Park Chu-young facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

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

In this Korean name, the family name is Park.

Quick facts for kids
Park Chu-young

Park with FC Seoul in 2016

Personal information

Date of birth

10 July 1985 (age 40)

Place of birth

Daegu, South Korea

Height

1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)

Position(s)

Forward

Youth career

2001–2003

Cheonggu High School [ko]

2002

→ Zico Football Center

College career

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

2004–2005

Korea University

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)

International career

2003–2005

South Korea U20

(18)

2006–2012

South Korea U23

(12)

2005–2014

South Korea

(24)

Medal record

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

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Park Chu-young
Hangul	박주영
Hanja	朴主永
RR	Bak Juyeong
MR	Pak Chuyŏng

Park Chu-young (Hangul: 박주영; Hanja: 朴主永; born on July 10, 1985) is a retired South Korean footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was mainly responsible for scoring goals. Park is known for his time with clubs like FC Seoul, AS Monaco, and Arsenal F.C.. He also proudly represented South Korea in many international games, including the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.

Club Career Highlights

Starting at FC Seoul

In February 2005, Park Chu-young joined FC Seoul, a top club in South Korea's K League. He earned the highest salary for a new player. In his first year, he scored 18 goals and helped his team with 4 assists in 30 games. He won the K League Young Player of the Year award, being the first player ever to win it by everyone's agreement. In 2007, he played fewer games because of a foot injury.

Playing for Monaco

On September 1, 2008, Park moved to Monaco, a team in France. He scored a goal in his very first game on September 13, helping his team win 2–0. He was even named "Man of the Match" for his great performance. In his first season, he played 31 games and scored five goals.

Park continued to play well for Monaco. In January 2010, he signed a new contract to stay with the team until 2013. Even with a few injuries, he scored eight goals in 27 games that season. In his last season with Monaco, he scored 12 goals. However, Monaco's team was moved down to a lower league. This made Park want to leave and play in a more competitive league.

Time at Arsenal

Park Chu-young playing for Arsenal

On August 30, 2011, Park Chu-young joined Arsenal F.C., a famous English club in the Premier League. He was given the number 9 shirt, which is often worn by top goal scorers. On October 25, 2011, he scored his first goal for Arsenal in a cup game against Bolton Wanderers F.C.. He also played in his first UEFA Champions League match in November.

However, Park did not play many games for Arsenal's main team. In August 2012, his shirt number was changed. He was advised by the national coach to leave Arsenal if he wanted to keep playing for the South Korean national team. He played only a few more times for Arsenal before leaving the club for free on June 30, 2014.

Loan Spells: Celta Vigo and Watford

While with Arsenal, Park went on loan to other teams to get more playing time. On August 31, 2012, he joined Celta de Vigo in Spain. He made history by becoming the first South Korean player to score a goal in La Liga, Spain's top football league. He scored three goals in 21 games for Celta Vigo before an injury ended his season early.

On January 31, 2014, Park was loaned to Watford F.C. in England. He played only two games for Watford because of more injuries.

Playing for Al-Shabab

After leaving Arsenal, Park joined Al-Shabab, a team in Saudi Arabia, on October 1, 2014. He signed a one-year contract and scored a goal in his very first game for the club on October 17, 2014.

Returning to FC Seoul

Park Chu-young returned to his former club, FC Seoul, on March 10, 2015. On November 6, 2016, he scored the winning goal in a game against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. This important goal helped FC Seoul win the 2016 K League Classic title, which was a big achievement for the team and for Park. He continued to play for FC Seoul until 2021.

Time at Ulsan HD

In 2022, Park joined Ulsan HD. He helped the team win the K League 1 title in 2022, 2023, and 2024. He retired from playing football in 2024.

International Career for South Korea

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 after leading the South Korean under-20 team to win the title. He also scored a great goal from a free kick against Nigeria in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he scored another free-kick goal for the under-23 team against Cameroon.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Park was the main striker for South Korea in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In one game, he accidentally scored an own goal against Argentina. But he made up for it by scoring a crucial free-kick goal against Nigeria, which helped South Korea get a 2–2 draw. In the next round, his free kick hit the post, and South Korea lost to Uruguay.

2010 Asian Games

Park also played for the under-23 team in the 2010 Asian Games in China. He scored a goal against Palestine in a 3–0 win. In the quarter-final against Uzbekistan, he scored another goal in extra time, helping South Korea win 3–1. South Korea won the bronze medal in the tournament, with Park scoring four goals in total.

2012 Summer Olympics and Military Service

In 2011, Park had said he would need to leave Arsenal to complete his mandatory military service in South Korea. However, in March 2012, he was allowed to delay his service until 2022 because he had lived in Monaco for a long time. This meant he didn't have to serve in the military right away. When some people questioned this, he promised to fulfill his duty.

Park was chosen to play for the South Korean Olympic team in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He scored the first goal in a group match against Switzerland, which was a very important win. In the bronze medal match against Japan, he scored the winning goal by himself, dribbling past three defenders. Winning an Olympic medal meant he was honorably excused from military service, which was a big deal in South Korea.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Even though he hadn't played much for Arsenal, Park was still chosen for the South Korea team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played in games against Russia and Algeria. However, he didn't have any shots on target in those matches, and his performance was criticized. He was replaced by another player for the final group game.

Personal Life

Park Chu-young is a Christian. He often writes "Jesus Christ" next to his autograph. He has said that his main reason for playing football is to share his faith with people.

Career Statistics

Club

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

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