>!Gwangju beat Ulsan 4-3 at home, leaving Seoul 18 pints aged with just 7 matches to go. One more slip up and Seoul will enter the split as champions. !<

The thing they are playing on looks like a beach with some grass on it, and the players are ripping parts of it out with their steps.

The Anyang pitch had corners missing a few weeks ago.

What happened to the treats that matches will be moved when pitches are clearly not up to scratch?

Edit: oh! I was not not aware the the Steel Yard was closed down after a piece of debris fel onto a table in a spectator section.

Bluewings have won six and draw three since their last loss. They are starting to look secure at the top. And with Suwon just outside the automatic promotion zone, it's completely possible both will came back up next season.

Good, then we can have both the Super Match and the Not So Super Match again.

We are nearing the end of the WK league season, and the playoff stage of the WK league is a little over a month away. Odds are that Hwacheon will play one of Sejong, Gyeongju or Mungyeon for the right to face Suwon in the final.

The playoff match will be a single-leg knockout between 2nd and 3rd seeds. Unfortunately, it will be held on Wednesday, November 4.

The final will be two Saturday matches, November 7 and November 14, both at 14:00.

I'm unable to attend the 4 November matches at any of the likely venues, but I expect Suwon will face Hwacheon in the final, and I'll be able to attend both of those.

Anyone else thinking about attending one ot both of the final matches?

At the WK League match between Suwon and Seoul on Friday evening, there was an incident involving Ji So-Yeon that got so heated that she threw a water bottle and shouted so loudly at the referee that we could hear her in the stands.

Coming from a rugby background, I believe that you NEVER talk to a referee like that. The referee makes their decisions, right or wrong, and they don't change them. You, as the player, need to accept it and get back to the game. Asking about it and having a quick discussion is one thing, but not arguing.

Ji So-Yeon received a yellow and was even threatened with a red, but the referee clearly didn't want to go that far. Unfortunately, the event seemed to affect the referee negatively because after that she seemed reluctant to penalise anyone.

It was only the next day that we learned what had happened. Here is the Gemini summary of the events:

Overview of the Incident

Around the 30th minute of the first half, the match was halted for roughly four minutes after Ji So-yeon strongly confronted head referee Bae Sun-young.

• The Inappropriate Remark: Ji So-yeon reported hearing the officiating team make a derogatory remark over their headsets implying that she was being overly sensitive because she was "on her period". When Ji So-yeon confronted referee Bae Sun-young about the statement, she received a yellow card for protesting.
• Escalation & Handling of the Red Card: Following the booking and further exchange near the touchline/fourth official, an irritated Ji So-yeon threw down a water bottle in frustration. Referee Bae pulled a red card out of her pocket and approached Ji. However, after holding the red card in her hand while conversing with players and staff for an extended period, she put the card away without showing it to anyone, sparking further criticism regarding improper refereeing procedure.
• Match Outcome & Suspensions: Despite the incident, Ji So-yeon went on to score the winning goal in the 74th minute (29th minute of the second half), securing a 2-1 victory for Suwon FC Women 🇰🇷. However, because of the yellow card received during the controversy, she faced an accumulation-based suspension for Suwon's next match against Hwacheon KSPO.

Aftermath & Responses

• Referees / KFA Explanation: Referee Bae initially denied the remark but later acknowledged a "slip of the tongue," arguing it was an internal comment between the officials on the radio headsets and not intended as a direct insult to the player. The Korea Football Association (KFA) Referee Committee released a statement clarifying that while they concluded the word "menstruation" was not explicitly used, improper and unnecessary language was exchanged among officials, promising re-education and measures to prevent recurrence.
• Suwon FC Women: The club announced plans to submit a formal protest to both the KFA and the Korea Women's Football Federation regarding both the inappropriate remarks and the handling of the match discipline.

Gwangju in K League 1: last, with little hope of catching up.

Dragons in K League 2: second-to-last with just one point ahead of Gimhae in last place, but for how long?

Mokpo in K3 League: second-to-last, only kept from the bottom by Jeonbuk's reserve team.

Gangjin in WK League: similar to Gwangju, last with little hope of getting off the bottom anytime soon.

We came across a Threads post about how reliant the citizen clubs are on taxpayer money. The short story is that none of the citizen clubs will be able to function without their 130 billion KRW annually subsities.

The post also mentioned that Gimpo FC received 12 million and managed to embezzle 8 million of that. The culprits were the mayor (the club owner), the club CEO, and the club general manager. I'm not clear on which is which, but the three have very strong personal connections: a former lawmaker's aide, younger brother, and the brother's friend.

