# 2021 K League 2

The 2021 K League 2 was the ninth season of the K League 2, the second-tier South Korean professional football league. The champions and the winners of the promotion play-offs could be promoted to the K League 1.

## Teams
### Team changes

Sangju Sangmu was renamed Gimcheon Sangmu and moved its city to Gimcheon before the season.
Relegated from K League 1
* Sangju Sangmu (renamed Gimcheon Sangmu)
* Busan IPark
Promoted to K League 1
* Jeju United
* Suwon FC

### Locations

| Team | City/Province | Abbreviation |
| Ansan Greeners | Ansan | Ansan |
| FC Anyang | Anyang | Anyang |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | Bucheon | Bucheon |
| Busan IPark | Busan | Busan |
| Chungnam Asan | Asan | Chungnam Asan |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Daejeon | Daejeon |
| Gimcheon Sangmu | Gimcheon | Gimcheon |
| Gyeongnam FC | Gyeongnam | Gyeongnam |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Jeonnam | Jeonnam |
| Seoul E-Land | Seoul | Seoul E |

### Stadiums

| Ansan Greeners | FC Anyang | Bucheon FC 1995 | Busan IPark | Chungnam Asan |
| Ansan Wa~ Stadium | Anyang Stadium | Bucheon Stadium | Busan Gudeok Stadium | Yi Sun-sin Stadium |
| Capacity: 35,000 | Capacity: 17,143 | Capacity: 34,456 | Capacity: 12,349 | Capacity: 17,376 |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Gimcheon Sangmu | Gyeongnam FC | Jeonnam Dragons | Seoul E-Land |
| Daejeon World Cup Stadium | Gimcheon Stadium | Changwon Football Center | Gwangyang Stadium | Seoul Olympic Stadium |
| Capacity: 40,535 | Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 15,074 | Capacity: 13,496 | Capacity: 69,950 |

### Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Main sponsor |
| Ansan Greeners | Kim Gil-sik | Kappa | Ansan Government |
| FC Anyang | Lee Woo-hyung | Joma | Anyang Government |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | Lee Young-min | Kappa | Bucheon Government |
| Busan IPark | Ricardo Peres | Adidas | HDC Group |
| Chungnam Asan | Park Dong-hyuk | Mizuno | Asan Government |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Lee Min-sung | Astore | Hana Financial Group |
| Gimcheon Sangmu | Kim Tae-wan | Kelme | Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps Gimcheon Government |
| Gyeongnam FC | Seol Ki-hyeon | Hummel | Gyeongnam Provincial Government |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Jeon Kyung-jun | Puma | POSCO |
| Seoul E-Land | Chung Jung-yong | New Balance | E-Land |
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Incoming | Date | Table |
| Busan IPark | Lee Ki-hyung (caretaker) | Caretaker | 25 November 2020 | Ricardo Peres | 25 November 2020 | Pre-season |

### Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to five per team, including a slot for a player from AFC and ASEAN countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field each game.
Military-owned team Gimcheon Sangmu is not allowed to sign any foreign players.
North Korean player An Byong-jun was deemed as a native player in K League by South Korean nationality law and passport.
Players in bold are players who join midway through the competition.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | ASEAN player | Former player(s) |
| Ansan Greeners | Santiago De Sagastizabal | Anderson Canhoto | Róbson Duarte | Go Iwase | Asnawi Mangkualam | |
| FC Anyang | Nilson Júnior | Jonathan Moya | Maxwell Acosty | Ryosuke Tamura | | |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | Crislan | Wataru Murofushi | | | | |
| Busan IPark | Domagoj Drožđek | Valentinos Sielis | Renato Santos | Ryan Edwards | | |
| Chungnam Asan | Alex Sandro | Matheus Alves | | | | Ryohei Michibuchi |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Bruno Baio | Matheus Pato | Masatoshi Ishida | Ikromjon Alibaev | | Edinho |
| Gyeongnam FC | Hernandes | Willyan | | | | |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Alex Martins | Jonathan Balotelli | Samuel Nnamani | Oleg Zoteyev | | |
| Seoul E-Land | Nicolás Benegas | William Barbio | Leandro Ribeiro | Yuki Kobayashi | | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
| 1 | Gimcheon Sangmu (C) | 36 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 60 | 34 | +26 | 71 | Promotion to K League 1 |
| 2 | FC Anyang | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 62 | Qualification for promotion play-offs semi-final |
| 3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for promotion play-offs first round |
| 4 | Jeonnam Dragons | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 52 | Qualification for Champions League group stage and promotion play-offs first round |
| 5 | Busan IPark | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 45 | |
| 6 | Gyeongnam FC | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 43 | |
| 7 | Ansan Greeners | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 43 | |
| 8 | Chungnam Asan | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 41 | |
| 9 | Seoul E-Land | 36 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 37 | |
| 10 | Bucheon FC 1995 | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 37 | |
* ↑ Qualified as Korean FA Cup champions.

