Background and career
Park Chu-young (Korean: 박주영; Hanja: 朴主永; Korean pronunciation: [pak̚.t͈ɕu.jʌŋ]; also romanised as Park Ju-young; born 10 July 1985) is a South Korean former professional footballer, coach and football executive. He played primarily as a forward. Regarded as one of South Korea's leading prospects, he was the top scorer and most valuable player at the 2004 AFC Youth Championship and was named the AFC Youth Player of the Year. He began his professional career with FC Seoul, winning the K League Rookie of the Year award and selection to the K League Best XI in his first season. Park moved to Monaco in 2008 and scored 25 goals in 91 Ligue 1 appearances. He joined Arsenal in 2011, but made only seven competitive appearances for the club and was loaned to Celta Vigo and Watford. After a short spell with Al-Shabab, he returned to Seoul in 2015, winning the Korean FA Cup that year and the K League title in 2016. He ended his professional playing career with Ulsan HD, winning three consecutive league titles—first as a player and then as a player-coach—and retired at the end of 2024. After one season as a full-time Ulsan assistant, he left the club at the end of 2025 and became a co-owner and joint representative of Yangcheon TNT FC. At international level, Park scored 24 goals in 68 appearances for the South Korea senior team between 2005 and 2014. He represented the country at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups; in 2010, he scored against Nigeria as South Korea reached the round of 16. As an over-age player, he also helped the South Korean under-23 team win a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Park was born and raised in Daegu. In April 1995, while in the fourth grade at Banyawol Elementary School, he was noticed by the school's football coach during an inter-class match. Park initially trained without his parents' knowledge; after they objected, the coach spent about three months persuading them to let him join the school team. He later attended Cheonggu Middle School and Cheonggu High School. In March 2001, during his first year at Cheonggu High, Park began a one-year training spell in Brazil at the Zico Football Center, funded by Pohang Steelers as part of the club's programme for promising young players. Contemporary coverage credited the spell with teaching him to play the ball economically, without unnecessary exertion. At Cheonggu, coach Byun Byung-joo moved Park from a wide attacking role in his first year to midfield in his second and centre-forward in his third. By the end of his high-school career, Park had scored 47 goals in 33 matches and won the scoring title at four national tournaments. He was also the only high-school player chosen for South Korea's squad at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Although he did not play, he was the youngest member of South Korea's squad. Park entered Korea University in 2004. In his first year he scored 10 goals as Korea University won a national university tournament, finishing as the competition's top scorer. Later that year, he scored six goals—including both goals in the final against China—as South Korea won the 2004 AFC Youth Championship; he received both the tournament's top-scorer and most valuable player awards and was subsequently named the AFC Youth Player of the Year. His reputation grew further at an eight-nation under-20 tournament in Qatar in January 2005, where he recorded nine goals and one assist in four appearances as South Korea won the title, and again received the top-scorer and most valuable player awards. Korean media labelled him a "football genius", while the surge of public interest became known as the "Park Chu-young syndrome"; amid the attention, the Korea Football Association announced that it would form what contemporary reporting described as its first management committee devoted to a single player. Park continued his studies after turning professional. In 2008, while a fourth-year student in Korea University's Department of Physical Education, he completed a teaching placement at Dongbuk High School and was admitted to a master's programme at the university's Graduate School of Education. He later graduated from both the department and the graduate school.
On 28 February 2005, after one season at Korea University, Park signed a three-year contract with FC Seoul. Under regulations introduced for the 2005 season, he received no signing bonus and was paid the maximum rookie salary of ₩50 million in his first year. His contract allowed him to pursue a move to Europe during the season and provided for him to receive a share of any transfer fee; Park said he chose Seoul because he regarded the club as the quickest route towards his ambition of playing in Europe. The move led to a dispute with Pohang Steelers, which had financed Park's year at the Zico Football Center in Brazil. Pohang said that its agreement with Park required him to negotiate with the club first if he entered the K League and to reimburse the training costs if he joined another team. After he signed for Seoul without such negotiations, Pohang announced that it would seek approximately ₩50 million from him. Seoul said it had been unaware of the agreement, maintained that it did not oblige Park to join Pohang, and treated reimbursement as a matter between Park and Pohang. Park made his professional debut as a half-time substitute in a 1–0 League Cup defeat by Daegu FC on 9 March, watched by approximately 25,000 spectators. Four days later, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 defeat by Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. On 18 May, he scored his first professional hat-trick—from a direct free kick, a header and a penalty—in a 5–3 loss to Gwangju Sangmu. Aged 19 years and 10 months, he became the youngest player to score a K League hat-trick at the time. On his twentieth birthday, 10 July, he scored another hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over Pohang before 48,375 spectators, then a K League single-match attendance record. Across the league and League Cup, Park finished his debut season with 18 goals and four assists in 30 appearances. His popularity generated what the press called the "Park Chu-young syndrome": Seoul's average attendance increased from 12,418 in 2004 to a league-leading 25,478 in 2005, while other clubs promoted Seoul's visits around his appearances. Seoul nevertheless missed the playoffs. Park received all 73 votes in the press ballot for Rookie of the Year, becoming the first unanimous winner in league history, and was selected for the K League Best XI. Park's scoring output declined in 2006, when he recorded ten goals in 32 appearances in all competitions compared with 18 the previous season; Korean coverage described his form as a "second-year slump". After returning from the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he scored the winner against Incheon United on 22 July, taking Seoul to within one point of the League Cup title. Seoul secured the trophy four days later, giving Park his first senior honour. Under new manager Şenol Güneş, Park began 2007 by scoring a hat-trick in a 4–1 League Cup victory over Suwon Samsung Bluewings on 21 March. A recurring left-foot injury then sidelined Park for much of the season; after returning late in the campaign, he finished with five goals in 15 appearances. He recorded two goals and four assists in 17 league and League Cup appearances in 2008 before Monaco submitted a formal offer at the end of August; Seoul said that it would respect Park's decision and help facilitate the move.
