Explained: Why Tottenham And South Korea Star Son Heung, Who Is Heung

Heung-yun Son is the elder brother of Son Heung-min, who is a professional footballer and plays as a striker for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

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Heung-yun was also a professional footballer, but he had khổng lồ quit football because of his injury.

Now he is a coach at the SON Football Academy in Chuncheon. His parents are Soon Woong-jungEun Ja Kil.

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Heung-yun Son"s parents and brother, Son Heung-min. Source: Facebook

Father Trained Heung-yun and His Brother

His father, Son Woong-Jung, was also a professional footballer. Now he is the head of Son Football Academy.

Heung-yun and his brother were raised tough. They had khổng lồ follow strict rules và discipline.

Their father trained them for years. His father used lớn train them in snow và extreme condition.

Their father was very short-tempered và used lớn hit them at training.

People used khổng lồ even doubt whether he was the actual father or not because of his strict nature.

Heung-yun said that he often used khổng lồ quarrel with his father, but his younger brother took everything with a smile.

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Family of Heung-yun Son. Source: Instagram

Age

His brother Heung-min is 30 years old. He is 180 cm tall. He weighs around 77 kg.

Net Worth

His brother Heung-min"s net worth is estimated lớn be $ 31.65 million.

Heung-Min Still Trains With His Father

Heung"s father trained him when he was young. He follows the club training & what his father tells him to bởi to date.

He said that his father was always a strict teacher. He used to lớn shout at và punish him if he did something wrong.

But he added that his strictness and tough training made him the player he is today.

His father revealed if Heung-min dropped the ball before 40 minutes, he would scold him a lot.

His father said that he feels fortunate to train his son himself. He felt sorry for them và sometimes cried alone for being harsh on them.

After a hard training session, he organizes special iced trousers for his son for tight muscles.

He added he was allowed to lớn have his son in his own time và space after training.

How Did Heung-min Get Into Football?

His father was a footballer, and he became a coach after his retirement.

As a footballer"s son, he used to lớn follow his father on the pitch. He used to lớn watch games, & later, he started enjoying them.

When he was 9 or 10 years old, he told his father he wanted lớn be a footballer.

His father warned him that it would be a very tough journey for him.

But he knew clearly that he wanted lớn become a professional footballer.

Is Heung-min Dating Anyone?

He is not dating anyone right now. He is single. However, there was a rumor that he was dating BLACKPINK"s oldest member.

Jisoo was spotted at the Totten mê mệt Hotspur Premier League match, and people began speculating that they secretly saw each other.

But both of them denied the rumor, và they were clearly not in a relationship.

In an interview in 2019, Heung-min stated that he wouldn"t get married until he retired from his playing career.

He wants lớn dedicate all his time and energy to his football career. His father also forbids him from getting married.

Wearing his gray soccer kit, his boots constantly clicking against the tiled floor, the 11-year-old is lost in a parallel universe, far from the distracting noise of electric clippers và the faint smell of hairspray.

But then, as seems lớn happen so often in this part of the world -- that is, New Malden in suburban southwest London -- ears prick up when the name “Mr. Son” is mentioned.

Mr. Son, as he is affectionately known here, is actually Son Heung-Min, the South Korean Tottenham football star & national hero. That he is referred to lớn as Mr. Son is a sign of the high esteem in which he is held.

For Min-Kyu, Son, whose instantly recognizable face was broadcast across the world when he scored the first ever goal at Tottenham’s new $1.3 billion stadium, is a shining example of how an insatiable work ethic yields success. His strike in the 1-0 win over Manchester city in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal only served to lớn enhance his reputation.

“It’s hard lớn explain how he makes me feel but I think more than anything Son makes me feel proud,” he said.


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Young footballer Min-Kyu poses during a practice session.


“It’s so hard to become a professional football player but he’s moved from Korea, to Germany and to England, where he has become one of the best players.

“He’s Korea’s best player of all time. Park Ji-Sung was good but Son is at a different level. He works so hard, he scores goals, he always gives 100%.

“He is a living example of what I have always said; that hard work will always beat talent.

“When I see that Son has done it, it gives me the belief that I can do it too.”

For Min-Kyu, like so many other South Koreans across the diaspora, Son’s success has become a source of national pride.

Born in Chuncheon, northeast of the capital Seoul, Son made his name first in Germany after moving khổng lồ Europe as a teenager with Hamburg. His success earned him a move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 where he caught the eye, persuading Tottenham lớn pay a reported $28 million for the forward. That fee has been more than repaid since, with Son scoring 18 goals in 53 appearances last season alone. His performance và achievements have established Son as one of the most exciting players in the Premier League, while earning him huge popularity both in Korea and much nearer his new home.

But perhaps for the Korean community of New Malden, or as local councillor Jaesung Ha calls it, “Little Seoul,” the pride is even greater. This corner of the United Kingdom, trang chủ to the largest Korean community in Europe, retains huge affection for the country, especially when it comes lớn sport.

