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Better together in Birmingham: Korean quartet reflects on life at club

Published: 18 Dec. 2024, 15:24

PAIK JI-HWAN
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From left: Lee Geum-min, Cho So-hyun, Paik Seung-ho and Chae Yu-ri speak in a video shared on Birmingham City's official YouTube channel on Dec. 17. [BIRMINGHAM CITY]

Korean footballers Cho So-hyun, Chae Yu-ri, Lee Geum-min and Paik Seung-ho of Birmingham City are sticking together as they get settled in Britain's second-largest city, where they are experiencing new aspects in football that they did not encounter back home.

The Birmingham City W.F.C trio of Cho, Chae and Lee and the men's team's Paik appeared in a video shared on Birmingham City's YouTube channel on Tuesday and spoke about adapting to life in England, what it is like playing for Birmingham and how playing in England compares to their experiences in Korea.

Chae is the player with the least overseas experience out of the four, having started her overseas career in 2023 by joining Birmingham. She said she has been able to settle in England largely thanks to Cho, who joined the club from Tottenham Hotspur around the same time as her.

Birmingham City forward Chae Yu-ri celebrates during a Women's Championship match against Sunderland in a photo shared on her Instagram account on Sept. 8. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“It has to be So-hyun for me to the extent of if I hadn’t had So-hyun here, I would have wanted to go back to Korea,” Chae said about players who helped her adjust to life at Birmingham. “She helped me a lot in my first footsteps here.”

Cho is also pleased to have Korean teammates in England, where she has competed for five years.

“I came here at the same time as Yu-ri,” Cho said. “I’ve been playing in England over five years now. So for me, I feel very settled here. To have other Korean players in Birmingham City, I think that’s not something that can easily happen. It’s surreal.”

Birmingham City midfielder Cho So-hyun poses in a photo shared on her X account on Sept. 20, 2023. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Cho started her career in England in 2019 as she joined West Ham United, and moved to Tottenham in 2020 before leaving London for Birmingham last year.

Lee also began her career in England in 2019 upon joining Manchester City and transferred to Brighton the following year, before joining the Korean duo at Birmingham in September.

Birmingham City's Lee Geum-min, left, and Chae Yu-ri celebrate after winning a Women's Championship match against Portsmouth in a phot shared on Lee's Instagram account on Sept. 23. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“So-hyun and Yu-ri were already here,” Lee said. “There was no awkwardness for me. Like anywhere there were a lot of players I was familiar with. So it felt like I was back at Brighton! Felt like my first year at Brighton."

The three knew each other before uniting in Birmingham, as they have spent years together in the Korean national team.

Paik, meanwhile, is the sole Korean player in the men’s squad, but he has adapted to life in England partly thanks to Japanese teammate Koji Miyoshi.

“For me, because I’m Asian and we had a Japanese player here, and when I first came, Koji helped me a lot,” Paik said. “For me, to come back to Europe to compete and experience new challenges. I was playing for half a season but we got relegated. It was good to have a new challenge and new experience. But it was a difficult end to the season. At the moment, the team is showing good form and we’re in a great position. I feel I’m enjoying my football at the moment thankfully.”

Birmingham City midfielder Paik Seung-ho [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A move to Birmingham in January was the start of his second spell in Europe, where his career began.

Coming up through the Barcelona youth system — he originally joined the U-13 team in 2010 — Paik struggled to see much game time after he was barred from playing when the club was ruled to have violated FIFA’s Article 19 “Protection of Minors” policy over his transfer, resigning him to the bench for years.

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

His pitch time with Darmstadt, however, decreased steadily and he was released in the middle of the season, after which he joined K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2021.

But a military service exemption he earned by winning a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year cleared potential interruptions to his career and opened a path for him to join Birmingham.

Despite his past experience in Europe, English football has felt new to him in a positive way.

“We have players from Iceland, Norway, Korea, Japan and the English players,” Paik said. “But with football, we can all come together and play together, so I don’t think the nationality of payers matters greatly.

“But I do notice in England everyone integrates together well. In other countries I’ve played in, there were sometimes a group of foreign players and a separate group of home players. But in England, I feel everyone just gets along well together and we all joke around together. It’s a good thing to have.”

Cho has also found English football culture more proactive than that of Korea.

“The most interesting part of team meetings for me is when we have a specific point of the match, the players all discuss together to come up with solutions,” Cho said. “That was really interesting for me. Normally in Korea, the coaches would gather players and tell us ‘we have to do it this way.’ But I feel everyone understands that there is a reason for a specific situation in the game.”

Chae likewise reflected on the differences between football in Birmingham and back home.

“Firstly, to be able to use the same huge stadiums with the men’s team, it makes the atmosphere completely different,” Chae said. “Furthermore, so many fans to come to support the team, so I think it makes an enjoyable environment to play football here.

“I feel they are too easy to compliment sometimes [in training]. I don’t know if easy is the right word. But like, I’m making a simple pass, but when you hear praise it make me feel good. I feel like my performance levels are increasing.”

Cho, Chae and Lee are the few national team regular picks playing overseas, with the majority of the squad competing in the WK League.

Over in the men's game, Paik is the only Korean player in third tier League One at the moment, but that does not seem to affect his enjoyment of football this season.

“When I first came here, the atmosphere was really negative,” he said. “The team was in the bottom half. And since we were in the relegation zone, the mood was pretty down. Everything felt dark and gloomy. But then, as the new season started, we began with a new manager. The club invested a lot as well. We brought in great players and it changed the whole mood playing football.”

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]