A true symbol of pride in his country, Son Heung-min leads South Korea in his fourth World Cup. And if you ask any random football fan, they couldn’t be happier for the game’s nicest guy.
A big part of his journey is Son Woong-jung, his father, who also played football but was forced to retire at the age of 28 due to injury. Determined that his son would not suffer the same fate, he designed a training program from the ground up, emphasizing fundamentals over tactics or positions.
He described his father as strict and harsh towards him. He credits him with assisting him in establishing the successful professional career he later enjoyed, pushing him to the limits of his abilities.
It began in Germany, where he left his home country for Europe at the age of sixteen. Son spent four years honing his craft in the Bundesliga, representing Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen and scoring 29 goals in 87 games.
When he joined Tottenham in July 2015 for £22 million, he became the most expensive Asian footballer in history. It’s difficult to overstate his importance at Tottenham, where he spent the best decade of his career and is revered as an icon.
At his arrival, he was still relatively unknown. After a poor first season, there were doubts about his ability to cut it at that level. By the time he left for Los Angeles FC last summer, he was regarded as one of the club’s greatest players and, more importantly, he became the man who led the team to their first trophy in 17 seasons.
Looking at the array of stars that played for the club previously, Bale, Modric, Keane, Kane among others, you have to give the utmost credit to him for his achievements. On the pitch, he lethal to say the least. In his 333 league appearances for Tottenham, he scored 127 goals.
After scoring 23 Premier League goals in 2021-22, Son shared the Golden Boot with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Son became the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot, and a man whose two-footedness and physical endurance at 33 still leave opponents confused. He is also the Asian player with the most goals in the Premier League as well as the UEFA Champions League.
He also led Tottenham Hotspur to its first trophy in 17 years after winning the Europa League in 2025. You could not go to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on the weekend without running into South Koreans in the stands.
He played a big role in changing the outlook on Asian players in Europe and how much they could achieve if given opportunities. Son Heung-min gives everything when playing for his country.
He has even given up settling down and starting a family until he’s done with his football journey. Nothing shows commitment more than lining up for your country after fracturing a bone in your face just a few weeks before the first kickoff.
Yet that is what Son Heung-min did for his beloved South Korea in the previous edition at Qatar. Son has also scored three goals in four World Cup editions for South Korea, more than any other player in the country’s history.
South Korea has produced many outstanding footballers, but none have carried the hopes of a nation quite as consistently or as gracefully as its captain. Despite his poor form for his club side coming into the tournament, you sense that everyone still looks to him to make an impact for his country when the time comes.
As the tournament unfolds, millions of South Koreans will once again look toward the familiar figure wearing the captain’s armband.
