World Cup: Casey Phair makes South Korean football history

South Korea began their 2023 World Cup campaign with 0-2 defeat to Colombia on Tuesday – and yet still made a double dose of history.

In the 78th minute, Casey Phair became the youngest ever player to appear at a World Cup – in either men's or women's football – when she came on as a substitute for Yu-Ri Choe at the age of just 16 years and 26 days.

The previous women's record was held by Nigerian striker Ifeanyi Chiejine, who made her debut at the 1999 World Cup in the USA aged 16 years and 34 days, and who tragically passed away in 2019.

The men's record is held by Norman Whiteside, who represented Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup in Spain at the age of 17 years and 40 days.

But not only did Phair make global history, she also became the first ever footballer of mixed heritage to – male or female – to represent South Korea, a significant development at a time when the country's attitudes towards diaspora and immigration are changing.

"She deserved the chance to play, she has trained really well, as good as anyone," said South Korea's English head coach, Colin Bell.

"We need strong, fast players with physicality," he continued, and even though Phair wasn't able to get the Taegeuk Ladies back into the game, he insisted that "it is also a signal that that's the future – she's the future."

Dipping into the diaspora

Phair, the daughter of an American father and a South Korean mother, was born and raised in the United States.

Her selection is significant because South Korean national teams have seldom dipped into the pool of talent from the communities of Koreans living in other parts of the world.

"Diasporas have long been undervalued by many countries and, indeed, completely ignored by some," Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, at SKEMA Business School in Paris, told DW.

"Yet they can be a source of both athletic talent and fan engagement. So much so that we have seen the likes of China, Nigeria and Jamaica all reaching out to diaspora communities."

'Still a kid'

"I know as the first mixed race player for Korea, men and women, it's a highlight, it's something new," Bell said as he announced Phair's selection.

"But as far as I'm concerned she's still a kid and it's my duty to protect her so she can blossom and really fulfil her potential. We're taking care of her; she's taken very well to the team. She's in the squad on merit."

Phair was understandably delighted to be selected to represent her mother's homeland.

"I feel really proud and honored to be given this opportunity," she told reporters. "And I'm ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help the country."

Ice hockey leading the way

There have been signs of change in recent years. After Korea won hosting rights for the 2018 Winter Olympics – thereby automatically qualifying for all events, sports officials realized that the country was short of athletes in several disciplines.

One of the best examples was ice hockey. A naturalization program gave citizenship to 19 people with Korean heritage such as Danielle Im, who left her native Toronto to play for the women, while Chicago-born Tyler Bricker joined the men's team.

Unlike ice hockey though, football is anything but an obscure sport in South Korea. The country boasts decades of footballing history with the men's national team appearing at the past 10 World Cups.

Only Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Germany have enjoyed longer continuous streaks. While Japan and China have selected players born overseas, the inclusion of Phair on the women's national team is a first for South Korea.

South Korea vs. USA

Some hope that her selection, particularly if she does well at the tournament, could help improve relations between a Korean-American community of around 1.9 million and the motherland.

"There's clearly a disconnect between Koreans in Korea and Korean-Americans in the US," Steve Han, a South Korean football writer based in Los Angeles told DW.

"There haven't been many success stories for Korean Americans going to Korea to play a leading role at a national team level."

Performance the bottom line

"I think there has been no quality football player overseas good enough to deserve a place on the national team," Seoul-based MBC TV commentator Seo Hyung-wook told DW.

Han noted that being female may help with the perception of Phair, as South Koreans general have a higher opinion of the standard of women's football in America, compared to the men. 

"Perhaps the Women's World Cup this summer is too early for this, but if Casey can play that role for Korea in women's football one day, the hope is that sports can indeed contribute to bridging this gap between the two communities," he said.

A bigger issue

Chadwick believes that, should Phair go on to have a successful international career, then it could help change more than relations between Koreans and the Korean-American community.

"At one level, the inclusion of a mixed heritage player in South Korea's World Cup squad emphasizes how much the country has changed over the last three decades," he said.

"It can be embraced and celebrated as an illustration of positive social change…though inevitably critics with more nationalist tendencies will no doubt be concerned about what Phair's inclusion means for South Korean identity."

South Korea remains an extremely homogenous society, with less than 5% of a population of around 51 million describing themselves as non-Korean. And this is connected to what has been described as the biggest issue facing the country.

South Korea has the world's lowest birthrate at 0.78 babies for one woman, far below the 2.1 needed to maintain population levels. The government in Seoul has spent around €190 billion ($213 billion) on efforts to reverse the decline – but with little effect.

"The low birthrate problem is a crucial national agenda," President Yoon Suk Yeol said in March, adding that Korea needs to adopt an "emergency mindset" to tackle the issue.

Changing a national mindset

An obvious possible solution is immigration, which other countries use to help ease the burden of ageing populations. But South Korea has never embraced immigration, with even relatively low numbers of Yemeni and Afghan refugees entering the country in 2018 and 2022 respectively sparking controversy.

Some hope that Phair representing the country at this summer's World Cup could turn out to be a significant first step towards changing the national mindset.

"It's worth remembering that she is still part Korean by blood and grew up under a Korean parent, so it's easier for Koreans to accept her," Han noted.

The next, and much bigger step, Han believes, would be seeing an immigrant without Korean heritage represent the country.

"That would probably be the point at which sports could start to play a role in the opening up of Korean society to the idea of embracing immigration."

Phair may have helped kick-start that process with her late appearance against Colombia. Further chances may come against South Korea's next Group H opponents, Morocco and Germany.

Edited by Matt Ford