In the sixth minute of the friendly match against Uzbekistan, Son Heung-min took a free kick and opened the scoring. For the 34-year-old captain, it was his 59nd goal for the South Korea national team. A record that had stood for 47 years had fallen.
Cha Bum-kun scored his 58 goals in the 1970–1980s, when Korean football was only just emerging onto the world stage. Son drew level with him in the previous game against Uruguay, and now he has moved ahead. South Korea won 2:0, but the main outcome of the match is not the result, but a change of era in the national team.
Son has long held another record as well — for the number of appearances for the national team (151). He has been through four World Cups and just as many Asian Cups. His move to Los Angeles in 2025 did not weaken his influence: in the breaks between club games he continues to carry the team. However, after the goal he did not celebrate the record as a personal triumph.
"I feel awkward that my name is mentioned alongside Cha Bum-kun," Son said after the match. "He has always been a great man. I hope that someone far more talented will break this record soon." Such words from the mouth of a record-holder sound unusual. Athletes usually emphasize their own merits. Here there is respect for the past and almost an apology before a legend.
This moment reveals the essence of Korean football: respect for predecessors matters more than personal glory. Cha Bum-kun not only scored, but later also coached the national team. Son, meanwhile, has become a symbol of a generation that grew up on his examples. The record passed from a man who played in the Bundesliga in the era of the birth of Asian football to a player who performed in the Premier League and now in MLS.
For the fans and the federation this is not just a number. It is a signal that Korean football is capable of producing world-class players over the course of decades. The next one to break 59 goals may already be training in an academy or playing in the K League. Son himself set the bar: not simply to break the record, but to do it with dignity — as befits a continuer of Cha Bum-kun's legacy.
