Ji Dong-won

Ji is only a young boy and he’s a long way from home. It’s difficult to settle. I’m sure he’d like to have played more football than he has. But he’s worked hard in training and got himself a deserved start at Fulham, where I thought he was pretty bright at times. It takes time to get used to the physical side of things for the Asian players when they come over here, and it’s the same for the South Americans. They all adapt differently. For Ji, the big plus point is he’s a young lad. He’s got a lot to learn, but time is on his side. Reflecting on the season, team–mate Phil Bardsley said of Ji.

On 1 March 2019, Ji scored twice against his former club Borussia Dortmund and led Augsburg to a stunning 2–1 upset over the league leaders. His great performance earned him a spot in the Bundesliga team of the week for matchday 24.

On 6 May 2019 it was announced, that Ji would join 1. FSV Mainz 05 from the upcoming 2019/20 season.

However, at the start of the 2017–18 season, Ji was out of the first team, due to injuries. It wasn't until on 29 October 2017 when he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a late substitute, in a 3–0 win over Werder Bremen.

In June 2017, Ji married Kang Ji-eun, an older sister of Kang Ji-young, a former member of K-pop girl group Kara. The couple first met in 2015.

In the 2016–17 season, Ji started the season well when he was a given a handful of first team appearances for the side and found himself competing in the attacking midfield position with Takashi Usami, Caiuby and Jonathan Schmid. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against RB Leipzig on 30 September 2016. The following month, on 26 October 2016, he scored again in a 3–1 loss against Bayern Munich in the second round of the DFB–Pokal. By the end of 2016, Ji added two more goals against Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund. As the 2016–17 season progressed, Ji began playing into a forward role following the absent of Alfreð Finnbogason and Raúl Bobadilla but struggled to score under the new position. Despite this, Ji played all 34 league matches in the 2016–17 season and made a total of 36 appearances and scoring 4 times in all competitions.4

Ji's first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came on 1 February 2015, in a 3–1 win over TSG Hoffenheim, having come on as a second-half substitute. Since making his debut for the club, Ji established himself in the midfield or forward positions. Despite suffering from injury towards the end of the 2014–15 season, Ji went on to make a total of 12 appearances.

In the 2015–16 season, Ji started the season in and out of the substitute bench, as he struggled to score goals at the start of the season. After suffering from brief a knee injury in October, Ji returned to the first team and then scored in a 3–0 win over Freiburg in the second round of the DFB–Pokal. He then scored on 5 November 2015, as well as, setting one of the goals, in a 4–1 win over AZ Alkmaar. However, later in the season, Ji struggled to regain his form and his first team place, due to injuries. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Ji went on to make a total of 29 appearances and scoring 2 times in all competitions.

In the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Dong-Won was called up by Hong Myung-bo for the final squad. He only made two appearances during the campaign against Algeria and Belgium. After being dropped from the 2015 Asian Cup, Dong-won was called up to the senior team in March for the first time in nine months. Later that year, Dong-won scored his first goal in four years, in a 3–0 win over Jamaica on 13 October 2015.

In the 2013–14 season, Ji made his first Sunderland appearance in over a year, where he came on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Fulham in the opening game of the season. He appeared in the first team under the management of Paolo Di Canio and rejected a £5 million bid from an unnamed club for him. However, after Di Canio, Ji Dong-won was featured in the first team following a new management of Gus Poyet. It wasn't until on 1 January 2014 when he made his first start, in his first appearance under Poyet, in a 1–0 loss against Aston Villa, in what turns out to be his last appearance. Although he went on to make the total of seven appearances by the time of his departure, it was revealed that Sunderland failed gain international clearance from the German Football Association, resulting a fine by the Premier League.

The club remain interested in signing Ji at the end of the season on a permanent basis but suffered a setback when Augsburg failed to reach the deadline of purchase option. It wasn't until on 17 January 2014 that Sunderland announced that Ji has signed a contract with FC Augsburg on a permanent switch for an undisclosed fee until the end of the 2013–14 Bundesliga season and will sign for Borussia Dortmund on 1 July 2014.

On 25 January 2014, Ji started his second spell with Augsburg in style against his future employer Borussia Dortmund; after being substituted into the game with 20 minutes left to play, Ji scored a header to draw the game 2–2. Since making his debut for the club, Ji continued to remain in the first team for the rest of the season, even though he suffered injuries later on. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Ji went on to make a total of 12 appearances and scoring once for the side.

Ji signed a four-year contract with Borussia Dortmund on 1 July 2014 after finishing his loan spell with Augsburg. However, he only made appearances with the reserve team, prompting a return to Augsburg. This also combined with injuries as well. Prior his move to Augsburg, Ji found the six months spell at with injuries and playing in the reserve side, as "difficult" there.

On 22 December 2014, after failing to appear competitively for Borussia Dortmund, Ji signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with FC Augsburg, until 30 June 2018.

With his first team opportunities limited at Sunderland, Ji was linked with a move back to Chunnam Dragons and FC Augsburg. Instead, on 1 January 2013, Ji signed for German club FC Augsburg on loan for the rest of the season, where his national teammate midfielder Koo Ja-cheol was also on loan.

Ji made his Augsburg debut on 20 January 2013, where he started the whole game, in a 3–2 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf. It wasn't until on 24 February 2013 when he scored his first goal for Augsburg in a game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. On 14 April, Ji scored two goals against Eintracht Frankfurt, single-handedly clinching a 2–0 victory for his side. After scoring in a 3–0 over Stuttgart on 27 April 2013, Ji then scored his fifth goal of the season on 18 May 2013 which led to a 3–1 victory over SpVgg Greuther Fürth, helping FC Augsburg avoid relegation. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Ji established himself in the first team, making 17 appearances and scoring 6 times for Augsburg.

