K League 2 race for promotion heats up with eight teams still in the mix

FC Anyang celebrate after winning a K League 2 match against Busan IPark at Anyang Sports Complex in Anyang, Gyeonggi in a photo shared on Anyang's Facebook page on Monday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
The 2024 K League 2 season is nearing the end with up to three coveted tickets to the top tier on the line as the promotion-relegation playoffs loom.  
 

Related Article

• With promotion ambitious but possible, Gimpo FC gets K League 1 license

• K League 2 race wide open as Busan, Gimcheon and Gimpo vie for promotion

• K League to unify promotion-relegation system across all 7 leagues

 
Promotion to the K League 1 is within reach for five K League 2 sides and a possibility for eight, with only seven points separating league leaders FC Anyang and fifth-place Busan IPark and three or four matches left to go as of Tuesday.  
 
Retaining the top spot through the end of the regular season on Nov. 9 would guarantee FC Anyang promotion, as only the the K League 2 winner gets an immediate move to the first division.
 
Two other teams can potentially reach the top tier through the playoffs, although that involves working their way through a scrum of K League 2 contenders and then beating the not-quite-worst K League 1 side.
 
With the playoffs involving the second-through-fifth place K League 2 teams, the sixth-place Suwon Samsung Bluewings and seventh-place Gimpo FC, both only a point behind IPark, and the eighth-place Bucheon FC 1995, trailing by three points, are also in the mix.
 
As the race for a ticket to the top tier heats up, what would promotion mean for the K League 2 teams? 
 
 
FC Anyang  
 
For FC Anyang, earning promotion by finishing the campaign as league winners would not only mark their first league title, but also their first promotion to the K League 1.  
 

FC Anyang's Kim Jung-hyun, center, vies for the ball during the K League 2 match against the Suwon Samsung Bluewings at Anyang Sports Complex in Anyang, Gyeonggi on April 21. [K LEAGUE]

 
Since the club foundation in 2013, the Gyeonggi club has only competed in the second division, with a third-place finish in 2021 and 2022 remaining their best result.  
 
It was only 2022 when they first made it to the promotion-relegation playoffs, losing to then-K League 1 club Suwon Samsung Bluewings.  
 
FC Anyang finished in sixth place the following year, but this season has seen a transition and the team has outperformed some strong competitors like Busan IPark, 2023 season runners-up, and Bluewings, who competed in the top tier until last season.
 
Losing or drawings any of the remaining four fixtures could prove to be fatal for FC Anyang, as they are only three points clear of second-place Chungnam Asan FC.  
 
 
Chungnam Asan FC
 
Chungnam Asan FC would also be in the K League 1 for the first time if they earn promotion this year.  
 

Chungnam Asan FC's Lee Hak-min, center, celebrates during the K League 2 match against Seongnam FC at Tancheon Sports Complex Main Stadium in Seongnam, Gyeonggi in a photo shared on Asan's Facebook account on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
Reformed from the remnants of the former police football club Asan Mugunghwa, Asan has only competed in the second tier since joining the K League 2 in 2020.  
 
This season has already seen the team show significant improvements from last season, when they finished in 10th place on the 13-team table.  
 
Finishing as league runners-up this season would mark their best finish in the K League 2, as a sixth-place finish in 2022 is currently their best result.  
 
Promotion to the first division would also Asan the only club from the two Chungcheong provinces in the top tier — although Daejeon Hana Citizen is spiritually from the region, even if it has been an independent metropolitan city since the late 1980s.  
 
 
Seoul E-Land
 
Third-place Seoul E-Land is another team that has only competed in the second division. Since the club was founded in 2015, it has never even made it into the promotion-relegation playoffs.
 

Seoul E-Land poses for a photo ahead of the K League 2 match against Busan IPark at Gudeok Stadium in Busan on Oct. 5. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
But earning promotion to the K League 1 would give the club a chance to introduce themselves to a bigger audience and emerge out of FC Seoul's shadow, setting up a K League 1 capital derby for the first time ever.
 
The two capital sides have only previously faced each other in the Korean FA Cup — now called the Korea Cup.  
 
Seoul E-Land’s successful run comes after the club’s emphatic showcase of attacking power this season, during which they have scored 57 goals in 32 fixtures, giving them an edge in the event that they are tied on points with other teams. Goals scored is the second deciding factor.  
 
 
Jeonnam Dragons  
 
For No. 4 Jeonnam Dragons, promotion would mean regaining a place in the top tier after being relegated for the first time in 2018.
 

The Jeonnam Dragons, in yellow, in action during the K League 2 match against the Ansan Greeners at Gwangyang Football Stadium in Gwangyang, South Jeolla on Saturday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
Since slipping down to the K League 2, the Dragons have not had a chance to return to the first division until this season.  
 
