Suwon Samsung Bluewings opened 2026 celebrating like champions. Eleven games later, they are being booed off the pitch. One question has been bothering me all year: do they over celebrate wins against expansion football clubs?
Suwon Samsung Bluewings will enjoy a bye week in K League 2 following a difficult — and often uninspiring — start to the season.
One could argue they need a week out of the limelight. Not just because the fans are losing patience, but K League 2 is a bear pit, as last weekend showed.
Seoul E-Land were thrashed in Asan, Suwon FC needed an injury-time goal to avoid defeat in Hwaseong, and the Bluewings were booed off after a 0-0 draw with Daegu.
That leaves Suwon on 23 points from 11 matches, five behind Busan. Goals scored is an important statistic in this league, and Suwon are already eight behind Busan’s tally of 22.
Suwon return to action on Monday, May 25, when Cheonan City make the short trip up Line 1 to Big Bird. Intriguingly, that is Busan’s bye week, but IPark do have a home match against Hwaseong this weekend.
By the time Suwon take the field again, they could be eight points adrift. Oh dear!
The question I keep coming back to is whether Suwon went a step too far in celebrating their earlier victories. These were not statement wins against established K League 2 rivals. In fact, three of those victories came against new clubs to this division.
What happened?
Suwon Samsung Bluewings opened the 2026 season with five straight victories as fans believed the Lee Jung-hyo revolution had taken off. Since relegation in 2023, Suwon had endured two deeply disappointing seasons in the second division, failing to secure promotion.
Hiring former Gwangju FC manager Lee was viewed as the final piece of the puzzle in ending the K League 2 nightmare. The club backed their manager with strong signings, both domestically and abroad.
The mood was positive, and Suwon sat top of the table.
These were the opening five results:
- Seoul E-Land — 2-1 (Home)
- Paju Frontier — 1-0 (Away)
- Jeonnam Dragons — 2-0 (Home)
- Gimhae FC — 3-0 (Away)
- Yongin FC — 1-0 (Away)
It is customary in K League for winning teams to celebrate in front of their supporters, both home and away. This often involves linking arms, jumping together, and taking a group picture with the entire playing and coaching staff alongside the fans.
Suwon followed this tradition. After each of those five victories, the players celebrated enthusiastically with supporters. All very nice, but…
What’s the problem?
Across our Below the 38th podcasts, I have consistently maintained that the players celebrated too much. It may be tradition, but given the enormous gulf in class between Suwon and their opponents, it felt like overkill.
Above Suwon’s crest on their matchday jerseys sit four stars, representing their league championships. At Big Bird, the club’s two AFC Champions League titles are celebrated alongside five Korean FA Cups.
Suwon remain one of Korea’s heavyweight football institutions.
The problem is that three of their away victories in those opening five matches — they have since added another 1-0 win over Gyeongnam — came against Paju, Gimhae, and Yongin.
Paju Frontier
Paju operated as a semi-professional club until 2026. As recently as 2020, they were playing in K4 League. Paju have never won K3, and over the last three seasons they finished 7th, 8th, and 10th.
They were not promoted based on sporting merit; they applied to join K League 2.
Gimhae FC
Gimhae played in the National League from their establishment in 2008 until 2019. Historically one of the strongest K3 clubs since the league structure was revamped in 2020, they won the championship twice.
Like Paju, they were not promoted through the pyramid system and instead applied to join K League 2.
Yongin FC
The club was only formed in January 2026.
I do not believe Suwon Bluewings lack class. In fact, manager Lee insists his players bow and applaud opposition supporters from the goal line, while many other teams tend to do so closer to the halfway line.
These clubs also want Suwon to visit their grounds. They want Suwon performing well because the bigger the occasion, the more tickets they can sell.
I should also mention that the win in Gimhae was a milestone victory — the 600th in Suwon’s history.
What should have happened?
On our podcast, Mike and Luke referenced “fan service,” which is hugely important in Korean sports and entertainment culture. Supporters demand recognition from their heroes.
If the Bluewings wrapped up a routine win with a simple clap before heading down the tunnel, some fans might not appreciate it.
That is a fair argument.
However, I believe Suwon could have communicated a different message through the media. Something along these lines:
“We truly appreciate your love and support. Thank you for following us around the country. We have one mission in 2026 — to earn promotion back to K League 1. That is our only focus. We will celebrate together when we achieve that goal.”
In other words; A club of Suwon’s stature should celebrate promotion, not difficult wins over expansion sides.
A message like that, delivered by Lee Jung-hyo or crowd favourite Ko Seung-beom, would likely have been well received.
Why is this a problem now?
Following the weekend draw with Daegu, a minority of fans turned on the players. With just 14 goals in 11 matches and the club now five points off the top, Suwon are playing uninspiring football and struggling to put teams away.
Supporters are right to feel frustrated. However, the performances in those earlier matches against Paju, Gimhae, and Yongin were equally flat despite the victories.
Fans will tolerate mediocre performances if the team continues collecting three points. That is no longer happening.
Suddenly, the calibre of opposition has improved — Suwon were dismantled in the derby last week — and those early victories need to be re-evaluated. As a result, the post-match celebrations now appear, as we discussed at the time, over the top.
Suwon need to get back to winning ways, reconnect with supporters through the media, and focus solely on ending this three-year stay in K League 2.
The post-match celebrations can wait. They can wait until promotion has been achieved.
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