Uzbek→Thailand→K League, return to Bucheon FC K League after 3 years "I was afraid of living in Bucheon for the last 6 months, but I gained confidence" As a YouTuber in Uzbekistan..."Do well in the game" bitter words "I met good people through YouTube and got many opportunities" Leased to Jinju City Football Club in January, performing both player and public service

"It's the first time I've ever been photographed by the media."

Kim Bo-yong (26), a soccer player known as the "Uzbek mercenary" on YouTube, has never visited a media organization for an interview. He hasn't been in the media spotlight much, but since joining the K League 2 Bucheon FC in July of last year, he has garnered a lot of attention. This is because he was a promising prospect three years ago and returned to his homeland after a tumultuous career. "I was so happy to come back to the K League after living abroad for three years," Kim said recently at the Hankook Ilbo offices in Jung-gu, Seoul, "I had a lot of fears and worries, but I also gained confidence that I could do well," he reflected on the past six months in Bucheon.

Kim played on the flanks and as a center forward for Bucheon. Reminiscent of Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), he had great bursts and penetration, and he used his clever play with both feet to torment opposing defenders. He joined Bucheon midseason and quickly became an ace with little time to adjust. However, he struggled to find the back of the net for Bucheon last season due to a lack of finishing.

"Despite not scoring goals and having no attacking points, I think I have improved so much. I was full of confidence when I returned to the K League for the first time, but it was a bit difficult at the end of the season because I was getting more and more frustrated with my lack of goals. In Thailand, it wasn't difficult for me to beat my opponents in one-on-one situations, but it didn't work in Korean football, which is very organized. The coach gave me a lot of opportunities to play, but I think I wasn't good enough."

Tough life abroad..."It will be flesh and blood"

Kim arrived at the Jeonnam Dragons three years ago with high expectations. In 2020, he signed a contract with the team after beating out a huge amount of competition in a difficult open test. He went to training camp and scored so many goals in practice games that his teammates told him, "You're going to be great." But after the season started, it was a problem. He didn't perform as well as he did in practice, and even though he made his debut in the first league game, he couldn't find the back of the net and lost his chance. It was a moment when he realized, "The K League is different from practice." After graduating from Soongsil University, he joined Hwaseong FC in the third division and led the team to the league title. But life in Jeonnam was "a series of mental and physical pain," and he left the team after a year. 카지노사이트777

He then joined FK Turonyeipan in Uzbekistan, but when the team was relegated to the second division in 2022, his life became unbearable. "It was a small salary with no contract, but I survived because I had nowhere else to go," he said.At the time, Kim began documenting the hardships of playing on YouTube. He showed how players were crammed together in cramped vehicles when traveling to away games, and how the accommodation was poor, with several players sharing a room. His life on the field came as a shock to some soccer fans. The conditions in South Korea's seventh division led to interest in Kim, and he was featured on the channel of travel YouTuber KwakTube (Kwak Junbin), which gained him a large number of subscribers. With more than 60,000 subscribers, Kim literally became a YouTuber

That summer, he moved to Chiang Mai FC in Thailand's second division. His former teammate, Lim Chang-gyun, gave him a lot of support. He showed off his skills on the pitch and finished the season with eight goals and five assists. However, trials came again when the club's owner announced that he would stop supporting the team, and his career was almost over. Luckily, the club was bought and he was able to play. "They say that all hard experiences turn into blood and flesh, but at the time I was thinking, 'Will it really happen?'" Kim said. "I wonder if my experiences in Uzbekistan and Thailand made me grow more. I think I was able to come back because I overcame those hard situations.

The life of a YouTuber is also my life

Kim is quick to say that he owes his return to the K League to "YouTube." However, when he returned to play for Bucheon, many people had negative thoughts about YouTube. "What does a soccer player need YouTube for?" "Don't do YouTube, just play well," he was told.

"If I were Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), or Hwang Hee-chan, I wouldn't do YouTube. My reality is that I'm a K League 2 player, I'm not in the spotlight, and I've created a way for myself to be known through YouTube, and I feel very bad when I hear that, but I've met a lot of good people through YouTube, and I've gotten a lot of help, so I don't want people to see it in a negative light."

That's why he stopped filming videos at the end of last season. It was a crucial time, with promotion to the first division on the line, and I didn't want to make any noise. For YouTubers, a two-month hiatus is poison. If you lose subscribers, you can't sustain your channel. His subscribers, mostly soccer fans, understood and were patient with his hiatus. "It's really encouraging to have people listening to me," he said. I also heard the phrase 'inbok' (human blessing) on YouTube," he said.

He also met Kwak Jun-bin, now a broadcasting star, who recently posted a video of him and his colleagues traveling to a workshop in Southeast Asia. As a "first row fan in the corner of the room," he gives Kim some sage advice.He's such a big fan of Kim Bo-yong that he came to Bucheon to watch the game.

Kim's return to the K League was also helped by Jung Hyun-min, a founding member of Bucheon. While doing business in Thailand, he watched Kim's life on YouTube and helped him return to the K League 2. It was a good deed that didn't cost him a dime. "My brothers, Lim Chang-gyun and Yoo Byeong-soo, who play in the Thai League, and Jung Hyun-min, are my life saviors," Kim said.

Kim is enlisting in the military this year. After being classified as a Class 4 due to an injury in his playing days, he was loaned to Jinju Min Football Club in the K4 League to serve as a public service worker alongside his playing career. He will start playing for the team this month. "I plan to continue my YouTuber activities while playing soccer as a soldier for the next two years or so. I hope to draw attention to the K4 League and Jinju Min Football Club by vividly conveying my life here. Please be patient (laughs)."