Back searching with AI, looking for articles, it also came up with this summary:

1. Gimpo FC 80 Billion KRW Embezzlement Scandal

• The Articles: Reports published in July 2026 (including JoongAng Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, and investigative sports portal THE GATE / Spochoo) confirmed a major embezzlement case at Gimpo FC.
• Key Findings:
  • A staff member in their 30s in charge of financial accounts at Gimpo FC was discovered to have embezzled public funds since 2023.
  • Initially reported in mid-July as a 5.8 billion KRW loss, an audit by the Gimpo City Audit Office confirmed an additional 2.49 billion KRW had been stolen, raising the total sum to over 8 billion KRW (approx. 80억 원).
  • Out of Gimpo FC's total budget of around 12 billion KRW, approximately 8.2 billion KRW comes directly from Gimpo City municipal tax allocations.
  • Media investigations heavily criticized management oversight, including the leadership's spending and governance practices while the fund leakage was ongoing.

Reference Articles:

• JoongAng Ilbo (July 28, 2026): [‘공금횡령 의혹’ 김포FC 직원, 추가 횡령 정황…80억원 규모] ("Gimpo FC Employee Suspected of Public Fund Embezzlement, Additional Embezzlement Circumstances Confirmed... Around 8 Billion KRW Scale")
• THE GATE / Spochoo (July 30, 2026): [[단독] 직원이 80억 횡령할 때 김포FC 단장은 '1600만원 비즈니스석' 타고 칸쿤에 있었다...] ("[Exclusive] While Staff Embezzled 8 Billion KRW, Gimpo FC Director Flew Business Class to Cancun...")
• Chosun Ilbo (July 14, 2026): ["직원이 공금 58억 횡령" K리그2 김포FC, 초유의 사태 터졌다...] ("'Employee Embezzled 5.8 Billion KRW' K League 2 Gimpo FC Faces Unprecedented Crisis...")

2. Tragic Deaths Associated with Gimpo Facilities & Club

Regarding tragic deaths connected to Gimpo City/Gimpo FC:

• Gimpo City Official (April 2024): In April 2024, a 40-year-old Gimpo City municipal official who was in charge of municipal sports facility management (which covers local sports complexes including Solter Football Field in Masan-dong) was found deceased.
• Gimpo FC Youth Player (April 2022): In April 2022, a 16-year-old player in the Gimpo FC U-18 youth squad tragically took his own life, an event that led to significant scrutiny over youth coaching practices and harassment within the club.

Reference Articles:

• LG HelloVision News (April 25, 2024): [김포시 공무원 주차장서 숨진 채 발견] ("Gimpo City Official Found Dead in Parking Lot")
• Yonhap News / Korean Media (April 2022): Reports on the Gimpo FC U-18 youth team tragedy.

3. Citizen Clubs & Municipal Tax Reliance

• Multiple Korean football analysis reports highlight that K League 2 and K League 1 "citizen clubs" (시민구단) rely heavily on municipal subsidies—totaling over 130 billion KRW annually across 14 government-funded clubs. Virtually none are self-sustaining or operate in net profit once taxpayer subsidies are excluded.

Official & Administrative

• KPFA Announces Plans to Revive WK League Awards Ceremony : The Korea Professional Football Players' Association (KPFA) convened its second board meeting of 2026 and officially announced plans to host and revive the standalone WK League Awards Ceremony. The initiative aims to honor top individual performances, seasonal Best 11, and major achievements across the league. (Source: KPFA Official Announcement)

Roster & Transfers News

• Haruhi Suzuki Extends Contract: Suwon FC Women officially agreed to a contract extension with Japanese striker Haruhi Suzuki. Her extension secures key attacking depth for Suwon as they push to maintain their lead at the top of the league table. (Source: WK League News / Club Official Announcement)
• Kim Shinji Loan Move to Spain: Midfielder Kim Shinji completed a loan transfer to Spanish club Deportivo Alavés Gloriosas, marking another high-profile overseas move for domestic women's talent. (Source: WK League News)
• Roster Depth Crisis at Seoul City: Reporting highlights severe injury woes for Seoul City Amazones, who enter mid-summer fixtures short-handed in key positions including goalkeeper. (Source: WK League News/ Sports-G)

Match Highlights

• Round 17 Results (July 24, 2026)
  • Suwon FC Women 4 – 0 Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC: Suwon FC Women's midfield organization and relentless high-pressing scheme that neutralised Incheon Hyundai Steel's build-up play during their 4–0 victory, with tactical analysis focusing on quick transitions into the final third. (Source: Sports-G)
  • Gyeongju KHNP WFC 6 – 1 Changnyeong WFC: Gyeongju continues to be one of the teams to beat at the moment, all be it agaisnt a Gangjin team struggling to get going.
  • Hwacheon KSPO WFC 2 – 0 Mungyeong Sangmu WFC: Hwacheon KSPO picked up three points with a clean sheet at the Hwacheon Sports Complex.
  • Seoul WFC 0 – 3 Sejong Sportstoto WFC: Sejong Sportstoto picked up an emphatic 3-0 away victory at Hyochang Stadium. (Source: Korea Women's Football Federation - KWFF Match Center)

General

• University Underdogs Capture Headlines: University programs Uiduk University and Ulsan College earned widespread coverage across women's football outlets for advancing to face WK League senior clubs in the W Korea Cup.

