“I want to play every match with real urgency. That way, when others watch me, I will be a player who truly works hard, a player they want to emulate.”

Lee Dong-woo (18), a forward for Seoul powerhouse Boin High School, is showing his resolve through actions rather than words. Despite a fracture in his left wrist, he has fought through and covered the pitch, rising to the top of the scoring charts at the Presidential Golden Cup.

On the 18th at the Jecheon Bongyang Health Football Camp, Boin High School defeated Soongsil High School 3-1 in the final Group 8 match of the group stage at the 59th Presidential Golden Cup National High School Football Tournament. With three wins from three in the group stage, Boin advanced to the round of 18 as group winners, showcasing their credentials as title favorites.

At the center of it all was Lee. He has netted 7 goals at this tournament and leads the scoring race. He is level on goals with Ju Johwi (18) of Anyang Technical High School, but ranks first thanks to fewer minutes played.

In the first group match against Anyang Technical High School, Lee fractured his left wrist in a collision. Although it was an injury severe enough to make normal play difficult, he did not withdraw from the tournament.

With his left arm firmly fixed in bandages, he played the full match against Inter Seoul U18 and poured in six goals, and he covered the pitch to the end in the final group match against Soongsil High as well. Coach Kim Hyung-gyeom of Boin said, ”Lee Dong-woo is an exceptionally fast player“ and added, ”As a striker, I want to help him as much as possible so he can even win the scoring award at this tournament.“

Lee mentioned the team and his teammates before his personal records. He said, ”The six goals against Inter Seoul came because my teammates and the coach all helped“ and ”Against Soongsil as well, there is usually a different penalty taker, but they yielded to me out of consideration. So I felt I had to score.“ Smiling as he said, “The wrist is tolerable. I am fine,” he added, “We won the Geumseok Cup earlier, and we prepared hard to win this Golden Cup as well. I am happy we finished all three group matches well.”

Having started playing football in fifth grade, Lee cites one-on-one dribbling that leverages his speed and runs into the space behind the line as his strengths. His role model is Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint-Germain. He said, “Dembele delivers strong performances in any position while favoring simple play over flashy tricks. His two-footed shooting is also threatening. I do not think he was awarded the Ballon d’Or for nothing. He is a player I want to learn a lot from.”

The kind of player Lee dreams of becoming is not merely a scorer who racks up goals. He said, ”I want to play every match with real urgency. When others watch me, I want to hear that I am ‘a player who really works hard’,“ adding, ”My goal is to become the kind of player young players who watch me want to emulate.“