49 Facts About Son Heung-Min

Full international since 2010, Son Heung-Min has represented South Korea at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups and is his country's joint top scorer at World Cups, tied with Park Ji-sung and Ahn Jung-hwan on three goals.

Son Heung-Min has represented South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games, where the team won gold, and the 2011,2015, and 2019 editions of the AFC Asian Cup.

Outside of football, Son Heung-Min is viewed as a symbol of national pride in South Korea for his achievements, and has been listed in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 since 2019, where he ranked third in 2022.

In June 2022, Son Heung-Min received the Cheongnyong Medal, the highest order of merit for achievement in sports given to a South Korea citizen, for his achievements in football.

Son Heung-Min is credited with causing a large uptick in interest in and the number of supporters of Tottenham among South Koreans and even East Asians more broadly, resulting in the club's social media strategy altering in order to target and cater to Koreans using both the club's standard English language accounts and their newer accounts in Korean.

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Son Heung-Min's father, Son Woong-jung, is a retired footballer turned manager who once played for the South Korea national B team.

Son Heung-Min came through the academy at FC Seoul, the same club that former Spurs defender Lee Young-pyo played for.

Son Heung-Min was a ball boy in an FC Seoul home match in 2008 when he was a FC Seoul youth player.

Son Heung-Min returned on 30 October 2010 to score his first league goal, against 1.

Son Heung-Min finished the season with 12 goals, becoming the fifth South Korean footballer to achieve double digits in goals in Europe.

Son Heung-Min adjusted quickly to his new club in the pre-season, scoring three goals in his first three appearances for the team in exhibition matches.

Son Heung-Min made a league appearance and a Champions League qualifying match.

On 13 January 2018, Son Heung-Min scored a goal and provided an assist in a game against Everton, matching the club record set in 2004 by Jermain Defoe of scoring in five consecutive home games.

Son Heung-Min converted a penalty, but his goal was overruled by the video assistant referee.

Son Heung-Min has become the first Asian to finish the season as a top-10 goal scorer in the English Premier League.

On 20 July 2018, Son Heung-Min signed a new five-year deal extending his contract with Tottenham until 2023.

Son Heung-Min's brace saw him become the highest scoring Asian player in the history of the tournament with 12 goals, overtaking the previous record holder, Maxim Shatskikh.

On 4 May 2019, Son Heung-Min received his first red card in the Premier League due to his vindictive action against Jefferson Lerma.

On 21 October, Son Heung-Min was named in the 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d'Or.

In January 2020, Son Heung-Min was awarded the Premier League goal of the month for December for his goal against Burnley, eventually winning him the Goal of the Season award.

On 22 December 2019, facing Chelsea, Son Heung-Min was sent off after raising his boot against Antonio Rudiger's ribs.

Son Heung-Min played the full game despite suffering a fracture to his arm at the 31st second of the game.

On 6 April 2020, while football was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, it was confirmed that Son Heung-Min would carry out his mandatory military service for South Korea.

In doing so, Son Heung-Min had the distinction of scoring the first goal under each of Tottenham's last three permanent managers.

Son Heung-Min was a member of the South Korea national team that participated at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria.

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On 24 December 2010, Son Heung-Min was named in South Korea national team's squad for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, making his debut for the national team in a pre-tournament friendly against Syria on 30 December.

On 7 October 2011, after initially missing the first two matches of South Korea's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign on 2 and 6 September 2011 due to an ankle injury, Son Heung-Min played in a friendly against Poland, and was again featured in 11 October World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates.

Son Heung-Min's selection for national team play was a point of concern for Son's father who caused a stir by asking the Korea Football Association not to select his son for the national team in the immediate future so he can rest and mature more as a player.

Son Heung-Min turned down the opportunity to participate in the 2012 London Olympics, opting to concentrate on his club career at Hamburger SV.

In June 2014, Son Heung-Min was named in South Korea's squad for the 2014 World Cup.

Son Heung-Min was selected for South Korea for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.

Son Heung-Min was chosen as one of three forwards in the Team of the Tournament.

In June 2016, Son Heung-Min was named as an over-aged player in South Korea's squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Son Heung-Min amassed two goals in the group stages with a goal against Fiji and another against Germany, helping his team to top the group with two wins and a draw.

On 13 June 2017, Son Heung-Min broke his right forearm after falling awkwardly on his arm during a World Cup qualifier match in Doha against Qatar.

Son Heung-Min was selected as one of three overage players permitted in the under-23 team for the football event at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

Son Heung-Min captained the team in the final game of the group stage against Kyrgyzstan, scoring the only goal of the match to help the team reach the knockout rounds.

Son Heung-Min was called up as captain for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates by Paulo Bento, but missed the first two group matches due to an agreement with Tottenham Hotspur related to his call-up.

Son Heung-Min recorded an assist in the third group game against China.

Son Heung-Min is a versatile player who can play in any forward position, and can even be deployed as an attacking midfielder or wing-back if necessary.

Son Heung-Min is known for his two-footed ability, explosive pace, positional sense, movement, close control and clinical finishing which make him especially effective on the counter-attack.

Son Heung-Min has a sponsorship deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Adidas.

Son Heung-Min has dated the K-pop singers Bang Min-ah and Yoo So-young, and is currently single.

Son Heung-Min used the suspension of football during the COVID-19 pandemic to complete South Korean mandatory military service.

Son Heung-Min was exempted from military service with a gold medal at the Asian Games, but he had to do basic military training regardless of exemption.

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Son Heung-Min completed basic training in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in Jeju in April–May 2020, finishing in the top five of 157 trainees.

In 2019, Son Heung-Min donated around £100,000 to the victims of the Goseong Fire, which left vast devastation in Goseong County, Gangwon, in his native South Korea.

In 2020, Son Heung-Min donated £65,000 in aid, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.

Son Heung-Min opened Son Heung-Min Football Academy in his hometown Chuncheon with his father and his brother, at a cost of £11 million paid mostly by him.