The news that Korean defender Lee Ki-Je from Shimizu S-Pulse of J-League is on trial this week with D.C. United marked a rare instance of an MLS club looking to Asia for players. Lee is a 23-year old left back who was a regular starter for Shimizu S-Pulse in 2012 and 2013, as well as having been a member of the Korea U-20 team, but has fallen out of favor under his new manager this season.

Of the three major North Asian countries with the leading leagues – Korea, Japan and China – only eight players have ever turned out for MLS clubs: Korea (2) – Lee Young-Pyo, Hong Myung-Bo; China (1) – Long Tan; Japan (5) – Jun Marques Davidson, Kosuke Kimura, Daigo Kobayashi, Terukazu Tanaka, Kohei Yamada.

There is a wealth of talent available out of North Asia that MLS has not come close to tapping into as of yet. Leagues in Europe, the Middle East and throughout the rest of Asia have identified North Asia as a high potential area for finding talent, however, and have actively sought to acquire both experienced players as well as players from the youth ranks. At last count, there were 28 Korean players in various youth leagues alone.

K-League in particular has become a net exporter of talent with a rapid exodus of players to the Middle East and China where more money is available. While the Chinese Super League is brimming with cash at the moment and is potentially emerging as a competitor to MLS in targeting European names ready for a move overseas (including acquisitions in recent years of players like Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka) and J-League continues to grow in financial strength, K-League receives minimal domestic support despite the quality of play.

During 2014, average attendance for J-League has been 17,300 so far, the Chinese Super League stands at 19,776, however K-League averages only 8,104 (up from the previous season). Only three K-League clubs average greater than 10,000 per game, four average less than 5,000 per game. K-League is the only major North Asian league without a domestic TV contract and with minimal international exposure.

Koreans are a highly patriotic people. They overwhelmingly support the national team. Similarly, they derive great joy in seeing Koreans succeed overseas. When Park Ji-Sung joined Manchester United, the Red Devils instantly became the most popular team in Korea and every United match was televised. There are a sufficient number of Koreans succeeding overseas now that the delirium is no longer quite what it was with Park, but Koreans still pay far more attention to international teams with Korean starters than they do their own domestic league.

Where MLS efforts to attract Latin American fans have been relatively unsuccessful, bringing in Asian players with recognizable names would bring fans to the stadiums much as people packed NBA stadiums to see Yao Ming or Jeremy Lin play.

Apart from that, the style of play in Asian leagues is far more compatible with MLS than Latin American leagues are. The stereotype on Latin American soccer is you get players with immense technical talent but who are often not particularly sound from a defensive standpoint. There are of course exceptions to the rule, but situations such as the one the Houston Dynamo have with Alex Lopez often arise. Latin American DPs, in particular, have a spotty track record in MLS.

Jan 29, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Korea Republic forward Kim Shin-Wook before a friendly soccer game against Mexico at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

MLS remains an athletic league where two-way play and a high work rate are important. North Asian leagues feature a similar athletic style of play. Korean players, for example, traditionally have a high work rate, have a two way focus on offense and defense and plenty of technical skills to go with it. Anyone who saw Korea play against Algeria in the World Cup could not help but be impressed by the 2nd half effort despite being down a number of goals. The pace of play was high, the players never stopped running and nearly fought their way back into the match.

In the case of K-League, players on the verge of a move to Europe would be difficult to attract. Those players tend to already be well paid and possibly too expensive for MLS to look at. K-League does not release individual player salaries but exact data is difficult to obtain, however, as an example, Kim Shin-Wook who led K-League in scoring last year and is a regular national team player is rumored to be paid well over $1 million per year.

Younger national team players/prospects are viable targets, however, as are veterans who are not likely to be headed to Europe anytime soon but offer up real quality.

Asian players are not the only gold mine to be found in the North Asian leagues. There are plenty of quality foreigners plying their trade in North Asia as well. Perhaps the most well known foreign player to come out of Asian leagues at the moment is Brazilian World Cup star, Hulk. Hulk played in J-League from 2005-2008 before moving to F.C. Porto.

While Hulk was spotted and brought west, somehow Dejan Damjanovic has escaped notice despite scoring 116 goals in 181 appearances for FC Seoul before making an off-season move to to the Chinese Super League. At age 33, it is probably too late to look at Damjanovic but there are plenty of other quality foreigners available.

