Who is the brightest star in K League 1 this season, which was a ‘great hit’ this year.
The 2024 Dong-A Sports Awards with MediHill, hosted by MediHill, The Dong-A Ilbo, Sports Dong-A, and Channel A will be held at the Centennial Samsung Hall of Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, at 2 p.m. on Dec. 2. The Dong-A Sports Awards, which mark its 16th anniversary this year, is the only award ceremony in which representatives of Korea’s five major professional sports events, including soccer, baseball, basketball (men and women), volleyball (men and women), and golf (men and women), choose the most prominent player of the year through direct voting.
This year’s K-League 1 has enjoyed a huge success. With 12 teams having played a long journey for nine months since its opening on March 1, a total of 2.58,585 people visited the stadium until the 38th round. The number of spectators paid for this year was the largest since 2018, when the number of spectators paid for the event began to be tallied, surpassing last year’s 2,447,147.
Stars also shone on the hot journey. Attention is focusing on midfielder Lee Dong-kyung (27), who left a strong impression from the beginning of the season. He started off with four goals and two assists in March alone while wearing his Ulsan HD uniform, and won the Korea Professional Football Association’s Player of the Month award for two consecutive months by scoring three goals and three assists in April.
Attention is also focusing on whether Lee will become the first recipient of military service status. Lee Dong-kyung joined the military on April 29 and is currently fulfilling his duty of military service in Gimcheon. After continuing active performance even after joining the military, he ranked second in scores (11 goals) and second in attack points (17) among Korean players until the 33rd round of the regular round before the final round. He is also a strong candidate for the Dong-A Sports Awards, as he was selected as the best 11 in eight rounds.
Cho Hyun-woo (33), Ulsan’s goalkeeper, is aiming to win the honor for the first time. As the No. 1 clean sheet player (12 goals) showed through the 33rd round, he has firmly maintained his position as the nation’s top goalkeeper, taking the lead in Ulsan’s third consecutive league title this season. We wonder if Ulsan will have a winner for the second consecutive year following last year’s winner, fellow striker Joo Min-kyu. 바카라사이트
Hwang Moon-ki (28) of Gangwon FC also challenged. In this season, Gangwon finished the season by ranking second (19 wins, seven draws and 12 losses, 64 points), the highest in the club’s history. Playing as a right-back, Hwang was like Gangwon’s “Altoran” with his brisk activities and sharp cross skills. In the first Group B home game against Palestine in September, the final qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup in Asia, he even made his A-match debut, which he dreamed of. Having performed well in his team and enjoyed selecting the national team, he is also an outstanding candidate for the award at the Dong-A Sports Awards.