Donghaean Derby (, lit. 'east sea coast derby' (with 'East Sea' being the South Korean name for Sea of Japan)) is a fierce football rivalry between Pohang Steelers and Ulsan HD, two professional football clubs based in Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the oldest football rivalry in the K League.
The cities of Pohang and Ulsan are geographically close east coast ports of Korea, with the former being home to Pohang Steelers owner and steelmaking giant POSCO and the latter being home to Ulsan HD owner and shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai.
History After both teams settled down in their current cities in the mid-1990s, the rivalry between the two slowly formed.
The rivalry truly started after the 1998 K League Championship, in which the two clubs met in the semifinal. In the first leg, Pohang beat Ulsan 3-2 in a thrilling match in which three goals were scored in the added minutes of the second half. In the second leg, held in the Ulsan Stadium, they were drawing 1-1, which meant Pohang were about to progress to the final, until Ulsan's goalkeeper Kim Byung-Ji scored a last-minute header after a free-kick. The goal made the aggregate score 4-4, and Ulsan eventually became the winner after Kim Byung-Ji saved Pohang's two penalties in the following penalty shoot-out.
In 2001, Kim Byung-Ji, who had been having a series of conflicts with Ulsan because the club did not let him move to Europe, moved directly to Pohang, recording the highest transfer fee in the K League at that time. His move intensified the tension between two clubs.
The two clubs met in the 2004 K League Championship semi-final where André Luiz Tavares's goal put Pohang into the final.
Four years later, they met again in the 2008 K League Championship First Round. After a goalless draw, the game continued to penalties, in which Ulsan won 4-2.
In the final round of the 2013 K League Classic season, Ulsan were top of the table coming into the final round, and Pohang needed to defeat Ulsan away from home to win the title. Kim Won-il scored the winning goal for Pohang late in injury time for the club's fifth K League title.
Pohang defeated Ulsan 3-1 in the 2024 Korea Cup final to secure their record sixth cup title.
Venues Pohang Steelers Ulsan Hyundai Pohang Steel Yard Ulsan Stadium Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 19,665 Capacity: 44,102
Players who have played for both clubs Choi Kang-hee (Pohang: 1983, Ulsan: 1984–1992) Chung Jong-son (Pohang: 1985, Ulsan: 1989–1994) Cho Keung-yeon (Pohang: 1985–1991, Ulsan: 1992) Yoon Deok-yeo (Ulsan: 1986–1991, Pohang: 1992) Wang Sun-jae (Pohang: 1987–1988, Ulsan: 1988–1989) Kim Byung-ji (Ulsan: 1992–2000, Pohang: 2001–2005) Kim Sang-hoon (Ulsan: 1996–2001, Pohang: 2002–2003) Lee Kil-yong (Ulsan: 1999–2002, Pohang: 2003–2004) Choi Chul-woo (Ulsan: 2000–2001, Pohang: 2002–2003) Kwon Jung-hyuk (Ulsan: 2001–2006, Pohang: 2007) Woo Sung-yong (Pohang: 2003–2004, Ulsan: 2007–2008) Oh Beom-seok (Pohang: 2003–2007, 2020–present Ulsan: 2009–2010) Lee Jin-ho (Ulsan: 2003–2011, Pohang: 2010(loan)) Kim Jin-yong (Ulsan: 2004–2005, Pohang: 2012) Kim Jee-Hyuk (Ulsan: 2005–2007, Pohang: 2008–2011) Lee Won-Jae (Pohang: 2005–2007, Ulsan: 2009–2010, Pohang: 2010–2012) Yang Dong-hyen (Ulsan: 2005–2008, 2014–2015, Pohang: 2016–2017) Go Seul-ki (Pohang: 2005–2009, Ulsan: 2010–2012) Choi Tae-uk (Pohang: 2006–2007, Ulsan: 2014) Lee Jae-won (Ulsan: 2006–2007, 2014, Pohang: 2015–2016) Kim Ji-min (Ulsan: 2007, Pohang: 2008) Brasília (Ulsan: 2008, Pohang: 2009) Almir (Ulsan: 2008–2009, Pohang: 2010) No Byung-jun (Pohang: 2008–2013, Ulsan: 2010(loan)) Seol Ki-hyeon (Pohang: 2010, Ulsan: 2011) Lee Gi-dong (Pohang: 2010–2011, Ulsan: 2011) Choi Jae-soo (Ulsan: 2010–2012, Pohang: 2015) Sin Jin-ho (Pohang: 2011–2015, 2021–present Ulsan: 2019–2021) Park Sung-ho (Pohang: 2012–2013, 2015 Ulsan: 2016) Yoo Jun-soo (Ulsan: 2014–2018, Pohang: 2019) Jung Jae-yong (Ulsan: 2016–2019, Pohang: 2019) Shin Hyung-min (Pohang: 2008–2012, Ulsan: 2021–2022) Kim Seong-ju (Ulsan: 2018, Pohang: 2021) Kim Min-hyeok (Pohang: 2018, Ulsan: 2022–present) Kim In-sung (Ulsan: 2016–2021, Pohang: 2023–present) Sim Sang-min (Pohang: 2019–2023, Ulsan: 2024–present) Kim Ju-hwan (Pohang: 2020–2022, Ulsan: 2024–present) Lee Dong-hee (Ulsan: 2021, Pohang: 2024–present)
Match reports League matches