On 1 September 2008, Park joined Monaco on a four-year contract for a reported €2 million transfer fee and was given the number 10 shirt. He made his Ligue 1 debut against Lorient on 13 September, scoring the opening goal and assisting Frédéric Nimani in a 2–0 victory. Park immediately became a regular and finished his first season in France with five goals in 31 league appearances. Park's scoring output increased under new manager Guy Lacombe in 2009–10. Monaco generally deployed him as the lone centre-forward in a 4–2–3–1 formation, with players including Nenê operating behind him; contemporary analysis credited the system with making better use of Park's movement and combination play. In October 2009, Monaco extended his contract by one year, through June 2013. On 24 January 2010, Park headed the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Lyon in the round of 32 of the 2009–10 Coupe de France. Six days later, he scored twice in a 3–2 league victory over local rivals Nice, his first multi-goal match in France. The goals raised his season totals to eight in the league and nine in all competitions. A right-thigh injury sustained during a Coupe de France victory over Bordeaux in February subsequently sidelined him for nearly a month. Park returned and played the full 120 minutes as Monaco lost the Coupe de France final 1–0 after extra time to Paris Saint-Germain on 1 May. He aggravated the thigh injury during the final and missed the remainder of the season, which he ended with eight league goals and one goal in the Coupe de France. Park's final season at Monaco was his most productive in France. On 22 December 2010, he scored a stoppage-time winner in a 2–1 victory over Sochaux. During his customary kneeling prayer celebration, his teammates piled onto him and he damaged cartilage in his right knee. The injury sidelined him for approximately a month and forced him to withdraw from the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. After returning, Park reached ten league goals with a volley against Arles-Avignon on 2 April 2011. The following week, he scored the only goal in a surprise victory over league leaders Lille, temporarily lifting Monaco out of the relegation zone. He finished the season with 12 goals in 33 league appearances, becoming the first South Korean to score 12 goals in a Ligue 1 season. Monaco nevertheless finished 18th and were relegated following a 2–0 final-day defeat by Lyon, ending their 34-season stay in the top flight. Park subsequently stated that he wanted to join a stronger club capable of competing in European competition. Across his three seasons at Monaco, he scored 25 goals in 91 Ligue 1 appearances.
On 30 August 2011, Park joined English Premier League club Arsenal for a reported fee of between £3 million and £5 million and was assigned the number 9 shirt. Park had already agreed terms and begun a medical with French champions Lille, but did not return for its second part after Arsenal made a late approach. Lille president Michel Seydoux said that the club had received no notice of Park's change of plans. Park made his Arsenal debut by starting a 3–1 League Cup victory over Shrewsbury Town on 20 September. In his second appearance, on 25 October, he curled Andrey Arshavin's pass into the far corner to score the winning goal in a 2–1 League Cup victory over Bolton Wanderers. Manager Arsène Wenger praised Park's movement and finishing and said that he was ready to play in the league. On 1 November, Park made his UEFA Champions League debut by starting a goalless draw with Marseille, before being replaced by Robin van Persie after 62 minutes. He nevertheless remained a peripheral member of the squad. Wenger acknowledged in December that he had not given Park sufficient opportunities, while also saying that some players required time to adjust to the intensity and physical demands of English football. Park's only Premier League appearance came as a late substitute in a 2–1 home defeat by Manchester United on 22 January 2012. He finished his first season with one goal in six appearances across all competitions.
On 31 August 2012, following the arrivals of forwards Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, Park joined newly promoted Spanish club Celta Vigo on a season-long loan. He made his La Liga debut as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat by Valencia on 15 September. On his home debut a week later, Park entered against Getafe in the 66th minute and scored the winning goal with his first touch two minutes later, volleying in a cross from Michael Krohn-Dehli. The goal, which gave Celta a 2–1 victory, made him the first South Korean to score in La Liga. Park subsequently scored league goals against Mallorca and Deportivo de La Coruña and a Copa del Rey goal against Almería. His header against Almería opened the scoring in a 3–0 extra-time victory which overturned a two-goal first-leg deficit. He did not establish himself as a regular under either Paco Herrera or Abel Resino, starting 12 of his 26 appearances in all competitions and scoring four goals. In May 2013, Celta announced that an MRI had revealed a small fracture in the tarsal navicular bone of his right foot, with an expected recovery period of two to three weeks.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
