Park Chu-young facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about a footballer. For the long-distance runner, see Park Ju-young.

Quick facts for kids
Park Chu-young

Park with FC Seoul in 2016

Personal information

Date of birth

10 July 1985 (age 39)

Place of birth

Daegu, South Korea

Height

1.82m

Playing position

Forward

Youth career

2001–2003

Cheonggu High School [ko]

2002

→ Zico Football Center

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

2005–2008

FC Seoul

(23)

2008–2011

Monaco

(25)

2011–2014

Arsenal

(0)

2012–2013

→ Celta Vigo (loan)

(3)

2014

→ Watford (loan)

(0)

2014–2015

Al-Shabab

(1)

2015–2021

FC Seoul

186

(42)

2022–2024

Ulsan HD

(1)

Total

386

(95)

National team

2003–2005

South Korea U20

(18)

2006–2012

South Korea U23

(12)

2005–2014

South Korea

(24)

Honours

Men's football

Representing South Korea
Olympic Games
Bronze	2012 London	Team
Asian Games
Bronze	2010 Guangzhou	Team
AFC Youth Championship
Gold	2004 Malaysia	Team
EAFF Championship
Gold	2008 China	Team

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Park Chu-young
Hangul	박주영
Hanja	朴主永
Revised Romanization	Bak Ju-yeong
McCune–Reischauer	Pak Chu-yŏng

In this Korean name, the family name is Park.

Park Chu-young (born on 10 July 1985) is a South Korean retired footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was usually at the front of the team, trying to score goals. He is also known as Park Ju-young.

Club Career
International Career
Personal Life
Career Statistics
- Club Stats
- International Stats
Honours and Awards
See also

Club Career

Early Days at FC Seoul

In February 2005, Park joined FC Seoul, a club in the K League in South Korea. He earned the highest salary among new players. In his first season, he scored 18 goals and made 4 assists in 30 games. This amazing start helped him win the K League Young Player of the Year award. This was a first in K League history! In 2007, he played only 15 games because of a foot injury. He even missed a friendly match against Manchester United due to this injury.

Playing in Monaco

On 1 September 2008, Park moved to Monaco, a football club in France. He scored a goal in his very first game on 13 September against Lorient. He also helped his teammate score another goal. Monaco won 2–0, and Park was named the Man of the Match. In his first season, he played 31 games and scored five goals.

In his second season, Park scored three goals early on. In January 2010, he signed a new contract with Monaco until 2013. Even with three injuries that season, he stayed on the main team. He scored eight goals in 27 games.

His last season at Monaco had mixed results. He scored five goals in the first half. After scoring against Sochaux, he celebrated and injured his right knee, which kept him out for four weeks. In February 2011, he scored his seventh goal of the season. A few days later, he scored two goals against Caen. He had a good season, scoring twelve league goals. However, Monaco was moved down to a lower league (Ligue 2). Because of this, Park wanted to leave Monaco to play in a more competitive league. The club agreed not to stop him.

Time at Arsenal

Park Chu-young at Arsenal

On 30 August 2011, Park joined Arsenal, a famous English Premier League club. It was a bit of a surprise move! He was given the number 9 shirt. On 25 October 2011, he scored his first goal for Arsenal in a League Cup game against Bolton Wanderers. Arsenal won 2–1. On 1 November, he played his first UEFA Champions League match. On 22 January 2012, he played his first Premier League game as a substitute. In March 2012, he also played as a substitute in a Champions League match against Milan.

In August 2012, Park's shirt number was changed to 30. He was advised by the national coach to leave Arsenal if he wanted to stay on the national team. Park did not play for Arsenal again for 14 months. His next game was in October 2013 in a League Cup match against Chelsea. Arsenal lost that game 2–0. Park was released by Arsenal on 30 June 2014.

Loan Spells

Park went on loan to other clubs to get more playing time. On 31 August 2012, he joined Celta de Vigo in Spain for a season. He was given the number 18 shirt. On 22 September 2012, he scored his first goal for Celta Vigo. He became the first South Korean player to score a goal in La Liga, Spain's top league. He scored two more goals that season. He injured his right foot, which ended his season early. He scored three goals in 21 games.

On 31 January 2014, Park was loaned to Watford, a team in England's Championship league. He played his first game for Watford in February 2014. He only played two games for the club because of thigh and toe injuries.

Moving to Al-Shabab

After leaving Arsenal, Park wanted to stay in Europe. However, he joined Al-Shabab, a club in Saudi Arabia, on 1 October 2014. He signed a one-year contract. Park scored a goal in his first game for Al-Shabab on 17 October 2014. They won 1–0 against Al-Hilal.

Back to FC Seoul

Park returned to FC Seoul on 10 March 2015. On 6 November 2016, he scored the only goal in a game against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. This goal helped FC Seoul win the 2016 K League 1 title!

International Career

Youth Team Success

Park Chu-young was a star player for South Korea's youth teams. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2004 AFC Youth Championship. He led the South Korean under-20 team to win the championship. In the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, he scored a goal from a free kick against Nigeria. He also played in the 2008 Summer Olympics with the under-23 team. He scored another free kick goal against Cameroon.

World Cup Moments

Park Chu-young was the main striker for South Korea in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He accidentally scored an own goal in a game against Argentina. But he made up for it by scoring a very important free kick goal in a 2–2 draw with Nigeria. In the next round, his free kick hit the post against Uruguay. South Korea lost that game 2–1.

Asian Games Achievements

Park played for the under-23 team in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. He didn't play in the first game, which South Korea lost. He came on as a substitute in the next game, which they won 4–0. He started the last group game and scored a goal in a 3–0 win. South Korea moved on to the knockout round.