The barrier to tapping into Asia seems to be scouting and network. D.C. United perhaps had an advantage in bringing Lee Ki-Je in by virtue of having some Asian American ownership and having sold Dejan Jakovic to Shimizu S-Pulse over the winter, thereby establishing a relationship with the club.

There are plenty of ways for MLS clubs to establish access to Asian players, however. They need only look in the right places to tap into resources that are at their disposal.

In the meantime, here are five Korean players who MLS would do well to look at:

Park Chu-Young: Once upon a time, Park was the face of Korea’s soccer future. After a successful career with FC Seoul, Park made the move to Europe in 2008 when he joined AS Monaco as a teammate of Freddy Adu. While Adu sat on the bench, Park excelled. In 91 appearances with Monaco, he scored 25 goals and was a regular starter by the end of his time with the club.

In 2011, a move to Lille was hijacked by Arsenal. It was a bad move for Park as he was always going to struggle for playing time. Over three seasons he made only one appearance for the club. Sitting on the bench did Park no favors. He lost his national team spot and became the forgotten man.

In the winter transfer window Park managed to get a loan to Watford in the hopes of getting back in the national team before the World Cup. Park was far from match shape having played so little in three years, and struggled with minor injuries. As a result, he saw little playing time with Watford. Nevertheless, lacking for solid striker options, Hong Myung-Bo included him in the World Cup side where he made two starts.

Park has been released by Arsenal and is available on a free. At the age of 29, he still has something to offer. He is lacking in confidence and match fitness at the moment, but any club that takes a flyer on him could be well rewarded. Park has scored 24 times in 65 appearances for the national team.

Han Kook-Young: Han started every match in the World Cup for Korea as a defensive midfielder. At the age of 24, Han has his best years in front of him but has not yet become a big enough name to command European money.

Han’s professional career has been spent in Japan thus far where he has played for Shonan Bellmare and his current club, Kashiwa Reysol. Despite his status as a national team regular over the past year, Han has fallen out of favor with his club team and is rumored to be on the move.

It may already be too late to grab Han as rumors today are that he is on the move to the Qatari Soccer League. If true, he would join other ideal MLS targets who have made the move to the Middle East in this transfer window including Lee Keun-Ho, who scored at the World Cup and has inked a move to Al Ahli SC, Lee Myung-Joo who moved to Al Ain and Kim Jung-woo who signed with Bani Yas.

Kim Seung-Dae: A forward currently playing for Pohang Steelers. At the age of 23, Kim had a breakout rookie season last year and has only gotten better this year. He is currently 2nd in the league in scoring with 8 thus far for a Pohang side that won the league last season and is topping the table this season despite being a net seller due to financial issues.

Kim is a versatile player who can play on either wing, as a number ten or as a false nine. He has yet to appear for the senior national team but is on the radar. He is rumored to be one of the three wildcards for the team that will play in the 2014 Asian Games along with Kim Shin-Wook and Shin Hyung-Min.

Pohang is unlikely to be able to hold on to Kim for much longer with the reputation he is building. Now is a perfect time for MLS to swoop in and grab a quality young player before he ends up in Europe.

Yun Il-lok: The 22-year old winger is in his 2nd season with FC Seoul. He is a flair player with tremendous potential who has already made 8 appearances for the full national team having scored his first senior goal against Japan in a match in 2013.

Yun is a creative player who could be an exciting addition to MLS and grow into a true Asian star within the league. FC Seoul’s willingness to sell him, however, is another issue. They see Yun as one of the key pieces in rebuilding their team after a series of transfer losses during the off-season which have left them weakened during the current campaign.

Lee Jong-Ho: The 22-year old forward is topping the K-League scoring charts this season with nine goals thus far for Jeonnam Dragons. Lee’s high school nickname, “Gwangyang Rooney”, describes the type of player he is. Lee is a tireless runner who can be a destructive force as the first line of defense and a goal creator.

Lee has not yet earned a national team CAP. Again, he is another young budding star who could be grabbed before he gets too much attention from Europe or the Middle East. Jeonnam Dragons finished last in the league in attendance last season with only 2,278 per game. They are up this season so far to 4,128 per game as they sit in 4th place in the league, but they are not one of the financial giants of K-League.

Conclusion

There is plenty of other top talent available, these are just a handful of names that does not begin to cover J-League as well. MLS would do well, however, to branch out in its search to acquire talented young players from around the globe rather than continuing to head down the road of grabbing “name players” who are on the bad side of 30.