K League 1 kicks off 40th anniversary season on Saturday

Cho Gue-sung of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors , left, and Valeri Qazaishvili of Ulsan Hyundai [YONHAP]

The 2023 K League 1 season kicks off Saturday as 12 clubs begin a nine-month marathon to compete to be the team that gets to lift the trophy in November at the end of the league's 40th year.

Ulsan Hyundai, who won the league last season for the first time in 17 years will look to defend their title, while old rivals Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, who were riding a five-year streak prior to last year, will attempt to regain their seat at the top of the table.

Jeonbuk were still a strong league title contender as they finished as runners-up, just three points below Ulsan. They also lifted their fifth FA Cup, tying with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings for the most FA Cup titles ever. Jeonbuk return from the break as strong as ever, having managed to keep star striker Cho Gue-sung, who emerged as one of the biggest names in the Korean squad at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, fending off multiple offers for the young star throughout the winter.

Any clash between Ulsan and Jeonbuk will be worth watching this season — the last game between the two ended with a 2-1 win for Ulsan.

The teams that finished right below the runners-up are also strong contenders heading into this season.

The Pohang Steelers booked a direct ticket to this season's AFC Champions League by finishing in third place, while Incheon United earned a chance to play in the tournament’s playoffs as they secured fourth.

The Steelers have not topped the table since 2013, but have finished within the top three for the past three years.

Incheon, on the other hand, finished within the top four for the first time in the club's history and pulled off both a 3-1 win against the runners-up last August and managed to hold Ulsan to a a 0-0 draw the following month.

But none of last year's top four teams can consider themselves safe with plenty of firepower waiting in the wings further down the table.

Jeju United, who finished in fifth last year, are looking to recreate their old glory days by winning the league for the first time in 34 years. They have been a solid team since returning to the first division in 2021, although they have not finished within the top three.

Gangwon FC and Suwon FC, who came in sixth and seventh respectively, are looking to secure a ticket to the Champions League.

Gangwon has never played in the continental tournament, having only been founded in 2008. The same goes for Suwon, who played their first top-tier game in 2016. Like Jeonbuk, Suwon also managed to keep hold of their star player Lee Seung-woo over the winter break. Former European prospect Lee didn't make it into the Korean squad for Qatar, but still received interest from Europe and particularly Scottish Premiership side Hearts of Midlothian.

The two teams that avoided the relegation playoffs — Daegu FC and FC Seoul — have reinforced their squads ahead of the upcoming season.

Daegu, who finished eighth, added striker Barcelos of Brazil and Kim Young-jun last January. FC Seoul, who came in ninth and last won the league in 2016, have signed national team star Hwang Ui-jo on a six-month loan from Premier League club Nottingham Forest in order to boost their attack.

“I feel like Hwang has to score in every game, which I think is what he should be like,” said FC Seoul manager An Ik-soo at a press conference held at the HJ Convention Center in Gangdong District in eastern Seoul on Wednesday.

The Seoul side, who return this year under the leadership of new captain Stanislav Iljutcenko, scored nine goals less than Daegu despite tying on points with 46 last season.

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings managed to survive the relegation playoffs, but will have to find a way to get through the 2023 season without their key striker Oh Hyeon-gyu, who recently joined Scottish Premiership side Celtic.

The Bluewings signed striker Fejsal Mulic from Seongnam FC as a replacement.

Gimcheon Sangmu FC and Seongnam were relegated to the K Leagued 2, while Gwangju FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen FC were promoted in their place.

The 2023 season starts with the biggest game — the defending champions Ulsan face their biggest competitor Jeonbuk at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, the Bluewings will take on Gwangju at 4:30 p.m. at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi. Up in Seoul, the capital side will face local rivals Incheon, also at 4:30 p.m., at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

On Sunday the Pohang Steelers host Daegu, Suwon FC flies south to take on Jeju and Dajeon Hana host their first top-tier game of the season against Gangwon.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]