K League top scorer Joo Min-kyu: 'I am a man with big dreams'

Ulsan HD striker Joo Min-kyu, 33, said he hasn't given up on his dream of playing for the Korean national team.

Ulsan HD striker Joo Min-kyu [PI JOO-YOUNG]

K League top scorer Joo Min-kyu has his eyes set on reaching the next level, fresh off one of his best seasons yet.

“I shouldn’t be satisfied here,” Joo said on Dec. 4 at the K League Awards ceremony held at Lotte Hotel World in southern Seoul. “I am still hungry and I am a man with big dreams.”

The Ulsan HD striker displayed one of the best performances in the K League this season, scoring 17 goals in 36 league matches to earn the top scorer title as well as a place in the season’s best XI.

The top scorer title was Joo’s second in his career, having won it back in 2021 when he played for Jeju United.

With this season’s top scorer title, Joo became the fifth player in 40-year K League history to earn the Golden Boot more than once. Former footballers Yoon Sang-chul, Lee Ki-keun, Kim Do-hoon each won it twice, while former striker Dejan Damjanovic remains the only player to have won it three times.

“It is an honor to be on the same level as legends,” Joo said. “I am also happy that I raised the pride of K League forwards in the K League where foreign strikers prevail.”

Six K League top scorers in the last decade were foreign players.

Joo’s remarkable form in the recent seasons is the result of his diligence.

After failing to be picked in the 2013 K League draft, he joined then-K League 2 side Goyang Hi FC — now disbanded — as a reserve player on just 20 million won ($15,200).

He did everything he could to improve himself, training extra hours and doing additional weight training.

With a strong physique — standing at 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds — and accurate shots in his arsenal, he transferred to another K League 2 team Seoul E-Land in 2015, where he scored 23 goals in his first season with the team.

His solid stats at Seoul E-Land allowed his move to Ulsan in 2019, but he failed to outshine other players, forcing him to transfer to Jeju the following year.

That is when his form started to kick off.

The move to Jeju at the age of 30 acted as a big motivator for Joo, as he did all he could to establish himself as a regular pick there.

“I made less than 1 million won when I was a reserve player,” Joo said. “I overcame those tough years to get there, and I thought I would regret so much if my career ended at that point. That is why I trained extra hard.”

His efforts did pay off in the 2021 K League 1, scoring 22 goals in 34 league games to claim the top scorer title.

He maintained that form in the following season at Jeju, picking up 17 goals in 37 matches, although then-Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors forward Cho Gue-sung took the top scorer title that season.

Even after returning to Ulsan this year, Joo continued his form to reclaim the Golden Boot, which also allowed the club to win the league title and defend it for the first time ever.

His next objective is to be the best in Asia.

Ulsan HD striker Joo Min-kyu speaks during the K League Awards ceremony held at Lotte Hotel World in southern Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

“Not only the league title, but I am also aiming for the AFC Champions League trophy and the tournament top scorer title next year,” Joo said.

Continuing his impressive form may even earn him his first-ever cap.

“I am 33, but I still have not given up my dream of playing for the national team,” Joo said. “I am well aware that I can’t be picked just because I am fortunate. I will do my best in every moment to achieve that dream with my capabilities.”

He will have to wait a big longer until he earns a cap, however, as national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann did not include him on the training camp roster in December for the AFC Asian Cup scheduled for January next year.

BY PI JOO-YOUNG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]