Kwon Chang-hoon (; born 30 June 1994) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Super League (Indonesia) club Persija Jakarta.
Early life Kwon started playing football when he was attending Seoul Yangjeon Elementary School. After he graduated from Joongdong Middle School, he entered Maetan High School, which had the under-18 team of K League club Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
Club career
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Kwon was promoted to the senior team of Suwon Samsung Bluewings during the 2013 K League draft. On 3 April 2013, he came on as a 79th-minute substititue in a 6–2 AFC Champions League defeat to Kashiwa Reysol, making his professional debut. On 6 April, he made his K League 1 debut in a 3–1 win over Daegu FC. On 30 April, he scored his first goal for Suwon in a 2–2 Champions League draw with Guizhou Renhe.
Kwon was a substitute of Suwon until 2014, but became a key player after changing his position from central midfielder to attacking midfielder in 2015. That year, he scored 10 league goals and was selected for the league's Best XI. On 26 October 2016, he led Suwon to the Korean FA Cup final by having one goal and one assist in the 3–1 semi-final win over Ulsan Hyundai. On 3 December, he lifted the FA Cup trophy after the team defeated FC Seoul 10–9 on penalties in the final.
Dijon In January 2017, Kwon joined Ligue 1 club Dijon on a 3.5-year deal. The transfer fee paid to Suwon was estimated at €1.5 million. In the 2017–18 season, he scored 11 league goals, taking charge of Dijon's attack with striker Júlio Tavares, who scored 12 goals. However, he injured his Achilles tendon in the last league match of the season, and showed a decline in his ability due to the aftereffect as well as being absent from the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
SC Freiburg On 28 June 2019, Kwon transferred to Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. On 24 August, he scored his first goal for Freiburg, while making his Bundesliga debut in a 3–1 win over SC Paderborn. He played 35 league matches including 28 matches as a substitute for two years at Freiburg due to his frequent injuries. He returned to his country at the end of the 2020–21 season to prepare for his military duty.
Return to Suwon Enlistment in Gimcheon Sangmu Kwon rejoined Suwon Samsung Bluewings on 26 May 2021, and played for them before enlisting in K League 1's military team Gimcheon Sangmu in December. In 2022, he showed poor performances without a goal while playing 33 league matches for Gimcheon. He did not bring out a different side of him in the relegation play-offs, where the club lost 6–1 on aggregate to Daejeon Hana Citizen. On 22 April 2023, he suffered an Achilles injury again in a K League 2 match against Seoul E-Land, starting to take a rest.
Discharge from Gimcheon On 26 June 2023, Kwon was discharged from Gimcheon Sangmu, coming back to Suwon Samsung Bluewings. He attempted to transfer to a European club during the summer transfer window, but did not receive an offer. He had remained at the club, but did not feature for Suwon due to persistent injuries until the club was relegated to the K League 2 at the end of the 2023 season. Following the expiration of his contract, it was reported that he would leave for league rivals Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Suwon fans, who had not been able to meet him throughout the season, were disconcerted by the sudden news, and their confusion was converted into fury over him after it was confirmed. He was guaranteed the club's highest salary and received support from the club to overcome long-term injuries, whereas he did not visit the stadium to greet their fans until their relegation was decided. He apologized to the fans on Instagram just before the announcement of his transfer, but was eventually criticised for pursuing his own interests only without consideration for the club and fans.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors On 7 January 2024, Kwon joined K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on a free transfer. On 17 August, he made his debut for Jeonbuk as a 60th-minute substitute in a league match against Pohang Steelers, playing on the field for the first time in 483 days. He also scored the winning goal in stoppage time before the match ended in a 2–1 win. In 2025, he started to be used as a left-back by manager Gus Poyet. He played as a substitute for Jeonbuk, but his positional change helped the team win the Double.
Persija Jakarta Kwon played for fellow K League 1 side Jeju SK between March and May 2026 after receiving an offer from Sérgio Costa, their new manager and former assistant coach of the South Korea national team. On 17 July, however, he moved to Super League (Indonesia) club Persija Jakarta, managed by Shin Tae-yong, the former South Korea manager and another of his mentors.
International career
As a youth international, Kwon participated at the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship and the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and won the former tournament.
Kwon was called up to the South Korea national team for the 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup. He made his international debut in a 2–0 East Asian Cup win over China. On 3 September 2015, he scored his first and second international goals in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Laos, where South Korea won 8–0.
While Kwon played for South Korea under-23 team at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, his winning goal in the 3–1 semi-final win over Qatar led them to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. During the Summer Olympics, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Mexico, which sent the team to the quarter-finals.
Kwon became one of South Korea's key players after manager Shin Tae-yong was promoted from the under-23 team to the senior team in August 2017. He was named in their preliminary 28-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup as expected, but his Achilles tendon injury in Dijon's last match of the season excluded him from the squad for the tournament.
Kwon was called up as an overage player to the South Korea under-23s for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Summer Olympics for the second consecutive time after a 6–3 loss to Mexico.
Kwon steadily played for South Korea under manager Paulo Bento, but his call-up was criticised by fans, who regarded other players as better players than him. Despite their criticism, Bento continuously trusted him until the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In a 3–2 loss to Ghana, he made his World Cup debut, but the assessment about him was not overturned.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSuwon Samsung Bluewings2013K League 18010—21—1112014K League 120100———2012015K League 1351010—71—43112016K League 127741—41—359Total901861—133—10922Dijon B2016–17National 332————32Dijon2016–17Ligue 1800000——802017–18Ligue 134111010——36112018–19Ligue 11923110—11244Total61134120—116815SC Freiburg2019–20Bundesliga23200———2322020–21Bundesliga12021———141Total35221———373SC Freiburg II2020–21Regionalliga Südwest10————10Suwon Samsung Bluewings2021K League 1111————111Gimcheon Sangmu (draft)2022K League 133010——203602023K League 28210———92Total41220——20452Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors2024K League 18200—31101232025K League 123040—40—310Total31240—7110433Jeju SK2026K League 1130————130Persija Jakarta2026–27Super League (Indonesia)000000——00Career total28640183202044133048
International Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kwon goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Kwon Chang-hoonNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 3 September 2015 Hwaseong Stadium, Hwaseong, South Korea 3–0 8–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification2 6–03 8 September 2015 Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon, Lebanon 3–0 3–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification4 24 March 2018 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland 1–0 1–2 Friendly5 10 October 2019 Hwaseong Stadium, Hwaseong, South Korea 8–0 8–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification6 5 June 2021 Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea 4–0 5–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification7 7 September 2021 Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea 1–0 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification8 15 January 2022 Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey 2–0 5–1 Friendly9 21 January 2022 Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey 3–0 4–0 Friendly10 1 February 2022 Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification11 14 June 2022 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 4–1 4–1 Friendly12 20 July 2022 Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan 2–0 3–0 2022 EAFF Championship
Honours Suwon Samsung Bluewings Korean FA Cup: 2016
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League 1: 2025 Korea Cup: 2025
Persija Jakarta Piala Presiden third place: 2026
South Korea U20 AFC U-19 Championship: 2012
South Korea U23 AFC U-23 Championship runner-up: 2016
South Korea EAFF Championship: 2015
Individual K League All-Star: 2015, 2022 K League 1 Best XI: 2015, 2016
Notes
References
External links Kwon Chang-hoon at KFA
Official page of Kwon Chang-hoon