In the next match against China, Park played the whole game and scored a goal. South Korea won 3–0. In the quarterfinal against Uzbekistan, Park scored his third goal of the tournament in extra time. South Korea won 3–1. Park played in the semifinal, but South Korea lost. In the bronze medal game against Iran, Park scored his fourth goal of the tournament. South Korea won 4–3 and earned the bronze medal!

Olympic Glory

In 2011, there was a discussion about Park's military service. In South Korea, men usually have to serve in the military. However, in March 2012, it was announced that Park could delay his service until 2022 because he had lived in Monaco for a long time. This meant he was excused from mandatory military service under South Korean law. When people discussed this, he said he was not trying to avoid service and promised to fulfill his duty.

Park was chosen for the South Korean Olympic team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was one of the older players allowed on the team. He scored the first goal in a group game against Switzerland, helping his team win. In the bronze medal match against Japan, he scored the winning goal by himself, getting past three Japanese defenders! Winning an Olympic medal can excuse athletes from military service in South Korea. Because of his effort, he was honorably excused.

2014 World Cup Performance

Even though Park hadn't played much for his club team, he was chosen for the South Korea national squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played in games against Russia and Algeria. His performances were criticized because he didn't have any shots on target in those matches. He was replaced by another player for the final game against Belgium.

Personal Life

Park is a Christian. He often writes "Jesus Christ" next to his autograph. He has said that the main reason he plays football is to share his faith with people.

Career Statistics

Club Stats

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Seoul	2005	K League	19	12	2	0	11	6	—		—		32	18
	2006	K League	26	7	2	2	4	1	—		—		32	10
	2007	K League	11	2	1	0	3	3	—		—		15	5
	2008	K League	13	2	0	0	4	0	—		—		17	2
	Total		69	23	5	2	22	10	—		—		96	35
Monaco	2008–09	Ligue 1	31	5	3	0	1	0	—		—		35	5
	2009–10	Ligue 1	27	8	5	1	1	0	—		—		33	9
	2010–11	Ligue 1	33	12	0	0	2	0	—		—		35	12
	Total		91	25	8	1	4	0	—		—		103	26
Arsenal	2011–12	Premier League	1	0	0	0	3	1	2	0	—		6	1
	2013–14	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	4	1	2	0	—		7	1
Celta Vigo (loan)	2012–13	La Liga	22	3	4	1	—		—		—		26	4
Watford (loan)	2013–14	Championship	2	0	0	0	—		—		—		2	0
Al-Shabab	2014–15	Saudi Pro League	7	1	0	0	—		—		—		7	1
FC Seoul	2015	K League Classic	23	7	1	2	—		0	0	—		24	9
	2016	K League Classic	34	10	5	0	—		10	1	—		49	11
	2017	K League Classic	34	8	1	0	—		4	2	—		39	10
	2018	K League 1	20	3	0	0	—		—		2	1	22	4
	2019	K League 1	35	10	1	2	—		—		—		36	12
	2020	K League 1	23	4	2	1	—		6	4	—		31	9
	2021	K League 1	17	0	0	0	—		—		—		17	0
	Total		186	42	10	5	—		20	7	2	1	218	55
Ulsan HD	2022	K League 1	6	0	1	0	—		4	1	—		11	1
	2023	K League 1	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	2024	K League 1	2	1	0	0	—		0	0	—		2	1
	Total		8	1	1	0	—		4	1	—		13	2
Career total			386	95	28	9	30	11	26	8	2	1	472	124

International Stats

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	2005	6	2
	2006	14	3
	2008	9	5
	2009	9	3
	2010	10	2
	2011	9	8
	2012	3	0
	2013	1	0
	2014	7	1
Career total		68	24

Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Park goal.

List of international goals scored by Park Chu-young
No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 June 2005	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	1	Uzbekistan	1–1	1–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	8 June 2005	Kuwait City, Kuwait	2	Kuwait	1–0	4–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	21 January 2006	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	8	Greece	1–1	1–1	Friendly
4	25 January 2006	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	9	Finland	1–0	1–0	Friendly
5	1 March 2006	Seoul, South Korea	15	Angola	1–0	1–0	Friendly
6	17 February 2008	Chongqing, China	23	China	1–0	3–2	2008 EAFF Championship
7	17 February 2008	Chongqing, China	23	China	2–2	3–2	2008 EAFF Championship
8	31 May 2008	Seoul, South Korea	25	Jordan	2–0	2–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	7 June 2008	Amman, Jordan	26	Jordan	1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	19 November 2008	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	29	Saudi Arabia	2–0	2-0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	6 June 2009	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	33	United Arab Emirates	1–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	12 August 2009	Seoul, South Korea	36	Paraguay	1–0	1-0	Friendly
13	5 September 2009	Seoul, South Korea	37	Australia	1–0	3–1	Friendly
14	24 May 2010	Saitama, Japan	39	Japan	2–0	2–0	Friendly
15	23 June 2010	Durban, South Africa	44	Nigeria	2–1	2–2	2010 FIFA World Cup
16	25 March 2011	Seoul, South Korea	50	Honduras	3–0	4–0	Friendly
17	3 June 2011	Seoul, South Korea	51	Serbia	1–0	2–1	Friendly
18	2 September 2011	Goyang, South Korea	54	Lebanon	1–0	6–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
19					2–0
20					4–0
21	7 September 2011	Kuwait City, Kuwait	55	Kuwait	1–0	1–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
22	11 October 2011	Suwon, South Korea	56	United Arab Emirates	1–0	2–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
23	11 November 2011	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	57	United Arab Emirates	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
24	5 March 2014	Athens, Greece	62	Greece	1–0	2–0	Friendly