Born in Korea, brought up in Spain and prospering in France – Kang-in Lee takes centre stage in the AFC Asia Cup 2023

Playing with Kylian Mbappe and Son Heung-Min for club and country, respectively, Kang-in has become one of the stars to out for, with South Korea.

Lee Kang-In of South Korea during the AFC Asian Cup Group E match between South Korea and Bahrain at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Doha, Qatar. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

South Korea and the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar go a long way back, with the Arab nation hosting it twice before and Korea reaching at least the semifinals on both occasions.

But in every edition, the most remarkable thing that remains is the emergence of young prospects.

In 1988, it was Kim Joo-Sung, who won the Golden Ball, while in 2011, an 18-year-old Son Heung-Min made history becoming the youngest Korean goalscorer in the tournament.

In the current edition this time around, it is another prodigy – Kang-in Lee, a 22-year-old, who schooled a physically dominant Bahrain, helping his side beat it 3-1 at the Jassi bin Ahmed Stadium on Sunday.

 Son Heung-Min and Lee Kang-In of South Korea line up a free kick during the AFC Asian Cup Group E match between South Korea and Bahrain at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Doha, Qatar.  | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Within five minutes of Bahrain’s equaliser in the second, he put Korea back up with a left-footed curler from outside the box and then doubled his tally 12 minutes later.

“The coach had told us that it was going to be a difficult game before we started, and that’s how the game went. There’s no easy team in this Asian Cup,” he told reporters after the match.

“There were some positive results and good performances today, but there’s still room for improvement. So, we have to just continue to work in training, and hopefully, we can play a better match next.”

Starting out in Spain without knowing a word of Spanish

Kang-in was born in Incheon, a city in northwestern South Korea. His first shot at fame was at the age of six when he starred in Korea’s popular reality show  Fly Shoot Dori, where kids show their football skills on camera.

In an interview after the show, he said that he considered Diego Maradona his idol and wanted to be like the Argentina legend. “Even when I couldn’t learn Korean (properly), I searched for ‘Maradona’ on the Internet and only watched football videos featuring him,” he told  Xsportsnews.

Unlike Maradona though, Kang-in got his call for youth development away from home, from the other end of the world. He travelled to Valencia for his trials and impressed its youth coordinator Xavier Mocholi, who later joined La Masia and then Real Madrid’s youth set-up.

The language disconnect was so wide for the Korean that he gave the trials with the class of 2000 (instead of his age group of 2001) and still thrived.

As Mocholi pushed on signing him, Valencia though, had second thoughts, signing a 10-year-old from Korea, who did not speak a single word of Spanish.

Eventually, the club gave in but insisted that he would have to have his family in Spain to continue playing here. Kang-in’s family agreed, giving up everything in Korea, and moved to a foreign country.

Looking back, they will have little regret about what he went on to achieve in his 12-year stay in the country.

Even before he turned 18, he made his debut for the senior team in the Copa del Rey 2018, becoming the youngest South Korean to play professionally in Europe. He eventually won the competition, his first major trophy in Spain.

A year later, he played in the UEFA Champions League as the youngest player from his country to play in Europe’s premier club competition.

But as Peter Lim’s Valencia plunged into chaos and its legend Dani Parejo left, Kang-in, too, left his ‘home’ after mutually terminating his contract, following his inclusion in the transfer list in the pre-season.

Kang-in joined Valencia as a boy, and over a decade later, he left as a man.

New challenges

The South Korean, who started as a holding midfielder and eventually, became an attacking midfielder, prospered at Mallorca with regular game time.

He played 73 times for the La Liga side, scoring seven goals and assisting 10 times and becoming the second-best dribbler in Spain, after Vinicius Jr.

Last year, he moved to France, joining Paris Saint-Germain and has five goal contributions (two goals, three assists) in 16 games so far.

Real Mallorca’s South Korean forward Lee Kang-in (R) is challenged by Valencia’s French defender Mouctar Diakhaby during the Spanish League football match between Valencia CF and RCD Mallorca at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on October 23, 2021. | Photo Credit: AFP

“He’s small, but he can play up front, behind, go inside, on the side, defend score. He’s a complete player. He’s a big signing for the club. When we signed him, we knew his potential. He still needs to improve but he’s working well,” PSG’s head coach Luis Enrique told  Amazon Prime.

For the national team, too, he turned heads with the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019. He became the chief architect in attack for South Korea, assisting four goals and scoring twice, winning the Golden Ball ahead of Erling Haaland, Darwin Nunez and Rafael Leao.

Playing with Son and Kylian Mbappe, for country and club, respectively, Kang-in said that it was he tries to learn from every player he plays with, be it club or country.

“I’m learning a lot, but it’s not just about (things) on the field. I’m also learning a lot off the field, and it’s not just about Sonny in the national team or Mbappe at the club level.

Paris Saint-Germain’s South Korean midfielder #19 Lee Kang-in celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward #07 Kylian Mbappe during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Montpellier Herault SC at The Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on November 3, 2023. | Photo Credit: AFP

“There are other players, both in the national team and back in my club that I learned a lot from. I try and learn as much as possible to develop into a better person and football player. So, it’s just a privilege to play alongside these players,” he said.

At the FIFA World Cup 2022, his assist for Cho-Gue Sung started Korea’s temporary fightback against Ghana, which ultimately ended in a 2-3 loss. But at the AFC Asian Cup, his presence in the final third has already made him one of the stars to watch out for.

“Everyone in the locker room and all the people back in our nation have been waiting for this tournament and for this trophy. We have been waiting for the last 64 years, so we are all motivated and hungry for this tournament,” he said after the game.

But Kang-in insisted that Korea should be cautious and not jump the gun.

“I think it’s too early to think about (winning) the championship. We go game by game, and we have five days now to prepare for the next game. So, we’re just going to concentrate on the next game, and we’ll see what happens at that moment,” he said.