Daehan, Minguk, and Lee Chung Yong – The New Generation of Barça Kids in the Ultimate Korean Footballing Family

Earlier today we covered the breaking news that our Korean wonderkid Kim Ye Geon was headed to Serbia. Kim Ye Geon intentionally chose to stay in Korea and develop through Jeonbuk Hyundai’s elite pipeline, proving himself in the K League before securing a safe, direct pathway to Europe, to a team where he could 100% get first team professional minutes, upon turning 18. I promised myself that as soon as the Kim Ye Geon post came out, I would work on this one – let me tell you guys about a family that took the polar opposite path. A family passionate about Korean sport and expertly navigated the legal perils that plagued Paik Seung Ho, Lee Seung Woo, and Jang Gyeol Hee, our first generation of Barca kids.

Back when FC Barcelona’s FIFA transfer ban hit in 2014, it felt like the dream of seeing South Korean prodigies play for FC Barcelona was dead for a generation. Fast forward to today, and La Masia once again features a Korean presence. But the story of twins Lee Dae Han (이대한) and Lee Min Guk (이민국) along with their older brother Lee Chung Yong (이청용) isn’t a tale of a foreign academy recruitment raid. It is the story of a masterclass in family sacrifice, legal foresight, and grassroots footballing strategy.

A Family Built for the Pitch

This story seriously feels like a movie script. The father, Lee Jeong Wook, is a former K League professional footballer and youth coach who ran Lee Jeong Wook FC in Korea. The mother, Gu Ja Hyeon, is a former professional Taekwondo athlete. When naming their three sons, they laid out the ultimate footballing lineup. 대한 민국 (Daehanminguk) is very obviously intentional, and based on the birthday of eldest brother Lee Chung Yong, it seems likely that he was named after Lee Chung Yong (1988) – my favorite footballer and someone who could’ve and should’ve rivaled the careers of Park Ji Sung and Son Heung Min had it not been for FREAKING TOM MILLER’s horror tackle… I don’t think I’ll ever see again, in my lifetime, a K League teenager going to a upper-midtable Premier League team and making such an impact that he instantly wins Player of the Season two seasons in a row. Anyway, I digress.

How They Defeated FIFA Article 19

To avoid the administrative nightmare that derailed the previous generation, the geniuses and heroes that are Lee Jeong Wook and Gu Ja Hyeon did something radical – rather than transferring the kids to Europe like Paik Seung Ho (Suwon), Lee Seung Woo (Incheon), and Jang Gyeol Hee (Pohang), they started them out in Spain altogether.

In 2016, when the twins were just five years old and eldest brother was six, the family relocated to Catalonia. Because the boys had no prior registration history with the Korea Football Association (KFA) and never played formal youth football in Korea, they entered local neighborhood teams in Barcelona with zero international paperwork trail. Their mother established permanent legal residency in Spain with the boys, while their father co-founded a sports management business in Barcelona. By satisfying FIFA’s strict requirement that parents relocate for non-footballing reasons long before the kids were ever old enough to sign competitive deals, the family immunized the boys against any future legal bans.

From Espanyol to La Masia

For seven years, Daehan and Minguk (man I love these names) quietly tore up the local youth leagues inside RCD Espanyol’s academy system: Lee Minguk built a massive reputation in Espanyol’s system as a complete, modern full-back. Known for exceptional crossing, high football IQ, and dominant aerial ability for his age, he was consistently tagged as one of Espanyol’s crown jewels, picking up Player of the Tournament awards in regional cup competitions. Lee Daehan started as a full-back like his brother, but transitioned into a direct, hard-working winger. He earned a reputation for remarkable tactical discipline and versatility, taking home a Best Forward award during their final season at Espanyol while helping lead their team to a U-14 league title.

Spanish scouts and youth coaches who monitored their rise through the Catalan system highlight distinct qualities for each brother:

• On Lee Min-guk: Described by Spanish outlets like Sport as “without a doubt one of the biggest gems of Espanyol’s academy,” praised specifically for his precise delivery from wide areas, defensive recovery speed, and tactical maturity as a modern, overlapping full-back.
• On Lee Dae-han: High-level academy coaches described him as a “coach’s dream”—a player who consistently sacrifices for team shape, executes tactical instructions seamlessly, and combines relentless work rate with clinical attacking instinct.

Then in 2025, Barcelona made their move, pulling the 2011-born twins across the city rivalry from Espanyol into La Masia on a structured 5-year agreement that seamlessly converts into full professional terms when they turn 16. Their move from Espanyol to Barcelona was part of an unprecedented triple-poach by Barça (alongside team-mate Pol Mancheño), causing a significant stir in local Spanish media. Spanish outlet Sport and broadcaster Movistar even highlighted the transfer in dedicated features on Catalan youth football talent.

Eldest brother Lee Chung Yong carved out his own path through Catalonia’s high-level feeder network, starting out with U.D. San Gabriel. Now 16 years old, just last month he signed a contract with CF Montañesa in Barcelona’s Nou Barris district. In the coming years he is likely to sign a proper professional contract:

Raised in Barcelona since age five/six, the three brothers speak fluent Catalan, Spanish and Korean, and unlike any other Korean footballer I know of, possess native familiarity with positional play (Juego de Posición), and hold no administrative baggage. They aren’t foreign imports trying to adapt. They are homegrown Catalan products with pure Korean roots. Thank you Lee Jeong Wook and Gu Ja Hyeon – we here at the Tavern will be rooting for your family!