.

How will Daegu do?

Mike: Daegu are not strangers to the second division, but there is a sense that they will fare more like Seongnam than Incheon next season in terms of the relegation experience. That said, the increased number of promoted teams next season changes the playing field, and the off-field situation will be the biggest decider of Daegu’s fate. There has never been a better season to try and get out of the K2, and they surely will look to try and take it.

Can Daegu bounce back immediately?

Andrew: Incheon have bucked the short recent trend of relegated teams having a nightmare in K League 2. But based on their current playing squad and likely departures, it is very difficult to see how Daegu will be competitive. They need a complete reboot instead of looking for quick fixes that won't work.

Diogo: It all depends on Cesinha, but I see Daegu being a full-time K League 2 team for the foreseeable future.

Luke: Daegu will be reliant on Cesinha staying and firing them to glory. They've proved in recent weeks that they have quality and can win games, but can they do it over the course of a full season? It will be very difficult for them to emulate what Incheon did this year. I expect they'll be in contention rather than runaway winners.