Engaging Football Fans with Ryan Walters (K League)

Ryan Walters is the Head of English Content for the South Korean League (K League).

Before his role as content creator with the K League, Ryan created K League United, a website that provides content focused on the league. Due to its success, the team would become official content providers for the K League 1 and 2.

Our discussion focused on fan engagement, Asian football, and Ryan’s journey to becoming Head of English content of the K League.

How far back does your passion for football go?

If memory serves, I was about five when I started playing. I don't remember the year, but I do remember we were called the Penguins... but wore red. Never sat right with me. Smiling face with open mouth and tightly-closed eyes.

So, I've always played, but it didn't become a proper obsession until I moved to Chicago in 2010 and a friend took me down to a Chicago Fire game. That was my first experience in a supporters section (shout out to @Section8Chicago) and I was hooked.

When everything properly clicked though, was when I moved to Korea the first time in 2013 and played on an international team with five continents and I think 10-12 countries represented. Football being such an easy common language to cross cultures and create genuine friendships was truly life changing.

So... short version: almost always had a passion for the sport, but ramped up to new levels about 10 years ago.

Came for the game. Stayed for the friendship. What else about Korea got you hooked?

There's a lot to love about living here. It's a truly gorgeous mountainous country surrounded by the ocean, and I've been able to connect with nature in a way that wasn't really possible where I lived in the States. Food's great as well.

Korean culture has also taught me a lot. There's a very different way of communicating, discussing, & thinking about things from how I grew up and while it definitely hasn't always been easy, it's been a rewarding experience that's significantly altered who I am as a person.

Talking about food: Do you prefer kimchi jiggae or Samgyetang? (question from @ToddWilde1)

Kimchi jiggae 10 times out of 10.

Who are your favourite players in the K League?

I'll limit myself to five for now.

Choi Hyo-jin is & always will be my captain. Watching him bomb up & down the wing up close & personal in my first year as a Jeonnam season ticket hold is one of the reasons I started @KLeagueUnited. I absolutely love watching him play.

(Picture: Choi Hyo-jin via Ryan Walters)

The living legend @Boske9 (Dejan Damjanovic) for sure. The man is everything you could want in a striker & has a passion for the game on & off the pitch that's addicting. Also a great example for foreign players looking to make a career in K League.

(Picture: Dejan Damjanovic via Ryan Walters)

I finally got to see Han Kook-young play in person recently & would have to add him to the list. The man owns the midfield, can get out of tight spaces, & has a fantastic eye. Think he'll make a fantastic manager eventually.

(Picture: Han Kook-young via Ryan Walters)

Daegu's Cesinha is on a whole other level right now. Asian football fans finally got to see him in @TheAFCCL last year & saw what kind of a game changer he is.

(Picture: Cesinha)

There are way too many current players I'm already leaving out, so I'll end with the magnificently mulleted Kim Byung-ji. The man played well into his 40s & was still in the top flight when he retired having played over 700 K League games.

(Picture: Kim Byung-ji)

Wow! Talk about grit. When you started K League United, what was your ultimate goal, your definition of success?

There were two pretty simple goals when I started KLU. The first was to start writing about football, & specifically Jeonnam. I lived about 10 minutes from their home stadium, so I immediately bought a season ticket & wanted to dive deeper into covering the team.

The other immediate goal was to create a central hub for fans and writers covering the league in English. There had been a lot of folks doing great work covering the league before KLU, but because of the transient nature of ESL teaching (what most writers do)...and living abroad, their work would eventually disappear into the ether after they left. So, KLU was created with the goal of (forgive the pun) uniting those separate voices into one to help promote the league. Also, just to get folks together at the game.

There are way too many current players I'm already leaving out, so I'll end with the magnificently mulleted Kim Byung-ji. The man played well into his 40s & was still in the top flight when he retired having played over 700 K League games.

Wow! Talk about grit. When you started K League United, what was your ultimate goal, your definition of success?

