Busan IPark

Daewoo Royals

After being at the top of the league for most of the 1983 season, Daewoo finished second in its league debut conceding the title to Hallelujah FC by a single point after a goalless draw against Yukong Elephants (now known as Jeju United FC) in the Masan Series. In its sophomore season, the club turned professional, renamed itself as Daewoo Royals, and clinched its first league title after defeating Yukong Elephants by an aggregate score of 2–1 in the 1984 K-League Championship playoff. The Royals reached the playoff after winning the second round of a league which now included the likes of Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso (now known as FC Seoul) and Hyundai Horang-i (now known as Ulsan Hyundai).

Daewoo Royals headed into 1986 K-League season as continental champions after clinching the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship, becoming the first Korean side to accomplish this feat, on January 29, 1986 defeating Al-Ahli 3–1 in extra time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Despite continental success, the team suffered a dismal season and failed to reach the 1986 K-League Championship playoff after finishing fourth in the first round of the league and third in the second.

The Royals clinched their second league title after finishing at the top of the league with 46 points in the 1987 season. The Royals recaptured the league title in 1991 (making it their third) finishing ten points ahead of their closest competitor that season, Hyundai Horang-i. The Royals' momentum did not last as the club struggled in the ensuing seasons finishing at or near the bottom of the league.

Pusan Daewoo Royals

At the end of 1995 season, K-League sides began the process of "localizing", and the club became known as Pusan Daewoo Royals (Korean: 부산 대우 로얄즈) in reference to its city of residence. In 1997, Pusan Daewoo Royals lifted its fourth league title becoming the first team to have won the K-League Championship four times. The Royals were also the first team to have won the league twice (in 1987) and thrice (in 1991).

Although the 1998 season marked the emergence of an exciting young forward named Ahn Jung-Hwan, the Royals finished mid-table. The club did however manage to qualify for the 1999 K-League Championship playoffs after placing fourth in regular season. During the playoffs, the Royals managed to knock out Chunnam Dragons and Bucheon SK to secure the right to face defending champions, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, a club which was at the pinnacle of its meteoric rise.

Busan i.cons

As a company-owned club, the Royals' success was invariably linked to the health and success of its owner, Daewoo corporation. In the late 1990s, the company began to suffer from major financial difficulties and parted ways with its once successful sports franchise. IPark Construction, the domestic construction division of Hyundai, secured ownership of the club acquiring all its past history and records. The new owners not only renamed the club as Busan i.cons ("con's" refers to construction; Korean: 부산 아이콘스), but also changed the club's home colors from blue to red and moved it from Busan Gudeok Stadium to Busan Asiad Stadium.

Under new ownership, the club seldom challenged for the title finishing mid-table or toward the bottom of the league in the 2000s. Aside from winning the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history in 2004 under the guidance of Scottish manager Ian Porterfield (defeating Bucheon SK in a penalty shootout), the trophy cabinet remained largely empty.

Busan IPark

On the onset of the 2005 season, the owners changed the club's name to Busan I'Park (currently Busan IPark). After winning the first round, Porterfield's Busan side reached the 2005 K-League Championship play-offs, but lost to a traditionally lightweight, but then-inspired Incheon United side led by Chang Woe-ryong.

For the 2008 season, Hwang Sun-hong took over as manager. Although Busan did not win any silverware during his tenure, he did manage to bring in players such as Kim Chang-soo, Jeong Shung-hoon, Yang Dong-hyun and Kim Geun-chul while injecting the team with much needed youth by giving prospects such as Han Sang-woon, Park Hee-do, and Park Jong-woo first team opportunities. In his final season in charge of Busan, Hwang managed to lead his side to the 2010 Korean FA Cup Final.

For the 2011 season, the board appointed An Ik-soo to take over from Hwang Sun-Hong who had left to manage his former club, Pohang Steelers. Under An, Busan managed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2005 after finishing fifth on the league table in the regular season. An's Busan side was knocked out in the first round of the play-offs by Suwon Samsung Bluewings by a familiar scoreline of 1–0.

In February 2012, an adjustment was made to the club's name by dropping an apostrophe making the official name read Busan IPark.

In 2015, after 9 successive bottom-half finishes, Busan IPark were relegated to the K League Challenge for the first time in their history.

Towards the end of the 2016 season, with an immediate return to the K League Classic looking unlikely, IPark moved back to their smaller, previous home ground, the Gudeok Stadium.