## Positions by matchday

Leaders, promotion to K League 1  Qualification for promotion play-offs semi-final  Qualification for promotion play-offs first round
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| Gimcheon Sangmu | 4 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| FC Anyang | 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 2 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Busan IPark | 10 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Ansan Greeners | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Chungnam Asan | 6 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Seoul E-Land | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |

## Results
### Matches 1–18

| Home \ Away | ASG | AYG | BCN | BSI | CNAS | DJC | GCS | GNM | JND | SUE |
| Ansan Greeners | — | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| FC Anyang | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Busan IPark | 1–1 | 4–5 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| Chungnam Asan | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Gimcheon Sangmu | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 |
| Seoul E-Land | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |

### Matches 19–36

| Home \ Away | ASG | AYG | BCN | BSI | CNAS | DJC | GCS | GNM | JND | SUE |
| Ansan Greeners | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| FC Anyang | 1–1 | — | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | 4–3 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Busan IPark | 4–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–6 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Chungnam Asan | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | 3–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Gimcheon Sangmu | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | — | 0–2 | 3–3 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Seoul E-Land | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |

## Promotion play-offs

The first round was contested between the third and fourth-placed teams, and the runners-up directly advanced to the second round. When the first and second round matches were finished as draws, their winners were decided on the regular season rankings without extra time and penalty shoot-outs. The winners of the second round competed with eleven-placed team of the K League 1 in the two-legged final for a K League 1 spot of the next season.

### Bracket

| First round | First round | First round | Semi-final | Semi-final | Semi-final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | 2 | FC Anyang | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 3 | | | | | |
| 3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 0 | 3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | Jeonnam Dragons | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Jeonnam Dragons | 0 | | | | Daejeon Hana Citizen | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | | | | | | Gangwon FC | Gangwon FC | 0 | 4 | 4 |

### Final

Gangwon FC won 4–2 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | An Byong-jun | Busan IPark | 23 |
| 2 | Jonathan Moya | FC Anyang | 13 |
| 2 | Park Chang-joon | Bucheon FC 1995 | 13 |
| 4 | Willyan | Gyeongnam FC | 11 |
| 4 | Jonathan Balotelli | Jeonnam Dragons | 11 |
| 6 | Hernandes | Gyeongnam FC | 10 |
| 7 | Masatoshi Ishida | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 9 |
| 7 | Park Dong-jin | Gimcheon Sangmu | 9 |
| 7 | Kim Ryun-do | Ansan Greeners | 9 |
| 10 | Cho Gue-sung | Gimcheon Sangmu | 8 |
| 10 | Lee Jong-ho | Jeonnam Dragons | 8 |
| 10 | Park Jeong-in | Busan IPark | 8 |
| 10 | Róbson Duarte | Ansan Greeners | 8 |
| 10 | Kim In-kyun | Chungnam Asan | 8 |

### Top assist providers

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Joo Hyeon-woo | FC Anyang | 8 |
| 2 | Leandro Ribeiro | Seoul E-Land | 7 |
| 3 | Park Tae-jun | FC Anyang | 6 |
| 3 | Baek Sung-dong | Gyeongnam FC | 6 |
| 3 | Lee Sang-min | Ansan Greeners | 6 |
| 6 | Kim Seung-seob | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 5 |
| 6 | Lee Hyeon-sik | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 5 |
| 8 | 9 players | 9 players | 4 |

