The K League 1 Wrap-Up: Gangwon FC Win in Gangneung, The Top Two Earn Comeback Draws, and Gimcheon Sangmu Keep Momentum | OneFootball

As we now enter the second-half of the 2025 K League 1 season, there's plenty to play for across the table, whether it be a title challenge or relegation scrap. With that in mind, columnist Nathan Sartain returns to recap all of the action from round 20.

There’s just something about the atmosphere in Gangneung, the second of Gangwon FC’s two homes. The fans feel a bit louder, the pitch is a lot smoother, and based on Saturday’s 3-0 win over Daegu FC, the results might be heating up too.

While yes, it’s fair to remind ourselves that here the Bears were up against bottom-place Daegu FC, who are struggling for both confidence and victories, round 20 felt like something was starting to click for manager Jung Kyung-ho following the midweek promise displayed against FC Seoul. There’s still a long way to go from this stage, but there was greater purpose to the attacking play on Saturday, more fluidity in player movement, and as time ticked on almost a collective realisation that sometimes playing proactively is the best way to protect your own goal. With that in mind, goalkeeper Park Cheong-hyo deserves credit for a couple of really strong saves, but overall this was a result never in doubt, and Gangwon richly deserved the scoreline they can now boast.

A special mention should be given to new signing Mo Jae-hyun too, who truly looked like a winger befitting of playing on a right-side that for large portions of last year looked immovable in quality.

FC Seoul Somewhat Stunt the League Leaders

Over in Jeonju, rainy conditions saw league leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors come from a goal behind to draw 1-1 with FC Seoul. Initially, the capital city side were the better performers, playing with settled nerves before a Ryu Jae-moon header gave them a warranted opener. But when you’re against the best you have to stick to your own standards, and Seoul found themselves punished by an arrowed Song Min-kyu strike from outside the box - one allowed from a lack of defensive engagement - on the stroke of half-time.

From there, little of note occurred, meaning Jeonbuk have now extended their unbeaten run to a whopping 16 games despite ending their winning streak, and FC Seoul continue to settle into a mid-table groove.

Daejeon Hana Citizen’s Dramatic 2-2 Draw

After going behind on two separate occasions, Daejeon Hana Citizen rescued a point against Gwangju FC thanks to a brace from Vladislavs Gutkovskis. This had an entertaining second-half in particular, where the Griffins played with an abundance of confidence prior to Jasir Asani’s well-timed opener, and looked for some sharp breaks in transition once attempting to hold onto their lead.

Once Gutkovskis equalised, Gwangju would again favour a front-footed approach, and a few minutes later would end up back in front thanks to Park In-hyeok. Football is cruel sometimes, however, and an erroneous choice from goalkeeper Roh Hee-dong allowed Daejeon’s new signee Hernandes the space to tee-up his fellow attacker for an easy leveller.

This result does keep Gwangju FC in the top-half, slightly ahead of FC Seoul, but just as much as Daejeon will come away disappointed they couldn’t seize an opportunity to narrow the gap on Jeonbuk, the Griffins will be left thinking this was somewhat of a missed chance for a big result of their own.

What Else Happened?

On Saturday night, Pohang Steelers continued their drive towards potential AFC Champions League Elite qualification with a 2-1 home win over Jeju SK. This was a pretty standard affair really, with the Steelers controlling the overall flow of proceedings, while their opposition struggled to throw much in the way of high-quality chances at them. Still, you can only beat what’s in front of you, and there have been times in 2025 where Park Tae-ha’s men have lacked that initiative to see a game through to the final whistle. Of course, Nam Tae-hee’s late consolation goal does slightly skew the point, but if Pohang are continue to push towards their continental ambitions, they will need to continue squeezing out wins against sides in the bottom-half.

In a similar vein, Gimcheon Sangmu beat FC Anyang 1-0 on Sunday, in a match that provided few talking points. However, it is a positive for the military side that they are continuing to pick up victories despite losing some high-profile squad options, as there was always a risk their mostly consistent form over the last 18-24 months could fizzle out.

That’s all for this week! If you’re keeping tabs on Ulsan HD, they are now eliminated from the Club World Cup following a defeat to Fluminense. Still, they will not be back in action next weekend, as they still have a date with Borussia Dortmund to come.