KPA & K League Weekend Listing 10/14-10/16 + traditional soju made…in the US?

I for one am glad international break is over. Let’s get to it starting with Korean Footballers Abroad cataloguing Koreans playing top flight Euro ball:

 

Pretty ugly international week. Not really major thoughts but to say that everything was wrong. And players have a lot of fault too.

As for matches, we’ll see how much I watch this weekend as I may be out this weekend.

Ji Dong Won — He played a good number of minutes with KNT which is good, scoring a goal, but he will have to wait for his chance… maybe he makes it into squad.

Koo Ja Cheol — Since the travel is so much shorter, he has a good chance of starting this weekend. Baum may go with the more defensive Khedira though.

Lee Chung Yong — Maybe he makes the end of the bench.

Ki Sung Yueng — He had some minutes but not a ton while with KNT. I’m not sure what that means for his recovery… we’ll see if he’s in the squad this weekend but I don’t expect anything more than a bench role.

Son Heung Min — With Alli still out of next week’s CL match,  I expect Son on the bench this weekend ahead of a start midweek as they’ve been alternating.

Kwon Chang Hoon — A bright spot in what KNT action I saw, linking well with Son and pushing forward despite little support around him. I doubt he’d start against PSG given Dijon’s defensive problems.

Suk Hyun Jun — He had his first start ruined by a red carded (teammate)… with a full international week to integrate, perhaps he earns another start this weekend with bench if not.

Lee Seung Woo — I expect a continuation of prior weeks… let’s hope for some late minutes.

Now to K League Classic Round 34, where they’re set to play the first round of the split season.

Championship Round

Saturday, October 14
Jeju 2:00 AM Gangwon
Sunday, October 15
Suwon Bluewings 2:00 AM Ulsan	Jeonbuk 2:00 AM FC Seoul

Relegation Round

Saturday, October 14
Sangju Sangmu 2:00 AM Daegu	Pohang Steelers 2:00 AM Incheon
Sunday, October 15
Jeonnam Dragons 2:00 AM Gwangju

All Times in US EST

K League Challenge Round 34:

Sat	14/10/17	Gyeongnam	02 : 00	Seoul E-Land		More info
		Suwon	02 : 00	Busan I’Park		More info
		Seongnam	02 : 00	Anyang		More info
Sun	15/10/17	Daejeon Citizen	02 : 00	Bucheon 1995		More info
		Ansan Greeners	02 : 00	Asan Mugunghwa

All Times in US EST

Modern Seoul previews fixtures in both Classic and Challenge divisions, Saturday fixtures here and Sunday fixtures here.

K League United previews Classic games this weekend here.  They also preview K League Challenge Round 34 here.

K League United’s Paul Neat had a moving memorial post for Busan I’Park’s manager Cho Jin-Ho who tragically passed away over the weekend from a heart attack. He was only 44 years old. It is a shock that’s still reverberating across the Korean football landscape.  He was a promising up and coming manager and Korea and Busan will sorely miss his steady managerial hand.

 

Extra Time: this came on my radar last week and I found this an incredibly written piece about soju and it’s cultural historical importance – plus a revelation that many of us suspected: what we think of as traditional soju may be a pale imitation to our ancestor’s soju. A more shocking discovery: it is possible that an American has cracked the code to making a more traditional recipe for soju that is vastly superior to what’s being sold today as traditional soju. That may be up for debate but what isn’t in doubt -the US made Tokki Soju has been bootlegged back to Korea and after word of mouth – it’s a hot seller in underground black markets on the peninsula.  Some of the reason for contemporary Korean soju’s lack of quality has to do with the Japanese occupation and some of the blame goes to General Park Chung-Hee’s military dictatorship. I don’t want to give too much away, it’s a fascinating read and worthy of your time, check Joshua Schenkkan’s piece here.