## Awards
### Weekly awards

| Round | Player of the Round | Player of the Round |
| Round | Player | Club |
| 1 | Jang Yun-ho | Seoul E-Land |
| 2 | Nicolás Benegas | Seoul E-Land |
| 3 | Willyan | Gyeongnam FC |
| 4 | An Byong-jun | Busan IPark |
| 5 | Ko Jae-hyeon | Seoul E-Land |
| 6 | Mo Jae-hyeon | FC Anyang |
| 7 | Kim Hyeon-uk | Jeonnam Dragons |
| 8 | Hernandes | Gyeongnam FC |
| 9 | Chang Hyuk-jin | Gyeongnam FC |
| 10 | Jung Min-ki | FC Anyang |
| 11 | Hwang Jun-ho | Busan IPark |
| 12 | Kim Dong-jin | Gyeongnam FC |
| 13 | Park In-hyeok | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
| 14 | Kim Kyung-jung | FC Anyang |
| 15 | Jonathan Balotelli | Jeonnam Dragons |
| 16 | An Byong-jun | Busan IPark |
| 17 | Jonathan Moya | FC Anyang |
| 18 | Heo Yong-joon | Gimcheon Sangmu |
| Round | Player of the Round | Player of the Round |
| Round | Player | Club |
| 19 | Choi Cheol-won | Bucheon FC 1995 |
| 20 | Hong Chang-beom | FC Anyang |
| 21 | Park Jeong-in | Busan IPark |
| 22 | Kim Seung-seob | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
| 23 | Hwang Il-su | Gyeongnam FC |
| 24 | Kim In-kyun | Chungnam Asan |
| 25 | Seo Young-jae | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
| 26 | Heo Yong-joon | Gimcheon Sangmu |
| 27 | Lee Si-heon | Bucheon FC 1995 |
| 28 | Oh Hyun-gyu | Gimcheon Sangmu |
| 29 | Kim In-sung | Seoul E-Land |
| 30 | Cho Gue-sung | Gimcheon Sangmu |
| 31 | Park Ji-soo | Gimcheon Sangmu |
| 32 | Choi Jun | Busan IPark |
| 33 | Masatohsi Ishida | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
| 34 | Lee Hyeon-sik | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
| 35 | Masatohsi Ishida | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
| 36 | Lee Sang-min | Ansan Greeners |

### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Division |
| March | Kim Sang-sik | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1 |
| April | Lee Woo-hyung | FC Anyang | 2 |
| May | Park Kun-ha | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1 |
| June | Kim Tae-wan | Gimcheon Sangmu | 2 |
| July | Jo Sung-hwan | Incheon United | 1 |
| August | Hong Myung-bo | Ulsan Hyundai | 1 |
| September | Lee Byung-keun | Daegu FC | 1 |
| October | Nam Ki-il | Jeju United | 1 |
| November | An Ik-soo | FC Seoul | 1 |

### Annual awards

The 2021 K League Awards was held on 18 November 2021.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | An Byong-jun | Busan IPark |
| Young Player of the Year | Kim In-kyun | Chungnam Asan |
| Top goalscorer | An Byong-jun | Busan IPark |
| Top assist provider | Joo Hyeon-woo | FC Anyang |
| Manager of the Year | Kim Tae-wan | Gimcheon Sangmu |
| Position | Best XI | Best XI | Best XI | Best XI |
| Goalkeeper | Gu Sung-yun (Gimcheon) | Gu Sung-yun (Gimcheon) | Gu Sung-yun (Gimcheon) | Gu Sung-yun (Gimcheon) |
| Defenders | Choi Jun (Busan) | Joo Hyeon-woo (Anyang) | Jung Seung-hyun (Gimcheon) | Seo Young-jae (Daejeon) |
| Midfielders | Masatoshi Ishida (Daejeon) | Park Jin-seop (Daejeon) | Kim Hyeon-uk (Jeonnam) | Kim Kyung-jung (Anyang) |
| Forwards | Jonathan Moya (Anyang) | Jonathan Moya (Anyang) | An Byong-jun (Busan) | An Byong-jun (Busan) |

## Controversies

On 12 December 2021, Gangwon FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen faced one another in the second leg of the Promotion-relegation play-offs, with the latter team finding himself in advantage after winning the first leg 1–0. Played at Gangneung Stadium, Gangwon's home soil, the match saw the hosts secure a 4–1 comeback victory and maintain their spot in K League 1. However, the game was marred by a series of incidents, occurring between the first and the second half. After Han Kook-young had scored Gangwon's third goal in the 31st minute, the ball boys around the stadium reportedly started to delay giving the ball back to Daejeon players, an event that happened multiple times during the match and was possibly meant to waste time in favour of the hosts: the fans in the away sector reacted furiously, with some of them throwing plastic bottles in direction of one of the ball boys. The game still went ahead, as six minutes of extra time were added at the end of the second half. The K League administration decided to open an official investigation on the controversial events.
When asked to talk about the incidents, Gangwon's director Lee Young-pyo originally dismissed them, pointing out that similar instances were already common in European football, but later apologized, saying that he felt "direct responsibility" for the "unsmooth match" and promising that he would work so that Gangwon FC would become "a mature club" in the future. Meanwhile, on December 21, just hours before K League's final disciplinary meeting took place, the Daejeon board released an official response to the matter, stating that there was "clear evidence of the game delays being intentional and organized", as well as noticing that such acts violated the league's Code of Ethics for fair play and respect.
In the end, the league's administration decided to keep the final score unchanged: however, Gangwon FC was fined 30 million South Korean Won (US$25,000) for the episodes of time wasting, whereas Daejeon Hana Citizen was fined 2 million South Korean Won (US$1,677) for their fans' behavior towards one of the ball boys.