Two years later, Dong-Won was called up by the U23 side for the Summer Olympics in London and made it to the final squad. He was featured in all the matches for the side throughout the tournament. Dong-won scored in the opening goal in a 1–1 draw against Great Britain, which lead to penalty–shootout, as South Korea went on to win 5–4. However, South Korea lost 3–0 to Brazil in the semi-final, but defeated Japan 2–0 in the third-place play-off to win the Bronze medal.

Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Ji was told by Manager O’Neill that he needs to develop in the Premier League physically if he is fully deliver on his potential. However, he failed to appear in the first team throughout the first half of the season and appeared in the reserve side instead.

However at the start of the 2011 season, Dong-won missed out two matches, due to injury. He made his return from injury on 20 March 2011, in a 3–0 win over Seoul. It wasn't until on 7 May 2011 when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win over Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Two weeks later, on 21 May 2011, he scored again, in a 1–0 win over Jeju United. In the summer transfer window, it was reported in the South Korea media that Ji agreed a move to Premier League side Sunderland. Amid to the transfer speculation, Dong-won scored on his last appearance on 11 June 2011, in a 1–1 draw against Incheon United.

In June 2011, Ji agreed a deal to join Sunderland of the English Premier League as a summer transfer after impressing manager Steve Bruce with his performance in the 2011 Asian Cup, in which he scored four goals and provided two assists in six games. He signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee (believed to be around £2 million). Upon joining the club, Dong-won was given a number 17 shirt ahead of the new season.

Dong-won made his first appearance for his new club in a 1–1 draw with Arminia Bielefeld in the club's pre-season tour of Germany. He scored his first goal for Sunderland in a pre-season friendly against Darlington. Ji made his league debut for Sunderland on 13 August 2011 coming on for Asamoah Gyan in the 66th minute against Liverpool. Ji scored his first Premier League goal in the 90th minute against Chelsea from a Nicklas Bendtner assist on 10 September 2011, to which Sunderland lost 2–1. Just 12 minutes after coming on as substitute in the second–half against Manchester City on 1 January 2012, Dong-won scored the winning goal in the 90th minutes, in a 1–0 win. However, his first team opportunities at Sunderland was limited, due to his fitness and he appeared invariably as a late substitute. As a result, he played in the reserve side to regain his match fitness. Towards end of the 2011–12 season, Ji's first team opportunities was further limited by new Manager Martin O'Neill. Despite this, Ji went on to make the total of 21 appearances and scoring 2 times in all competitions.

It was announced that Dong-Won was called up to the final squad of the Asian Cup. Dong-Won appeared in every matches in the tournament and scored twice, as setting up a goal, in a 4–1 win over India on 19 January 2011. He then helped the side reach the Asian Cup until their defeat in the semi–final against Japan following a 3–0 in the penalty–shootout. Despite losing in the semi–final, Ji then scored twice for the second time in the tournament, in a 3–2 win over Uzbekistan three days later to earn themselves a bronze medal. At the end of the tournament, Dong-won scored four goals in six games at the 2011 Asian Cup – a return which helped catch Steve Bruce's eye and seal a move to Wearside. By the end of 2011, Dong-won added three more goals, including scoring twice against Lebanon.

Ji made his Jeonnam Dragons debut in the opening game of the season, in a 1–0 loss against Incheon United. He then scored his first goal for the club on 28 March 2010, in a 5–2 against Gangwon, followed up by a 5–2 loss against Sangju Sangmu. He then scored four more goals throughout July and August, against Pohang Steelers, Busan IPark, Jeju United and Busan IPark. He also scored a hat–trick in the Round of 16 of Korean FA, in a 7–4 win over Gyeongnam on 21 July 2010. Ji began to make an impact for the side, making an impression throughout the season. At the end of the 2010 season, Ji scored 13 goals in 29 games during the 2010 season, and finished top scorer in the Korean FA Cup. He also was nominated for the K League Young Player of the Year but lost out to Yoon Bit-garam.

After representing the Under-20 side, Ji was called up by Under-23 for the first time in November 2010. He then made his South Korea U-23 debut on 8 November 2010. Several weeks later, on 25 November 2010, Ji scored his first goals for the U23 side, in a 4–3 win over Iran U23.

After being called to the senior team in August 2010, Ji was called up to the senior team again in December 2010 ahead of the Asian Cup tournament following his performance in the AFC U-19 Championship for the U23 side. He made his South Korea debut on 30 December 2010, scoring in a 1–0 win over Syria.

Ji grew up in Chuja Island, a small island northwest of Jeju Island. His father is a retired volleyball player. Ji graduated from Gwangyang Jaechul High School in 2010.

Born in Chuja-myeon, Jeju-do, South Korea, Ji began his career at Gwangyang Jecheol High School (Jeonnam Dragons U-18). He then moved to England, joining Reading academy in 2007 through KFA Youth Project After brief spell at Reading, Ji moved back to home country to join Jeonnam Dragons, where he started his career and scored 17 goals in 14 games in the SBS High School Challenge League in his last year at the academy. It was announced in November 2009 that Ji was promoted to the first team of Jeonnam Dragons.

Ji Dong-won (Korean: 지동원 , Hanja:池東沅, Korean pronunciation: [tɕi.doŋ.wʌn] or [tɕi] [toŋ.wʌn] ;; born 28 May 1991) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a winger for 1. FSV Mainz 05 and the South Korea national team.