This Korean Soccer Player May Have Been The Happiest Man After Winning Gold At 2018 Asian Games

In case you haven’t heard yet, South Korea won the gold medal in men’s football at the 2018 Asian Games.

Mandatory military service exemptions are offered to athletes who win gold at the Asian Games or medal at the Olympics.

Many of the headlines have been about Son Heung Min or Sonny, one of the greatest South Korean football players in the world. He currently plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. An exemption means he’s able to see out his lucrative 5-year contract with Tottenham.

🇰🇷 Congratulations, Sonny – #AsianGames WINNER! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/NT63QmbtbT

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 1, 2018

Rather than Sonny, however, the most excited man on the pitch may have actually been Hwang In Beom.

Hwang In Beom was already carrying out his military service, but with the gold medal win, he was immediately discharged from active duty.

Before the match, he jokingly warned his teammates.

“If we don’t win the gold medal, you will all enlist under me.”

— Hwang In Beom

Luckily for him, and his teammates, South Korea won 2-1 during over time!