Busan IPark had an impressive 2017 season, although this was overshadowed by the death of then-manager Cho Jin-ho with only two weeks remaining in the season. Busan finished runners up in the K League Challenge to Gyeongnam FC, losing only 6 games all season. With caretaker manager, Lee Seung-yub in charge, Busan defeated Asan Mugunghaw FC, in the playoff semi-final, but lost on penalties after a two-legged final to Sangju Sangmu FC, who became the first K League Classic team to retain their league status via the playoffs. Busan also reached the final of the FA Cup, knocking out higher league opposition in Pohang Steelers, FC Seoul, Jeonnam Dragons and Suwon Bluewings but once again lost over a two-legged final, this time to Ulsan Hyundai.

For the 2018 season in the newly re-branded K League 2, Choi Yun-kyum was appointed manager after previously gaining promotion with Gangwon FC. Busan IPark eventually finished 3rd in the K League 2, but for the second consecutive season lost in the two legged playoff final, this time losing to FC Seoul. Despite again failing in their promotion bid, Busan broke numerous attendance records for the K League 2, including over 10,000[1] for the home leg of the playoff final. After failing to get promoted, manager Choi Yun-kyum resigned in the off-season and was replaced by Cho Deok-je.

Busan enjoyed a successful 2019 season, with Cho Deok-jae implementing an attacking brand of football that saw Busan finish as the top-scoring team in the division. Cho's side were built around young talents such as Kim Moon-hwan, Lee Dong-jun, and Kim Jin-kyu, as well as national team striker Lee Jung-hyup, veteran midfielder Park Jong-woo, and Brazilian playmaker Rômulo. Busan IPark finished second in the K League 2 behind Gwangju FC, entering the promotion playoffs for the fourth season in a row. After defeating FC Anyang 1-0 at home, Busan faced local rivals Gyeongnam FC in a two-legged final. After a goalless first leg at Busan's Gudeok Stadium, Busan won the away fixture 2-0 to secure their return to Korea's top division for the first time since 2015.

Coach Cho Deok-jae left the club in September 2020 after a poor run of results left the team in danger of relegation. Former Incheon United coach Lee Ki-hyung took over in a caretaker capacity for the remaining four games of the season. After taking four points from his first two games in charge, Busan only needed a single point from either of their final games of the season to guarantee their top flight status for another year. However, despite leading at half-time against both Incheon and Seongnam FC, Busan lost both games and were relegated back to the K League 2.

Key

• W = Winner
• RU = Runners-up
• SF = Semi-Final
• QF = Quarter-final
• Ro16 = Round of 16
• Ro32 = Round of 32
• GS = Group Stage
• PR = Preliminary Round

As of 1 October 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  KOR Kim Ho-jun 3 DF  KOR Park Joon-gang 4 DF  KOR Kang Min-soo 5 DF  UZB Dostonbek Tursunov 6 DF  KOR Kim Dong-woo 7 FW  KOR Kim Byung-oh 8 MF  KOR Park Jong-woo 9 FW  BRA Gustavo Vintecinco 10 MF  BRA Rômulo 11 MF  KOR Lee Dong-jun 13 FW  KOR Kim Hyun 14 MF  KOR Kim Jeong-hyun 15 DF  KOR Kim Myoung-jun 17 DF  KOR Yun Suk-young 18 FW  KOR Lee Jung-hyup 19 DF  KOR Lee Ji-min 20 FW  KOR Jung Sung-min

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 GK  KOR Choi Pil-soo 22 FW  KOR Kim Seung-jun 23 MF  KOR Kim Jin-kyu 24 MF  KOR Lee Kyu-seong 25 GK  KOR Kim Jung-ho 26 FW  KOR Lee Sang-jun 27 DF  KOR Park Kyung-min 28 MF  KOR Lee Ji-seung 29 MF  KOR Lee Rae-joon 30 MF  KOR Kwon Hyeok-kyu 32 FW  KOR Park Kwan-woo 33 DF  KOR Kim Moon-hwan 35 DF  KOR Park Ho-young 44 MF  KOR Seong Ho-young 45 DF  KOR Hwang Joon-ho 67 FW  KOR Lee Dong-gyu

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  KOR Han Joon-kyu (to Cheongju City FC) — DF  KOR Lee Chung-woong (to Siheung Citizen FC)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  KOR Han Ji-ho (to Gyeongnam FC) — FW  KOR Kwon Yong-hyun (to FC Anyang)

Coaching Staff

• Manager: Cho Deok-je
• Assistant Manager: Jin Kyung-sun, Lee Ki-hyung
• Goalkeeper Coach: Kim Ji-woon
• Fitness Coach: Lee Gue-sung
• Trainer: Kim Min-cheol, Park Hae-il
• Team Doctor: Kim Myeong-jun, Kim Ho-jun, Park Gi-baek, Park Jeong-hyeong

Academy Staff

• U-18 Head Coach: Park Hyung-joo
• U-18 Coach: Choi Kwang-hee
• U-15 Head Coach: Jung Soo-jin
• U-15 Coach: Jung Seung-hwa
• U-12 Head Coach: Lee Kyu-ho
• U-12 Coach: Ko Moo-hyeok

• Only K League matches are counted.