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School children congregate at a bus stop outside a Korean food store in New Malden.


According to Ha, the first Korean councillor to lớn be elected in London, there are approximately 12,000 South, North và Chinese Koreans living in the local borough, with around 9,000 in New Malden.

Situated just over a 20-minute train ride from London’s Waterloo station, the leafy suburb of New Malden is home to the largest Korean community in the UK. “I came here because it was easy to lớn acclimatize,” Ha, who represents the Liberal Democrats, said with a smile. “You could talk in Korean, read in Korean, eat Korean food, and that appealed to me.”


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Korean businesses are dotted around New Malden.


Like many older members of the Korean community, Jaesung moved lớn the UK in the 1980s, originally hoping khổng lồ live close to the Korean Embassy in Wimbledon. Such a dream proved too expensive and instead, New Malden, with its beautifully manicured residential streets, good schools & excellent transport links, proved far more economical than the rather more luxurious Wimbledon, which is four miles away.

Others followed both for work và study, and once Korean businesses began khổng lồ move in, New Malden’s reputation as a trang chủ away from home began to take shape, with grocery shops, bakeries and restaurants all catering for the local clientele.


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A New Malden residential street in bloom.


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Councillor Jaesung Ha.


Walking along the high street, it’s difficult khổng lồ disagree with Ha’s assessment. Korean menus are plastered across windows, each restaurant offering a different khuyễn mãi giảm giá with locals spoiled for choice. Ask for a recommendation và you could spend half a day arguing about which restaurant offers the best cuisine.

It’s not just restaurants, though. There’s a Korean community theater, a welcoming center for older Koreans, a Korean travel agent, a language school, và dotted between the traditional fish và chip shops và pubs, are posters advertising Chelsea’s women’s team and its star South Korean player Ji So-Yun.


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A traditional British fish & chip shop and a Korean restaurant sit side by side on the high street in New Malden.


Just off the high street is one of Ji’s favorite restaurants, You Me, named after You Mie, the owner’s daughter.

Walk through the doors of the restaurant and it"s suddenly apparent that this is not just a place for the locals, it’s the place where South Korea"s footballers, including Son, come for a taste of home.

Standing proudly by the tables, You Mie points to the hundreds of photos of her with stars of South Korean football, while signed shirts adorn the walls of her family"s restaurant.

"I wasn"t here when Son visited, but my father says he liked the barbecue," she says while talking through the photos of the Tottenham player.

You Mie, a Korean football journalist & a part-time waitress at her parents" restaurant in New Malden, has spent the past couple of years writing extensively about Son"s success. Her phone does not stop ringing with people begging her for tickets. "I don"t know how they got my number, but I think my mum has been throwing it around and telling everyone I know Son," she says with a laugh.


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You Mie Hur, a football journalist, poses outside her family’s restaurant in New Malden.


You Mie whose parents came to Britain in the 1980s, grew up in New Malden. She has witnessed a sea change in attitudes toward football from the South Korean community, first with the arrival of Ji-Sung Park at Manchester United, và then with the national team"s success at the 2002 World Cup, where it reached the semifinal as co-hosts.

But she believes it is the success of Son that has sparked a new wave of hysteria, patriotism and pride.

"Son"s success has inspired the younger generation here," she says. "You see them now with his name on the back of their shirts, which you never had before.

"Now the kids are reading newspapers just khổng lồ see if Son is in there. I have parents asking me how khổng lồ get their child into football. They see how hard he works, his work ethic and people admire that about him.

"People want their kids lớn follow in his footsteps and fans want to lớn watch him. You see more and more Korean fans going on the Underground & buses to lớn Tottenham games. You see them waving Korean flags on television. Having grown up in London, it does feel a bit strange but I think it"s a great thing for Korea."


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Photographs of Son (center picture, standing lớn You Mie"s right) & Spurs quái vật Mauricio Pochettino (far right photo) take pride of place in the family restaurant.


Son’s achievements in England are a source of pride, but it was his success in securing victory for South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games that made him headline news.

In South Korea, all men who are deemed physically capable are required to lớn complete 21 months of military service. The only exemptions offered are to those who win gold at the Asian Games or a medal of any màu sắc at the Olympic Games.

Fortunately, for Son, he secured the much-needed gold medal, leading South Korea lớn a 2-1 victory over nhật bản and ending speculation over whether he would halt his career to serve in the military.

“The military is something that is really sensitive,” You Mie added.

“I think that everyone wanted him not khổng lồ go so he could prolong his career but I know there were some people who said he shouldn’t be given an exemption.

“Normally there is a specific reason for people not khổng lồ go and I don’t think people wanted him khổng lồ get an exemption just because he’s Son. I think the government thought that too. They were thinking, ‘If we give him an exemption just because he’s Son, then we’ll have to bởi it for other houses as well.’

