The Korea American Football Association (KAFA, ) has existed in South Korea for more than 70 years. The popularity of American football in South Korea has been historically low, but with the visit of Hines Ward (a South Korean-born NFL football star with the Pittsburgh Steelers) in 2006, the sport received a modest level of increased appeal. Within South Korea, KAFA is a sports governing body over both traditional football with pads and also flag football.
Traditional football leagues within South Korea is divided between university and senior (KNFL) teams. Three championship bowl games of special note occur at the end of the season. The Tiger Bowl determines the champions of the University league, the Gwanggaeto Bowl determines the champions of the KNFL, and finally, the Kimchi Bowl, the South Korean equivalent of Japan's Rice Bowl, pits the University champion against the KNFL champion.
College programs Institution한국어LocationFoundedTypeEnrollmentNicknameColorsDong-eui University동의대학교Busan1977Private22,992Turtle FightersRed and WhiteYonsei University연세대학교Seoul1977Private38,725EaglesRoyal BlueDankook University단국대학교Yongin2015Private31,347KodiakNavy and White
Korea National Football League
In 2015, there were seven teams in the KNFL, divided into two divisions (북부리그 North Division, 남부리그 South Division). The top two seeds of each division played in a four-team semifinal playoff. Winners of the semifinals played in the Gwanggaeto Bowl Championship. The KNFL Champion played the Korean University League Champion in the Kimchi Bowl.
Starting in 2016, the KNFL changed to a full league format, with each of the seven teams playing one another. The two teams with the best regular season records face off in the Gwanggaeto Bowl. The KNFL Champion plays the Korean University League Champion in the Kimchi Bowl.
Seoul Golden Eagles Seoul Carnivores (Sponsored by Seoul National University OB) Seoul Vikings Daegu Phoenix Samsung Geoje Blue Storm Busan Gryphons KS Bluegons (Sponsored by KyungSung University OB)
Gwanggaeto Bowl Finals # Date Champions Score Runners-up Venue 1 1996.1.7 Seven Six 20 - 6 Leos Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 2 1997.1.19 Bluegons 18 - 6 Blue Friends Sajik Stadium, Busan 3 1998.1.11 Seven Six 6 - 0 Bluegons Kyungsung University Stadium, Busan 4 1999.1.10 Blue Friends 12 - 6 Caps Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 5 2000.1.9 Red Stars 32 - 22 Caps Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 6 2001.1.14 Red Stars 20 - 6 Scholars Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 7 2002.1.13 Seven Six 18 - 12 Red Stars Duryu Park Stadium, Daegu 8 2003.1.12 Scholars 18 - 12 Caps Pusan National University Stadium, Busan 9 2004.1.18 Caps (Seoul Golden Eagles) 17 - 6 Bluegons Pusan National University Stadium, Busan 10 2005.1.16 Halraes 14 - 7 Seven Six Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 11 2005.12.18 Seoul Vikings 33 - 21 Caps Yong In University Stadium, Yongin 12 2006.12.10 Gryphons 19 - 10 Seoul Vikings Seoul National University Stadium, Seoul 13 2007.12.2 Gryphons 23 - 13 ADT Caps Yong In University Stadium, Yongin 14 2008.12.7 Seoul Vikings 28 - 3 Seoul Golden Eagles Namyangju Stadium, Namyangju 15 2009.12.6 ADT Caps 13 - 0 Seoul Vikings Namyangju Stadium, Namyangju 16 2010.12.12 Daegu Phoenix 14 - 7 ADT Caps Namyangju Stadium, Namyangju 17 2011.12.4 Seoul Warriors 16 - 13 Domino Yongsan SIMS Stadium, Seoul 18 2012.12.2 Seoul Vikings 14 - 7 Seoul Warriors Yongsan SIMS Stadium, Seoul 19 2013.11.24 Seoul Vikings 26 - 23 Seoul Golden Eagles Yongsan SIMS Stadium, Seoul 20 2014.11.16 Samsung BlueStorm 28 - 13 Daegu Phoenix Jinyeong Stadium, Gimhae 21 2015.11.15 Seoul Golden Eagles 22 - 14 Daegu Phoenix Daegu Haany University Stadium, Gyeongsan 22 2016.11.20 Daegu Phoenix 34 - 20 Samsung Bluestorm Seochang Stadium, Yangsan 23 2017.11.26 Seoul Vikings 13 - 12 Samsung Bluestorm Seochang Stadium, Yangsan 24 2018.11.18 Seoul Vikings 14–0 25 2019.11.23 Samsung Bluestorm 21–12 Daegu Phoenix Kyungpook National University Stadium, Daegu 26 2024.12.8 Samsung Bluestorm 24–21 Incheon Rhinos 27 2025.12.14 Samsung Bluestorm 37–21 Gunwi Phoenix
Tiger Bowl
The Tiger Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in South Korea established in 1994. The game is the championship game for the KFAF's college programs.
