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Korean national football team begins training at new home in Cheonan

Published: 11 Nov. 2025, 15:25

The Korean national team trains at Cheonan Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong on Nov. 10. [YONHAP]

The Korean national team kicked off training on Monday at the newly built National Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, marking a permanent move from its longtime training ground in Paju, Gyeonggi.

The team gathered at the Korea Football Association’s (KFA) new National Football Center ahead of friendlies against Bolivia on Friday in Daejeon and Ghana on Nov. 18 in Seoul.

The move ends more than 20 years at the Paju National Football Center, which the national squad used rent-free since 2001 in the lead-up to the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.

When Paju requested an annual usage fee of 2.6 billion won ($1.8 million) as the lease neared its expiration early last year, the KFA chose not to renew the contract. Since then, the national team has rotated between hotels and temporary training sites.

The KFA had already begun searching for a replacement before the lease ended and partnered with the city of Cheonan to break ground on a new training complex.

The two sides committed a total of 400 billion won, with the KFA contributing 180 billion won and Cheonan funding the remaining 220 billion won.

Although completion was delayed, construction recently reached 95 percent, enabling the team to move in for its first official camp this week.

The Cheonan center, at 478,000 square meters (5.1 million square feet) in size, is four times larger than its predecessor in Paju. The number of training fields has increased from seven to 11. Dormitory rooms have expanded from 72 to 82, with room sizes growing from 23 to 36 square meters.

The facility also features an 8,900-square-foot performance center with an underwater rehabilitation pool, a 4,000-seat stadium and an expanded fitness area, up from 1,950 square feet to 8,100 square feet.

The pitches at the center impressed national team manager Hong Myung-bo.

Hong Myung-bo, Korean national team manager, speaks to reporters at Cheonan Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong on Nov. 10. [YONHAP]

"It feels more organized now than during my earlier visits," Hong said. "It reminds me of when I first entered the Paju center back in 2001. Living out of hotels during previous camps was difficult, but now we’ll be able to focus fully on training."

The new location, however, is nearly a two-hour drive from Incheon International Airport, making it less convenient than the Paju site.

The national squad will be facing Bolivia and Ghana without midfielders Hwang In-beom of Feyenoord, Paik Seung-ho of Birmingham City and Lee Dong-gyeong of Ulsan HD, who have been sidelined due to injury.

Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City and Seo Min-woo of Gangwon FC are up to fill in the three midfielders' absence.

"The midfield is extremely important in football," Hong said. "Most of the players who took part in the final round of World Cup qualifying aren’t available, so we’ll have to find new combinations."

Some picks for the November international break have showcased convincing performances at their respective clubs, with Lee Kang-in having recorded an assist for Paris Saint-Germain in a recent fixture against Lyon on Sunday and Oh Hyeon-gyu having registered his eighth goal of the 2025-26 season against KAA Gent on Sunday.

Hong's squad also features FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung, who returned to the team for the first time in 20 months.

"It’s too early to expect too much," Hong said of Cho.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK RIN [[email protected]]