At this point, it is ‘war’. K-League clubs are fiercely fighting for ideas to bring up a ‘cheerful official’. Officials are rapidly ‘evolving’, from scenes where a newly transferred player refuels at a gas station or poses on a boat. Fans are cheering for this official, which adds fun to the off-season.
On the 8th, FC Seoul released an official video of the recruitment of striker Willian and defender Kwon Wan-gyu through official SNS and YouTube. The two players, who were each in Daejeon, but recruited from Citizen and Seongnam FC, performed their first mission at a gas station, not at the club’s office, stadium, or training ground. I filled up at the Energy Plus Hub Sambang Gas Station of GS Caltex, an affiliate of GS Group, the parent company of FC Seoul, located in Seocho-dong, Seoul. When Kwon Wan-gyu, sitting in the driver’s seat, asked, “The oil is not enough, should I put it in here?”, Willian said, “What? I don’t have time. It’s FC Seoul’s contract day today, so don’t be late.” Kwon Wan-gyu, who sneered at the bewildered Willian, promptly puts the oil in and says, “Let’s go to sign for FC Seoul.”
In a 1 minute and 5 second video, Seoul introduced the advantages of the GS Caltex app, which can reduce time through collaboration with group affiliates, and even introduced the new face of the club, capturing two rabbits. On the 22nd of last month, Seoul ‘cast’ a ‘pyeon-official (convenience store official)’ that takes and uploads three official photos, including striker Lim Sang-hyeop and side defender Park Soo-il and Lee Si-young, and received favorable reviews as ‘novel’ from fans. Seong Min, deputy head of Seoul club’s marketing PR team, said, “It is a natural duty and courtesy to promote GS, the parent company that established its identity as a Seoul-based club, and GS Group affiliates. We plan to continue working with GS in various fields in the future.” 안전놀이터
Ulsan Hyundai, the K-League defending champion, is the ‘champion’ in the official world. The official photo of Martin Adam, a Hungarian striker, taken against the background of the inside of a Hyundai Heavy Industries factory last summer became a hot topic in Hungary as well. Even in this winter transfer market, the official march with meaning in a special place continues. Captain Lee Cheong-yong took an official photo announcing the renewal of the contract in front of the dragon slide at Daewangam Park in Dong-gu, Ulsan. Daewangam Park is more meaningful as it is the place where Lee Chung-yong, nicknamed ‘Blue Dragon’, took an official photo when he joined Ulsan three years ago. Striker Joo Min-gyu, who left for Jeju and returned after four years, entered Ulsan wearing a blue uniform on a maritime police ship, and midfielder Kim Min-hyeok, who belonged to Seongnam, appeared at HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam-si wearing a striped uniform of Ulsan. Last year, ‘National University Defender’ Kim Young-kwon took a picture of joining the Korea Space Radio Observatory at the Ulsan Radio Astronomical Observatory.
The photos released through the media naturally led to a ‘city publicity effect’ that publicized local attractions to both soccer and non-soccer fans. The Pohang Steelers are the local attractions of Pohang, Homigot Sunrise Square, Songdo Beach Statue of Peace, Gangwon FC is Ojukheon in Gangneung, Yanggu Arboretum in Yanggu, Gwangju FC is the Kimdaejung Convention Center, Cheonan City FC is the Cheonan Independence Hall, FC Anyang Anyang Gwanyang Mayor, Busan I-Park, and Busan Mirae Library (Busan City Hall) filmed ‘Community Officials’. ‘K-Official’ is also ‘reverse-exported’ overseas. In January of last year, Jonathan Ling (Jeju)’s gas station official created a trend in the soccer world of Ling’s homeland, Sweden.
‘Official Restaurant’ Jeju United started a new ‘Dream Tree Official’ this year. It is a project to take pictures of recruits training with young soccer players. The purpose is to go beyond ‘coexistence (living together)’ and achieve ‘coexistence (growth together)’ in Jeju. Yuri, Hays, Lee Gi-hyeok, Kim Seung-sup, and Yeon Je-woon visited Jungmun Elementary School, Hwabuk Elementary School, Jeju Seocho, and Jeju Dong Elementary School. Prof. Il-kwon Won, in charge of publicity for the Jeju club, said, “We have planned a lot of official events that will make our club stand out, starting with Kyu-baek Choi’s filming at a meat restaurant in the summer of 2019 and Ja-cheol Koo’s official climbing Mt. Halla. Then, I started ‘Dream Tree Official’,” he explained.
As they keep looking for something new, the club’s public relations team complains of the pain of creation. Before the start of the 2023 season, it is expected who will transfer to which team and which official will appear.