General

• Korea Cup Round 3 Set for July 29: Only three semi-professional teams remain; Siheung and Yeoju from K3, and Jinju from K4

Notable Results

K3 League

• Gyeongju KHNP 1–0 Siheung Citizen FC: A major domestic upset considering Siheung's form this season
• Dangjin Citizen 6–1 FC Mokpo: Mokpo's woes continue.
• Yangpyeong FC 2–4 Busan Transportation Corp.: BTC's win takes them up to third
• Top of the table: Siheung Citizen FC retains top spot (40 pts), followed by Pocheon Citizen (36 pts) and Busan Transportation Corp. (33 pts).

K4 League

• Jinju Citizen FC Extends Win Streak to 5: They remain comfortably atop the K4 table with a 14W–1D–1L record.

This song from ELand was posted on KLeague Supporting

I got into writing primarily with a fountain pen after buying a KRW 1000 pen at the Korean store, Diaso. The pen includes two cartridges. At current conversion rates, that is USD 0.67.

Later I bought other "beginner" pens, like the Preppy and Kakuno, and a lightweight Parker for carrying around. The dirt-cheap one is kind of ugly, and I have no idea how long it will last, but unless you are nitpicking, it holds up. For the price, it blows the Preppy out of the ink, and for just scratching notes on paper, it is as good as anything else.

When I want to write carefully, I prefer the smooth Kakuno Medium, but the Cheapy feel almost as smooth, and for my diary I prefer the pencil-like Parker.

I also bought a KRW 3000 pen that came with two nib sizes, two cartridges, AND a converter. It has flow issues, though. The one nib hardly flowed, and the other was just short of leaking. But, conveniently, the converter works on the cheap pen as well.

I'm guessing these cheap pens are inconsistent, and other supposedly the same pens might not be as nice, but for that price you can buy three, keep the one you like most, and use the cartridges from the ones you give/throw away.

싼 만년필

The last undefeated team in the paid leagues has finally tasted defeat.

This afternoon, Siheung lost 0-2 at home to Busan Transportation Company

Two separate youth teams, dressed in the Seoul City Hall colours, attended the last two home matches. I overheard one team saying that they are from a middle school based in Nowon. The team at the last match was clearly older, so I assumed they were high school students.

I went digging, and it turns out that the girls are from Dongsan Information Industry High School, apparently a powerhouse in Korean high school football. Ji So-Yeon, who was playing for Suwon that evening, played for them.

It made me wonder if Seoul has an elementary school team, and indeed they do. All three teams are based in the Northeast of Seoul

• Seoul Wuidong Elementary School (Gangbuk-gu)
• Nowon Nowon-gu WFC U15 / Insub Middle School (Nowon-gu)
• Dongsan Information Industry High School (Nowon-gu)

This pipeline is a luxury that no other teams have. Most of the other youth teams are just agreements with local schools which may change from season to season.

* There are calls to make the league professional, and with it will come the requirement to have dedicated youth teams. K League 1 teams are required to have all three youth teams, but I doubt they will require the WK League to have all three.

I was talking to an acquaintance at the Seoul WK League match last night. He is an Incheon United fan, so I asked if he was coming to the match against FC Seoul this weekend. He said he was, and I said I might come, even if only to listen.

He then said that Seoul songs are bad and unoriginal (half the songs in Korea are copies) and that Seoul has no history.

Pretty rich for someone supporting a team that was formed only a year before Seoul relocated to the World Cup Stadium. 😜

He is otherwise a very nice guy, and there might be some misunderstandings because of language. I'm pretty used to people sh*ing on FC Seoul for existing, and me for being a supporter of the worst club in the country. But this sort of thing is why Seoul fans have an unexpected dislike for Incheon fans.

In the meantime on the field, Suwon was making Seoul look like fools for most of the match. It felt like it would never end, and the next match is against Suwon again next week. 😶

Suwon and Hwacheon are running away with things, and they face each other next Wednesday. This is the only match for the evening and might be worth watching for those with just a passing interest and nothing to do. Good thing for Seoul is that it might leave Suwon with some really tired legs.