Paik Seung-ho makes Birmingham debut in 1-0 loss to West Brom

Birmingham City’s Paik Seung-ho reacts after a 1-0 loss to West Bromwich in the Championship at The Hawthorns in England. [BIRMINGHAM CITY]

Birmingham City’s new signee Paik Seung-ho made his debut for the club on Saturday, playing 23 minutes of a Championship match against local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Paik, 26, was substituted on for midfielder Koji Miyoshi in the 67th minute at the game held at The Hawthorns, West Brom's home stadium, in England.

Paik’s first game with Birmingham ended with a 1-0 loss after Andreas Weimann’s winner for West Brom. The loss was Birmingham’s 13th of the 2023-24 season. The team sits in 19th place on the 24-team table with 32 points, having recorded eight wins, eight draws and 13 losses as of Sunday.

The Korean midfielder’s debut came after he joined Birmingham on Jan. 30. He moved to the Championship club from K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, where he was a key part of the squad since 2021.

He spent his formative years in Europe before joining Jeonbuk in 2021.

Coming up through the Barcelona youth system — he originally joined the U-13 team in 2010 — Paik struggled to see much game time with the Spanish club, falling foul of FIFA’s Article 19 “Protection of Minors” policy and ending up benched for years.

He eventually made two appearances for Barcelona’s B team before being traded to Girona in 2017, making 54 appearances for reserve team Peralada and just six for Girona, before joining 2. Bundesliga side Darmstadt 98 in 2019.

Paik saw some success in his early days with Darmstadt, racking up 41 appearances and two goals over two seasons, but his pitch time decreased over time and he was eventually released in the middle of his second season with the club.

But Paik turned things around when he arrived in the K League, carving out a spot in the center of the Jeonbuk midfield and winning the title with in 2021 and the FA Cup in 2022. He made 82 appearances for the club over the past three seasons, scoring nine goals and picking up six assists.

Paik was able to return to Europe partly thanks to earning military exemption through winning a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last fall.

With Paik having joined Birmingham, there are currently two Korean players active in the Championship — him and Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City.

A Korean derby between the two will not take place this season, as the two league fixtures between the sides have already taken place.

Birmingham will be back in action on Friday as they take on Sheffield Wednesday.

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