A Spectacular Debut with a Wonder Goal: 17-Year-Old Kim Ye-geon Dreams of the Ballon d'Or

[Anchor]

Let us introduce you to a 17-year-old rising star who has brought a much-needed spark of hope to South Korean football, which has been facing a series of frustrating news. Kim Ye-geon, who has been in the spotlight as a prodigy since childhood and scored a spectacular K-League debut goal this past weekend, has revealed his ambitious goal of winning the Ballon d'Or.

Reporter Lee Jeong-Chan has the story.

[Reporter]

Born in 2008, 17-year-old Kim Ye-geon, who made his debut as a high school senior on a semi-professional contract, caught everyone's attention with his dazzling individual skills. In just his second match, he exploded with a spectacular K-League 1 debut goal, becoming the protagonist of the Hyundai Derby.

After signaling the birth of a new star with the same celebration as England's World Cup star Jude Bellingham, he signed a formal professional contract yesterday (July 13), checking off his dreams one by one.

[Kim Ye-geon / Forward, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors: My father shed tears. It felt like a dream. It felt like I was dreaming, and the things I had imagined (came true), and scoring a goal was just amazing.]

Six years ago, when he was in elementary school, two videos of Kim featured on SBS Sports Mug garnered over 15 million views, drawing attention to him as a football prodigy.

[Kim Ye-geon (2020, then a 5th-grade elementary student): It feels good because people (who watched Sports Mug) keep saying I am good and cool, and I will repay them (the fans) later.]

Although his move overseas was thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he grew steadily within the Jeonbuk youth system.

In particular, last month, he proved that his 170cm frame could compete on the adult stage by finding the back of the net with an unbelievable bicycle kick in the third division.

Watching the World Cup recently, Kim Ye-geon's dreams have grown even bigger.

[Kim Ye-geon / Forward, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors: I think I set a goal that I really want to go to the next World Cup. (Going further) I want to win the Ballon d'Or; that is what I think.]

He pledged to become a player with both skill and character.

[Kim Ye-geon / Forward, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors: 'Kim' Ye-geon means being 'Ye' (polite) and 'Geon' (healthy). I want to always be praised for my attitude and character, and I want to become a great person like Shohei Ohtani. Please keep watching over me.]

Reported by Yang Doo-won | Video by Hwang Ji-young | Graphics by Han Song-yeon
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.