Son Heung-min South Korean Footballer From Chuncheon

Early life

Son Heung-min was born on 8 July 1992 in Chuncheon, South Korea. His father, Son Woong-jung, is a former footballer who later became a coach, and he introduced his son to the game. Son came up through the FC Seoul youth system and attended Dongbuk High School, whose football team was formerly the club's under-18 side. In August 2008 he left that team to join the youth academy of Hamburger SV in Germany at the age of 16. He returned to South Korea for a time, played at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and formally joined the Hamburg academy in November 2009. Alongside Korean he speaks German and English.

Career

Son made his Bundesliga debut for Hamburger SV in 2010 and signed his first professional contract on his 18th birthday. His first league goal came on 30 October 2010 against 1. FC Köln, which made him the youngest Hamburg player to score in the Bundesliga. His breakthrough followed in 2012-13, when he finished the season with 12 goals in 34 matches across all competitions, including two in a win at Borussia Dortmund.

In June 2013 he moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen for a reported €10 million, then the highest fee in the club's history. He scored a hat-trick against his former club Hamburg that November, finished 2013-14 with 12 goals in 43 matches and 2014-15 with 17 goals in 42.

Tottenham Hotspur signed him in August 2015 for £22 million, which made him the most expensive Asian player in football history at the time. He scored his first Premier League goal for the club in September 2015 and spent ten years there. In November 2017 his 20th Premier League goal made him the leading Asian scorer in the competition's history. He played in the team that reached the 2018-19 Champions League final, and a goal he scored against Burnley in December 2019 earned him the Premier League Goal of the Season and later the FIFA Puskás Award. In 2021-22 he shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah on 23 goals, the first Asian player to win it. On 8 April 2023 he scored his 100th Premier League goal, again a first for an Asian player.

Tottenham named him club captain in August 2023, succeeding Hugo Lloris. On 21 May 2025 he lifted the UEFA Europa League trophy after the final against Manchester United, a 1-0 win; it was the club's first title since the 2007-08 League Cup and the first of his professional career. Early in August 2025 he announced his departure, and on 6 August he joined Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC in a deal worth $26.5 million, a league record. His first goal for the club, a free kick against FC Dallas, was voted the MLS Goal of the Year for 2025.

With the national team, Son has played since 2010 and made his debut in a friendly against Syria before the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, where he scored his first international goal against India. He has played at the World Cup in 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026, and he was captain in 2022, when South Korea reached the round of 16. At the 2018 Asian Games he captained the team that beat Japan 2-1 in the final, which brought exemption from compulsory military service; he still completed basic training with the Marine Corps on Jeju Island in 2020. South Korea lost the 2015 Asian Cup final to Australia after extra time, and Son was named to the tournament's team. On 6 October 2026 he scored his 59th international goal in a friendly against Uzbekistan, overtaking Cha Bum-kun as the country's record scorer.

Recognition

Son's honours include the Europa League title with Tottenham, the Asian Games gold medal of 2018, the FIFA Puskás Award in 2020 and the Premier League Golden Boot of 2021-22. He has been named Best Footballer in Asia repeatedly between 2014 and 2025 and has received the Korean FA Player of the Year award several times. In 2022 he was given the Cheongnyong class of the Order of Sport Merit, the highest sports honour awarded to a South Korean citizen. He also won the Premier League Player of the Month award four times, the first in September 2016, when he became the first South Korean and first Asian recipient.

Personal life

In 2018 Son opened the Son Football Academy in Chuncheon with his father and brother, a project largely paid for from his own funds. He has made donations to relief efforts in South Korea, including after the 2019 Goseong fire, and has spoken publicly about racist abuse he has received; he takes part in UEFA's Real Scars campaign about abuse of players. He holds brand ambassador roles with several fashion and luggage companies and a sponsorship with Adidas. As of October 2026 his Instagram account had about 14.4 million followers.