“Baseball is really big, why not bởi vì it for them? I think getting the gold medal và doing it the proper way was the best it could turn out.”

Son is not the first South Korean lớn play in the Premier League, but his impact is being felt far và wide. Park, who won four Premier League titles và the European Champions League with Manchester United between 2005 and 2012 was a pioneer, but his achievements were often overshadowed by playing alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo và Wayne Rooney.

Others such as Seol Ki-Hyun, Lee Young-Pyo & Kim Bo-Kyung, all of whom played in the Premier League và dined at You Me, failed lớn have quite the same impact as Park.


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Football memorabilia và article clippings by You Mie adorn the inside of the family’s Korean restaurant.


Making an impact has not appeared khổng lồ have been a problem for Son, whose goal-scoring exploits have propelled him into the spotlight at Tottenham. Such is his appeal that many South Koreans are flying khổng lồ London just to lớn watch him in action, according lớn local travel agent Sukchan Daniel Kim.

Kim says it"s not unusual for football supporters khổng lồ fly in just for a day lớn catch a glimpse of their hero, often paying over £700 ($915) for flights in addition lớn accommodation, food, transport & a match ticket.

“I know a few people who have flown over from Korea, stayed for a day to lớn watch Son and then flown home again. It’s not unusual.

“The problem for people in Korea is getting tickets. They often ask me or members of the Korean community here in the UK to get tickets for them.


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Travel agent Sukchan Daniel Kim


“Sometimes though those tickets can end up going on secondary websites and end up going for two or three times the price.

“Ji-Sung Park was the starting point for all this but now Son has appeared & interest has rocketed again."

Park"s success at United inspired a whole new generation of Manchester United supporters throughout the Korean community. Many like Sam Ji, who owns a local hair salon làm tóc in New Malden, supported United during Park"s time at Old Trafford but are now proud Tottenham supporters. He says that for many within the community, it"s about supporting the player, not the club.

"When I supported United it was about Park but now everyone is for Tottenham because of Son," he said. "If Son moved from Tottenham và then went to play for Chelsea, would I follow him? Yes, I probably would.”

Hoil Choi, a local dentist, agrees. When asked if he would consider switching allegiance to lớn Arsenal if Son moved to Tottenham"s deadliest rival, he laughs: "Yes, I think I would."


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Dentist Hoil Choi waits khổng lồ get a haircut at Sam và Sunny Hair salon làm tóc in New Malden.


In the hair salon làm tóc and on the football field, Son"s success has struck a chord. Byeong Park, a local pastor who also runs a local Korean football team & works for the UK branch of the Korean Sports Council, says Son"s exploits have given the local community great pride.

But while he admires Son"s technical và physical attributes, it is the work ethic, instilled by Son"s father và former player, Son Woon-Jung, that has made him an example to lớn the next generation.

"I think that the work ethic and the way Son was prepared for life by his parents was a real example," Park told baivanmau.edu.vn.


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Hyoon-Gyun Oh, chairman of the UK’s Korea Sports Council, right, pins a symbol of the Korean thể thao & Olympic Committee onto Byeong Park’s lapel.


"We would lượt thích to see other youngsters follow in Son"s footsteps and perhaps see a second or third "Son" in the UK in the future. But it"s not easy for young Korean footballers to lớn adapt. The language barrier is often raised as one of the most difficult obstacles and it"s difficult lớn get visas and bring the family."

While many Korean footballers have struggled to lớn make an impact in England"s Premier League, there is a generation of British-born Koreans who are hoping lớn forge a path of their own.

Watching from the side of the field, Min Kyu’s father, Sam, looks on with a smile as his son takes the ball on his right foot & then his left, appearing comfortable on either foot during a training drill.

Sam, who was a keen footballer during his teenage years in Seoul, knows the challenges his son will face if he is to become a professional footballer.


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Sam Ji, father of Min-Kyu, cuts a young customer’s hair in the salon he and his wife run in New Malden.


He came to lớn the country in the 1980s after winning a place at the Sassoon hairdressing academy in London, where he met his wife, Sunny. The couple own a salon làm tóc in New Malden often working long hours to provide for their two children. With his daughter a successful junior golfer, và his son pursuing football, Sam says it is difficult to tư vấn Min-Kyu’s commitments.

He says at least two Premier League clubs have asked about taking Min-Kyu on trial, but the travel that would require would make it difficult for him to lớn find cover at work và he’s unable khổng lồ make such sacrifices. But that doesn’t mean he’s giving up.


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Min-Kyu-Ji, center, sits among teammates during a training session in New Malden.


"My son loves football but it"s hard when you have work," he says. "Min-Kyu is always with a football, he eats while sitting with a football.

"So for us, Son is lượt thích a miracle. He’s brilliant. He’s a great example for our children.

“I think Son’s success is inspiring my son. I guess we just have khổng lồ wait & see.”

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