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Lee Kang-in to Lee Tae-seok: A goal 18 years in the making

Published: 19 Nov. 2025, 13:04 Updated: 19 Nov. 2025, 16:22

JIM BULLEY
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Lee Tae-seok, left, and Lee Kang-in appear on KBS TV show ″Fly Shoot Dori″ in 2007. [KBS YOUTUBE SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lee Tae-seok headed in the winner for the Korean national team against Ghana on Tuesday, partnering up with Lee Kang-in for a goal that has been 18 years in the making.

Both starting picks under manager Hong Myung-bo, Lee Kang-in delivered a cross in the 63rd minute that Lee Tae-seok put past the goalkeeper, securing his first senior international goal in his 13th appearance for Korea.

That goal, generally seen as one of the greatest feats any footballer can aspire to, will have been watched on TVs across Korea. But for the two Lees, nationwide footballing celebrity is very old news.

Lee Kang-in has long been heralded as the future of Korean football since achieving national fame in 2007 when he appeared on the TV show “Fly Shoot Dori” at just 6 years old. Lee Tae-seok, only 5 at the time, was right there at his side.

Lee Kang-in in action against Ghana at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Nov. 18. [NEWS1]

“Fly Shoot Dori,” a KBS youth football program, paired kindergarten and elementary school children with former professional footballers such as Yoo Sang-chul, Lee Sang-yoon and Lee Young-pyo. The show followed the children as they learned the fundamentals of the sport.

While the show is now associated with Lee Kang-in’s meteoric rise, Austria Wien winger Lee Tae-seok and FC Seoul defender Kim Seong-min were also part of the same series.

Lee Kang-in moved to Valencia a few years after “Fly Shoot Dori” and spent 10 years in the academy before being dropped in 2021 and moving to Mallorca. He drew plenty of attention at the Spanish club, and eventually transferred to Paris Saint-Germain two years ago.

Lee Tae-seok celebrates after scoring against Ghana at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Nov. 18. [NEWS1]

Lee Tae-seok, son of 2002 FIFA World Cup star Lee Eul-yong — and inheritor of his No. 13 national team shirt — started his career closer to home, coming up through the FC Seoul academy and debuting for the team in 2021, before moving to the Pohang Steelers last year.

He was snapped up by Wien over the summer and immediately slotted into the club’s starting XI. He has one goal to his name in the Austrian Bundesliga and is proving to be a growing presence in the national team.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]