Kim Min-jae (30)ʼs club, German Bundesliga heavyweight Bayern Munich, has reportedly chosen Jeju Island in the Republic of Korea as a destination for this summerʼs preseason Asia tour alongside Hong Kong.
German paper tz cited Absolute Bayern, which is well versed in Bayern Munich news, on the 24th (Korea time), saying Bayern Munich will visit Jeju Island in Korea in August as part of its preseason marketing tour.
It added that initially it had considered a China tour but turned to Hong Kong and Jeju because of uncertain match approval procedures by local authorities.
Bayern Munich visited Korea in August 2024 and played Tottenham in a preseason friendly, the Coupang Play Series, at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Bayern Munich, who beat Tottenham 2-1 at the time, carried out various Korea tour schedules including a fan signing event.
Bayern Munich, visiting Korea for the first time in two years, is expected to arrive with Kim Min-jae for this tour as well. The friendly is expected to be held at Jeju World Cup Stadium against Jeju SK FC.
According to the article, the main reason Bayern Munich chose Jeju for this tour is the influence of Red and Gold Football. Launched in March 2023, Red and Gold Football is a joint investment company formed by Bayern Munich and Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) of Major League Soccer (MLS), where Son Heung-min (34) plays.
Last September, Red and Gold Football signed a strategic partnership with K League 1 side Jeju SK to discover and develop youth players. In particular, former Korea national team player Koo Ja-cheol (37, Jeju SK youth advisor) played a major role in making this Jeju tour happen.
Koo Ja-cheol previously played in the German Bundesliga for Wolfsburg, Augsburg and Mainz. He played 211 matches in the Bundesliga alone.
Notably, Jochen Sauer, head of Bayern Munichʼs campus, had a connection from signing Koo Ja-cheol during his Wolfsburg days in 2011. Koo Ja-cheol has maintained a close relationship with the club, including receiving administrative training in Munich last year after his retirement.
Koo Ja-cheol, who is currently serving as a youth advisor at Jeju United, is said by the outlet to be acting as a key bridge in building a collaborative model between the two clubs.
The outlet said Bayern Munich originally planned another friendly in China in addition to Hong Kong, but noted that Chinese authorities are considered unpredictable, saying both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund recently failed to receive match approval from China.
It also emphasized that the reason Chinese authorities do not grant approval is because of the bad experiences they had with foreign teams in early 2024, stressing that what is important to Chinese authorities is that top stars must appear in the matches.
In January 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo (41) was injured and Al Nassrʼs China tour was canceled, and in February Lionel Messi (39) did not play in the Hong Kong friendly. Because of this, Argentinaʼs China friendly was also canceled.
The outlet said it remains to be seen how passionate fansʼ response to Bayern Munich in Jeju will be, noting that Bayern Munich reportedly did not leave a consistently deep impression on Seoulʼs fans and the hosts in 2024.
It added that, given Jejuʼs peak season in August, high airfares and accommodation costs, and ticket prices expected to be set somewhat high will be variables, and said Bayern Munichʼs strategy is to further solidify its brand value in the Asian market through this Jeju tour.
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