FairPoint host Steve Han is joined by pioneering Asian football writer John Duerden, whose writing since the early 2000s has inspired generation of football fans across Asia. John has been telling stories of Asian and Korean football for three decades now.

An author of four books, John's journalistic work can be found in The Guardian, BBC, ESPN, World Soccer, and AP just to name a few. Also, check out his Substack, How Football Explains Asia. We connected with John to talk about the perennially tumultuous state of Korean football.

(3:32) John's relationship with Korea

(7:45) Korea under Hong Myung-bo

(11:16) Japan, the best team in Asia?

(15:53) How has Korean football changed?

(20:26) The KFA mess and Korean football's deeper issues

(26:47) "The KFA is the product of Korean culture"

(33:48) Does Korean football "deserve" success?

(38:02) Hope for Korean football beyond the World Cup

Links to John Duerden's work

How Football Explains Asia via Substack: https://howfootballexplainsasia.substack.com/

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/johnduerden

X / Twitter: https://x.com/JohnnyDuerden

FairPoint

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fairpointfootball

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fairpointfootball/

Steve Han

Portfolio: https://linktr.ee/realstevescores

X / Twitter: https://x.com/realstevescores