Hong Hyun-seok scores brace ahead of international double duty

Hong Hyun-seok scored a brace to lead KAA Gent to a 2-1 win over Club Brugge on Sunday, bagging his first league goals of the season ahead of an extended international break where he will report for duty with two separate national teams.

KAA Gent's Hong Hyun-seok celebrates after scoring a goal against Club Brugge at the Ghelamco Arena in Ghent on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Hong Hyun-seok scored a brace to lead KAA Gent to a 2-1 win over Club Brugge on Sunday, bagging his first league goals of the season ahead of an extended international break where he will report for duty with two separate national teams.

Hong, who became a fan favorite in Ghent after announcing his arrival in Belgium by scoring a bicycle kick last summer, struck in the 25th minute to give Gent the lead, then repeated the feat in the 49th minute to make it 2-1.

Sunday’s goals were his first in the league this season. He earlier picked up a goal in a UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier against APOEL Nicosia on Aug. 24. Across all competitions, Hong now has three goals and three assists on the season.

Hong, 24, enjoyed an impressive debut season with Gent last season, scoring nine goals and picking up 11 assists across all competitions with Player and Goal of the Month honors thrown in the mix as well.

The appointment of Jurgen Klinsmann as the Korean national team coach also saw Hong begin to earn some national recognition, with the young midfielder earning his first international caps in June this year.

Hong has again been called up to join the national team during the two-week international break, where Korea will face Wales on Thursday and Saudi Arabia on Sept. 12.

To make things easier for the Europe-based players, those games will be held in Britain. Along with the rest of the European contingent, Hong reported for training in England on Monday.

But Hong’s international duty will not end when the international break ends on Sept. 14. Instead of rejoining Gent for their league game against Oud-Heverlee Leuven on Sept. 17, Hong will instead join the Korean U-24 team for the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Hong is one of three Europe-based players competing at the Asian Games, alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, VfB Stuttgart’s Jeong Woo-yeong and Dynamo Dresden’s Park Kyu-hyun. All three are competing with the permission of their clubs as the tournament falls outside of the international break.

The Asian Games can be an important opportunity for young Korean footballers as it is one of the only ways that players can potentially earn an exemption from mandatory military duty.

A gold medal at the Games earns all participating players an exemption, allowing them to continue their career without interruption. Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min and Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae both earned exemptions at the 2018 tournament.

Korea’s Asian Games campaign kicks off on Sept. 19 with a game against Kuwait, with the team then facing Thailand on Sept. 21 and Bahrain on Sept. 24 to round out the group stage.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]