#	Name	From	To	Season	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Notes
	Lee Jong-hwan	1979/11/22	1980/??/??						Predecessor – Saehan Motors FC manager
1	Chang Woon-soo	1981/01/??	1983/10/18	1983	6	7	3	37.5%
2	Cho Yoon-ok	1983/10/18	1984/06/20	1984	4	1	3	50%
3	Chang Woon-soo	1984/06/21	1986/12/06	1984–86	39	16	22	50.6%	K League 1 title winner 1984 1985–86 Asian Club Championship winner
4	Lee Cha-man	1986/12/07	1989/12/??	1987–89	38	33	25	39.6%	K League 1 title winner 1987 Includes Kim Hee-tae's records
C	Kim Hee-tae	1989/04/??	1989/12/??	1989					Lee Cha Man was called up as a national team assistant manager for 1990 FIFA World Cup Statistics are not separated by K-League
5	Frank Engel	1989/12/21	1990/11/??	1990	12	11	7	40%
6	Bertalan Bicskei	1990/11/17	1991/11/15	1991	17	18	5	42.5%	K League 1 title winner 1991
7	Lee Cha-man	1992/01/01	1992/09/23	1992	4	13	9	15.4%
C	Cho Kwang-rae	1992/09/25	1992/12/23	1992	17	29	21	25.4%
8		1992/12/24	1994/06/21	1993–94
C	Chung Hae-won	1994/06/21	1994/09/07	1994	1	1	7	11.1%
9	Kim Hee-tae	1994/09/08	1995/08/03	1994–95	11	6	13	36.7%
C	Shin Woo-sung	1995/08/04	1995/12/31	1995	4	2	8	28.6%
10	Dragoslav Šekularac	1996/01/04	1996/07/14	1996	7	6	10	30.4%
C	Kim Tae-soo	1996/07/15	1996/12/25	1996	5	6	6	29.4%
11	Lee Cha-man	1996/12/26	1999/06/09	1997–99	46	19	22	52.7%	K League 1 title winner 1997
C	Shin Yoon-ki	1999/06/10	1999/09/08	1999	6	3	8	35.3%
C	Chang Woe-ryong	1999/09/14	1999/12/17	1999	8	0	5	61.5%
12	Kim Ho-gon	2000/02/23	2002/11/05	2000–02	37	31	38	34.9%
C	Park Kyung-hoon	2002/11/05	2002/11/20	2002	0	0	4	0%
13	Ian Porterfield	2002/11/21	2006/04/03	2003–06	30	40	53	24.4%	FA Cup winner 2004
C	Kim Pan-gon	2006/04/03	2006/08/22	2006	8	3	9	40%
14	Andy Egli	2006/07/25	2007/06/30	2006–07	9	12	15	25%
C	Kim Pan-gon	2007/06/30	2007/07/17	2007	0	0	0	N/A
15	Park Sung-hwa	2007/07/18	2007/08/03	2007	0	0	0	N/A	Only one FA Cup match
C	Kim Pan-gon	2007/08/03	2007/12/03	2007	2	4	7	15.4%
16	Hwang Sun-hong	2007/12/04	2010/11/05	2008–10	33	29	46	30.1%
17	An Ik-soo	2010/11/10	2012/12/14	2011–12	32	21	30	38.6%
18	Yoon Sung-hyo	2012/12/18	2015/07/13	2013–15	28	28	42	28.6%
C	Denis Iwamura	2015/07/13	2015/10/07	2015	1	4	6	9.1%
19	Choi Young-jun	2015/10/07	2016/11/04	2015–16	19	9	17	42.2%	Oversaw relegation to the K League 2, 2015
20	Cho Jin-ho	2016/12/06	2017/10/10	2017	17	10	6	51.5%	Died on 10 October 2017.
C	Lee Seung-yub	2017/10/10	2017/12/03	2017	2	1	0	66.7%
21	Choi Yun-kyum	2017/12/11	2018/12/11	2018	14	14	8	38.9%
22	Cho Deok-je	2018/12/18	2020/09/29	2019-20	22	22	15	37.3%	Achieved promotion to the K League 1, 2019
C	Lee Ki-hyung	2020/09/29	2020/10/31	2020	1	1	2	25%	Oversaw relegation to the K League 2, 2020

As of 29 January 2021

*Does not include FA Cup appearances/goals

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Busan IPark.

• Official website (in Korean)