Finals # Date Champions Score Runners-up Venue11995Dong-a University 2 1996 Keimyung University 3 1997 Kyungpook National University 4 1998 Dong-a University 5 1999 Dong-a University 6 2000 Kyungsung University 7 2001 Kyungsung University 8 2002 Kumoh National Institute of Technology 9 2003 Dong-a University 10 2004 Kumoh National Institute of Technology 11 2005 Dong-a University 12 2006 Dong-Eui University 13 2007 Dong-Eui University 14 2008 Dong-Eui University 15 2009 Pusan National University 16 2010 Pusan National University 17 2011 Pusan National University 18 2012 Hanyang University 19 2013 Pusan National University 20 2014 Dong-Eui University 21 2015 Dong-Eui University 22 2016 Dong-Eui University 23 2017 Dong-Eui University 24 2018 Dong-Eui University 252019Sungkyunkwan University
Kimchi Bowl The Kimchi Bowl is the final championship game of KAFA. The game pits the KNFL team that has won the Gwanggaeto Bowl against the university team that has won the Tiger bowl.
Finials # Date Champions Score Runners-up Venue 1 1996.1.14 DongA University 12 - 7 Seven Six Sajik Stadium, Busan 2 1997.1.26 Bluegons 28 - 18 Keimyung University Sajik Stadium, Busan 3 1998.1.18 Kyungpook National University 47 - 6 Seven Six Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 4 1999.1.17 DongA University 35 - 22 Blue Friends Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 5 2000.1.16 DongA University 19 - 14 Red Stars Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 6 2001.1.21 Red Stars 13 - 0 Kyungsung University Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 7 2002.1.27 Seven Six 27 - 14 Kyungsung University Duryu Park Stadium, Daegu 8 2003.1.19 Gumoh National University 7 - 6 Scholars Pusan National University Stadium, Busan 9 2004.1.1 Caps (Seoul Golden Eagles) 23 - 17 DongA University Pusan National University Stadium, Busan 10 2005.1.30 Halraes 27 - 12 Gumoh National University Hyochang Stadium, Seoul 11 2006.1.8 DongA University 7 - 6 Seoul Vikings Keimyung University Stadium, Daegu 12 2007.1.14 Busan Gryphons 37 - 0 DongEui University Pusan National University Stadium, Busan 13 2008.1.6 Busan Gryphons 21 - 12 DongEui University Pusan National University Stadium, Busan 14 2009.1.11 Seoul Vikings 20 - 14 DongEui University Namyangju Stadium, Namyangju 15 2010.1.10 Pusan National University 34 - 13 ADT Caps Namyangju Stadium, Namyangju 16 2011.1.9 Daegu Phoenix 40 - 24 Busan National University Kyungpook National University Stadium, Daegu 17 2012.1.8 Seoul Warriors 14 - 0 Busan National University Seoul Yongsan SIMS Stadium, Seoul 18 2012.12.30 Seoul Vikings 23 - 0 Hanyang University Pocheon Stadium, Pocheon 19 2013.12.1 Pusan National University 14 - 6 Seoul Vikings Kyungil University Stadium, Gyeongsan 20 2014.11.30 Samsung BlueStorm 7 - 6 DongEui University Samsung Heavy Industries Stadium, Geoje 21 2015.12.6 Seoul Golden Eagles 27 - 6 DongEui University Seoul National University Stadium, Seoul 22 2016.12.4 DongEui University (Turtle Fighters) 17 - 6 Daegu Phoenix Kyungpook National University Stadium, Daegu 23 2017.12.5 DongEui University (Turtle Fighters) 21 - 14 Seoul Vikings Pusan National University Stadium, Busan
See also South Korea national American football team International Federation of American Football (IFAF) IFAF Asia
References
External links KAFA Official website Seoul Golden Eagles Official Website Seoul Vikings Official Website Daegu Phoenix Official Website Samsung Geoje Blue Storm Official Website Busan Gryphons Official Website