Paju Frontier FC
South Korean football club
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Paju Frontier FC (Korean: 파주 프런티어 FC), formerly Paju Citizen Football Club (Korean: 파주 시민 축구단) is a South Korean professional football club based in the city of Paju. The club was founded in 2012 and plays in K League 2, the second tier of men's football in South Korea.
파주 프런티어 FC
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| Full name | Paju Frontier Football Club 파주 프런티어 FC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 16 February 2012 as Paju Citizen |
| Ground | Paju Stadium |
| Capacity | 23,000 |
| Chairman | Kim Kyung-il (Mayor of Paju) |
| Manager | Gerard Nus |
| League | K League 2 |
| 2025 | K3 League, 10th of 15 |
| Website | http://fc.pajusports.co.kr/ |
History
Amateur years (2012-2019)
The club was founded in February 2012 as Paju Citizen FC and played its first match in the third tier Challengers League the following month.[1] In its inaugural season, Paju Citizen progressed to the Challengers League championship semi-final.[2] The following year, the club beat Hwaseong FC in the semi-final but lost in the final to defending champions Pocheon Citizen to finish as runners-up.[3][4]
In 2017, when the league was restructured, the club participated in the K3 League Advanced.[5] Paju finished in 11th place and were relegated to the 2018 K3 League Basic, where they came in second place to earn promotion back to the K3 League Advanced the following year.[6][7][8][9] The 2019 season saw Paju Citizen compete in the final iteration of the K3 League Advanced before the league system underwent another restructuring ahead of the 2020 season.[10]
Semi-professional era (2020-2025)
With the establishment of the new semi-professional K3 League and K4 League system, Paju joined the K4 League in 2020.[11][12] They earned promotion to the 2021 K3 League as inaugural K4 champions.[13] Paju were runners-up in K3 in 2022.[14]
Professional era (2026-)
In August 2025, the K League board of directors approved Paju's membership, paving the way for the club to become fully professional and join K League 2 from the 2026 season.[14] In October 2025, it was announced that Gerard Nus would manage Paju FC from 2026, marking his return to South Korea after 14 years elsewhere.[15] The following month, Paju Citizen officially changed its name to Paju Frontier as part of a rebranding exercise in anticipation of its first season in the second division.[16] On 16 January 2026, Paju Frontier received final approval membership from the K League, confirming its participation in the 2026 K League 2.[17]
Colours and crest
On 24 November 2025, Paju Frontier revealed a new crest, featuring 20 cosmos representing the 20 administrative districts of Paju, and a pigeon, the official representative animal of the city. [18]
The club's colours are 'Frontier Blue' and 'Cosmos Pink'.[19]
Stadium
Paju's home ground is Paju Stadium, a multi-purpose bowl stadium that seats 20,000.[20][21] The club's training ground is the Paju National Football Center, previously the training ground of the South Korea national football team.[19]
Current squad
As of 13 March 2026.[22]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Backroom staff
Coaching staff
- Manager:
Gerard Nus - Assistant manager: Ramon Ferrer
- Goalkeeping coach:
Kim Beom-soo - Coach: Jay Son
- Physical coach: Sergio Carlos
Managerial history
- Joo Deok-jeung (2012)
- Oh Won-jae (2013)
- Kim Chul (2014–2015)
- Jeon Jeong-seon (2015–2017)
- Jeon Seong-hoon (2018)
- Lee Eun-no (2019–2023)
- Oh Beom-seok (2024)
- Lee Eun-no (2025)
- Gerard Nus (2026–)
Honours
Season-by-season records
| Season | Teams | Tier | League | Placement | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | League Cup | FA Cup | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 18 | 3 | K3 Challengers League | Semifinal | 25 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 50 | - | DNQ |  Cho Deok-jeung |
| 2013 | 18 | 4 | K3 Challengers League | Runner-up↑ | 16 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 14 | +24 | 34 | - | Second Round | Oh Won-Jae |
| 2014 | 18 | K3 Challengers League | Playoff | 25 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 45 | 23 | +22 | 47 | - | First Round | ||
| 2015 | 18 | K3 League | Playoff | 25 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 56 | 22 | +34 | 48.5 | - | Second Round | ||
| 2016 | 20 | K3 League | 7th | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 47 | 24 | +23 | 34 | - | Third Round | ||
| 2017 | 12 | K3 Advanced | 11th | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 31 | -9 | 24 | - | Third Round | ||
| 2018 | 11 | 5 | K3 Basic | 2nd | 20 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 40 | 10 | +30 | 43 | - | Third Round | Jeong Seong-hoon |
| 2019 | 12 | 4 | K3 Advanced | 6th | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 35 | - | Round of 16 | Oh Won-jae |
| 2020 | 13 | K4 League | Winners↑ | 24 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 53 | None | Second Round | ||
| 2021 | 15 | 3 | K3 League | 10th | 28 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 32 | 36 | -4 | 35 | None | Second Round | |
| 2022 | 16 | K3 League | 2nd | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 43 | 29 | +14 | 56 | None | Second Round | ||
| 2023 | 15 | K3 League | 7th | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 38 | None | Round of 16 | ||
| 2024 | 16 | K3 League | 8th | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 42 | None | Second Round | Oh Beom-seok | |
| 2025 | 15 | K3 League | 10th ↑ | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 27 | 32 | -5 | 36 | None | Second Round | Lee Eun-no |