But despite the unimpressive run, the club still won the Korean FA Cup in 2021 and became the first K League 2 team to do so. The Dragons were also the first team to win back-to-back Korean Cups in 2006 and 2007.
 
Over in the top tier, however, the South Jeolla club has yet to win the league title, with their best result being a runner-up finish in 1997.  
 
Promotion to the first division could also mean the return of the Honam Derby — a clash between the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Dragons — although even promotion would not guarantee that derby will happen next year as Jeonbuk currently sit in 11th place on the 12-team K League 1 table. There could even be a Honam derby promotion-relegation playoff.
 
 
Busan IPark


No. 5 Busan IPark are the only club out of the five that missed promotion last year after losing the playoffs.  
 

Busan IPark react after losing the 2023 K League promotion-relegation playoffs against Suwon FC at Suwon Sports Complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Dec. 9, 2023. [NEWS1]

 
This season is an opportunity for the club to redeem themselves from their loss at the hands of Suwon FC and Gimcheon Sangmu last year.  
 
Before losing the playoffs against Suwon, Busan missed a direct ticket to the first division in dramatic fashion by drawing their last league game. Had the club won that match, they would have won the K League 2 and reached the top tier instead of Gimcheon Sangmu, who jumped from second to first and stole the title.  
 
Earning promotion would mark their return to the top tier four years after being relegated, and to the league where the club used to shine in the 1980s and 1990s when they won the title four times in 1984, 1987, 1991 and 1997.
 
 
Bluewings, Gimpo and Bucheon
 
If the Bluewings are able to claw back a few points and then fight their way through the playoffs, they could potentially be in with a chance of returning to the league they were unceremoniously dumped out of for the first time ever last year.
 

Suwon Samsung Bluewings players celebrate during a game against Bucheon FC 1995 at Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on Oct. 19 in a photo posted to the club's official Instagram account. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
But there's a long way to go. In the K League, the first place K League 2 team is automatically prmoted and the last-place K League 1 team is automatically relegated. The second-place K League 2 team then plays the second-to-last place K League 1 team, and the winner of that game gets to play the next season in the top tier.
 
Things get complicated after that. The fifth-and-fourth place K League 2 teams play each other, with the winner of that game playing the third-place K League 2 team. The winner of that game then plays the 10th-place K League 1 team in yet abother playoff, with the winner of that final playoff playing in the K League 1 the following year.
 
If Suwon, Gimpo or Bucheon is able to break into the top five, that would mean they still have three more playoffs to play before the next season's lineup becomes clear.
 

Gimpo FC's Luis Mina takes a penalty during a game against Chungnam Asan FC at Gimpo Salter Soccer Field in Gimpo on Oct. 5 in a photo posted to the club's official Instagram account. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
Gimpo were there last year, finishing in third place and beating Gyeongnam FC in the second-division playoffs, but ultimately losing the final relegation-promotion playoff.
 
Founded in 2013, Gimpo competed in the depths of the K3 system until the end of the 2019 season. The club turned semi-pro that year, playing in the more formally organized K3 League until 2021 when they were turned fully professional and joined the K League 2 ahead of the 2022 season. Promotion would Gimpo into the top tier just three years after turning pro.
 
Bucheon are an older club, founded in 2007 after Bucheon SK pulled an MK Dons and upped roots to move to Jeju where they now play as Jeju United. Like most of the other teams in the running this year, Bucheon have never made it to the top tier, having only moved from the K3 to the K League 2 in 2018. They've been playoff contenders for the last couple of years, finishing in fourth place in 2022 and fifth place last year. 
 

Bucheon FC 1995 players high-five each other during a game against Chungbuk Cheongju FC at Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on Oct. 5 in an picture posted to the club's official Instagram account. The game was the 300th home fixture in the club's history. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
Who could the K League 2 teams face in the promotion-relegation playoffs?  
 
Only two K League 2 teams enter the playoffs against 10th and 11th-place K League 1 sides after the regular season.  
 
As things stand, No. 10 Daejeon Hana Citizen and No. 11 Jeonbuk are close to heading to the playoffs, although they still have four games apiece to escape the relegation zone.
 
If Jeonbuk fell it would be like the Suwon Samsung Bluewings all over again. A dominant force in the K League 1 since 1995, Jeonbuk have never been relegated and have one the title a record nine times, including a historic five consecutive titles between 2017 and 2021. 
 
The K League 2’s regular season will end on Nov. 9, while the K League 1 regular campaign will wrap up on Nov. 24.  

BY PAIK JI-HWAN AND JIM BULLEY [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]