Failed Wonderkid #22- Kim Bo-Kyung
- Andrew Cheam
- Aug 18, 2020
- 4 min read
Biodata
Full Name: Kim Bo-Kyung
Nationality: Korean
Date of Birth: 6 October 1989
Position: Attacking Midfielder/ Winger
Current Club: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Current Market Price: 1.10mil Euro (Updated on Jun 2020)
Highest Market Price: 3.00mil Euro (Sep 2012)
Former Clubs:
2010- 2012 Cerezo Osaka
2010 Oita Trinita (loan)
2012- 2015 Cardiff City
2015 Wigan Athletic
2015 Matsumoto Yamaga
2016- 2017 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2017- 2019 Kashiwa Reysol
2019 Ulsan Hyundai (loan)
International Career:
2010- South Korea
Achievement:
Cardiff City
2012- 2013 Football League Championship
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2016 AFC Champions League
2016- 2017 K League
Career
Since the glorious achievement in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, South Korea had gained more interest in football and produced some talents to grace the football pitch. The likes of Park Ji-Sung, Son Heung-Min and Lee Chung-Yong had performed on the top of the footballing level in recent years. However, there are still some South Korean players who do not fulfil their early promises and soon faded away from the centre-stage of football. Kim Bo-Kyung is one of the players who failed to realise his potential.
Kim Bo-Kyung started to play professional football for his university side, Hongik University. He even got his senior national team debut in January 2010 in a friendly against Zambia, aged just 20. His performance was so impressive and signed for J1 League side, Cerezo Osaka and immediately loaned out to J2 League side, Oita Trinita. In his first half-season in Oita Trinita, Kim scored 6 goals and registered 1 assist in just 12 matches. His impressive performance in the Japanese second division had earned him a place in South Korea squad in 2010 FIFA World Cup, in which he was the unused substitute in all of the 4 matches in that the tournament. Kim returned to Oita Trinita until the end of the season after the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament.
After the season ended, Kim was also selected in the South Korea squad for the 2011 Asian Cup, in which he was once again the unused substitution for 4 of the 6 matches where South Korea finished third in the tournament. Kim returned to Cerezo Osaka after the tournament. In his first season in Osaka, Kim scored 8 goals and registered 7 assist in J1 League. He also helped Cerezo Osaka to qualify to the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League. Despite his fine form, Cerezo Osaka only finished 12th in the league at the end of the season and caused the head coach, Levir Culpi his managerial role. In the second season, his goalscoring form was better as he scored 7 goals and 1 assist in the league. His prolific goalscoring form in the Japanese League had certainly caught the attention of several European clubs. In the end, Cardiff City signed Kim for a fee around 2.5million in July 2012.
Kim’s European debut was against Millwall in the EFL Championship, where he replaced Craig Noone in the last 10 minutes of the match. His 2 goals and 3 assists contributions had helped Cardiff City to gain promotion to English Premier League for the first time in the club history. However, the English Premier League was one step too further for both Kim and Cardiff City as they suffered relegation after just one season. He only managed to score once and the club finished rock bottom in the league. Despite his poor form in the league, Kim was once again selected for South Korea squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he played twice as the substitution. Things had gone downward spiral for Kim since then. He failed to secure a place in the Cardiff City squad as he only appeared twice. His contract was even terminated on January 2015.
His next step was Wigan Athletic as he signed for them until the end of the season. Unfortunately, he failed to make an impact in the poor Wigan side and couldn’t save Wigan to get relegated from the league. After failed to secure a work permit, Kim returned to Asia and signed for J League side, Matsumoto Yamaga. However, his poor form once again couldn’t save his team from relegation as Matsumoto Yamaga finished at the bottom third of the league. With two continuous relegations in his resume, Kim returned to his home nation to resurrect his reputation. This time, he signed for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Kim’s first season back in Korea was impressive. He managed to score 4 goals and registered 7 assists in the league and helped Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to finish first in the regular season. In the same season, he also helped Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to win the AFC Champions League and finished fifth place in the FIFA Club World Cup in the same season. Kim’s goalscoring form remained in his second season in the team as he scored 3 goals and registered 2 assists in just 15 league matches before he signed for J League side, Kashiwa Reysol halfway through the season. However, his spell in Kashiwa Reysol was not a memorable one as his form was once again dropped. Throughout his two seasons stay in Kashiwa Reysol, Kim only managed to score twice and registered 5 assists in all competitions. Which caused the team to get relegated in his second season there.
After the club’s relegation, Kim was loaned back to South Korea. This time to Ulsan Hyundai. He rediscovered his goalscoring form as he scored 13 goals and registered 12 assists in all competition all season long, helping Ulsan Hyundai to get first-place finish in the K League regular season. In January 2020, Kim resigned for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, where he stayed until the time of writing.
Verdict
Disappointment Rate: 6/10. A typical Asian player who strives in his home nation but failed to replicate his form in a more competitive match. Fortunately, he is still managed to perform at the league that he is more comfortable with unlike most of the failed wonderkids. Therefore, the disappointment rate for Kim will be relatively lower. At the age of 31, we hope that he still able to shine in the South Korean League.
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