There were two pretty simple goals when I started KLU. The first was to start writing about football, & specifically Jeonnam. I lived about 10 minutes from their home stadium, so I immediately bought a season ticket & wanted to dive deeper into covering the team.

The other immediate goal was to create a central hub for fans and writers covering the league in English. There had been a lot of folks doing great work covering the league before KLU, but b/c of the transient nature of ESL teaching (what most writers do)... and living abroad, their work would eventually disappear into the ether after they left. So, KLU was created w/ the goal of (forgive the pun) uniting those separate voices into one to help promote the league. Also, just to get folks together at the game.

After about a year of heading up the project & seeing the passion for it, I had the pipe dream of eventually writing for the league in an official capacity. That stayed on the back burner for a while though. Eventually, the league contacted me in 2018 to say they had been scouting KLU for a while and wanted to start working together. So, in that regard, KLU has already succeeded more than I had originally thought it could.

Glad things took such a pleasant path. When you started K league United, what was the engagement like from Koreans and non-Koreans?

Korean fans were happy to see someone from outside of the country take an interest in the local league. There was a bit of resistance from some non-Korean fans at first (the "old guard" if you will), but after seeing the coverage & community, people got involved in a lot of ways.

If you were to describe the Korean fan in one word, what will that be?

Oh... that's dangerous territory. Smiling face with open mouth and tightly-closed eyes

I'll cop out slightly, and lean on what a number of players have said about fans here, which would be "gracious."

There's a passion to be sure, but I think K League fans are well aware players are people & don't tend to go overly negative. I've heard absolute horror stories from players about fans abusing them during the match & after a loss in other leagues. That's extremely rare here.

I think that's a huge selling point. As one who markets the league (and by extension, Asian football), what are its best selling points?

Growing up a NHL fan, & with most American sports in general, I'm a sucker for playoffs. So I actually like K League's split system in K1 where teams play each other 3 times, then split into top and bottom halves. Top plays 5 more games for the title, bottom for relegation.

It's something that makes K League unique in Asian football, and global football really. It's obviously something the Scottish Premiership has been doing for a while, & I think it has its merits. Keeps things interesting for more teams' fanbases for longer.

As for on the field, K League has a delightful combination of technical skill & physicality. While it is still part of the game, I think there's a bit less diving and touchy fouls here than in other leagues, which I love.

There are also some truly fantastic storylines here for a league that's still quite young. Just last year we saw Pohang deny their East Coast Derby rivals Ulsan the title on the last day of the season... again. They also did it in 2013. And that's just one of the rivalries.

I bet their derbies this season will come with extra spice. Still on Ulsan, Do you rate Hong Chul as a player, and will he be a good addition to Ulsan? (Question from @The94thMin)

Hong Chul's one of the best left backs in Korea. He's been in the Best XI multiple times, won AFC Champions League and the FA Cup, and features regularly for the national team. I think his signing is a statement of intent for Ulsan this season.

Recently, the K League started live English commentary for the first time with the appointment of veteran commentator, Simon Hill. The opening game also aired for free on YouTube and Twitter. What other improvements will you like to see in the K League?

I think that was a MASSIVE step for the league, and I think seeing 3.4 million viewers turn up for it was an eye-opening experience for almost all of us involved with the league.

As for further improvements, English comms are still ongoing, so that's a great continuation to get more fans on board. Ideally, we can take that a step further with highlight shows, & more media coverage.

There are also several partnerships in place to create content and tell the league's stories, so hopefully we can continue those and ramp them up a bit more. As for on the field (and still on the business side), I'd love to see K League position itself as the showcase league in Asia where some of the best talent from the region plays before making the move to Europe.

Combine youth development for Korean & other Asian internationals with some quality veterans from around globe & I think this could be an even more exciting league. We've seen MLS do this with North & South American players recently, & I'd love to see something similar here.