South Korea is fighting for a spot in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Their match against South Africa on June 26 is a must-win. And the one player fans are loudest about not using yet? Jens, the Bundesliga midfielder who has sat on the bench for both group-stage games without playing a single minute.
He is PUMA’s face of Korean football’s future. He is the first foreign-born, mixed-heritage player in South Korean men’s soccer history.
Jen is 22 years old, already a Bundesliga starter, and he has not touched the pitch at this World Cup yet.
Here is everything you need to know about his ethnicity, nationality, parents, and personal life before that South Africa match kicks off.
Jens Castrop’s Ethnicity Is German, Korean, and Turkic
Most articles stop at “half German, half Korean.” That is incomplete.
His paternal grandmother is of Turkic-German descent, which means his ethnic background spans three different parts of the world. He reportedly speaks Turkic at a fairly high level, on top of German, and is currently learning Korean through a private tutor four to five hours per week.
He has his mother’s name tattooed on his right chest. He grew up in Dusseldorf, one of the largest Korean communities in Europe, meaning his Korean identity was not just inherited. It was part of his daily environment.
Jens Castrop’s Nationality Is Both Korean and German, and Always Was
Here is the fact almost every article gets wrong. This was not a nationality switch.
Under South Korea’s revised Nationality Act of 1997, any child born after June 14, 1998, to a Korean parent automatically holds South Korean citizenship at birth. Jens was born July 29, 2003. He was legally Korean from day one.
What he actually switched in August 2025 was his FIFA registration, moving it from the German Football Association to the Korea Football Association. Before that, he had represented Germany at every youth level from U-16 through U-21.
There is one more detail almost no English-language source mentions:
- He lived for 21 years with sole German citizenship on paper.
- He registered his birth at a Korean consulate in Germany in February 2025.
- He received his Korean passport in May 2025.
- FIFA approved his registration switch in August 2025.
He did not become Korean at 22. He formalized on paper what was already true by law since birth.
Jens Castrop’s Mother Raised Him to See Korea as Home
His mother is An Su-yeon, a South Korean woman who grew up in Korea and earned a landscape architecture degree from Seoul National University.
She moved to Germany in 1996 to study at the University of Hanover. There she met a German lawyer, married him, and settled in Dusseldorf. They had three sons together, with Jens being the second.
She was not passive about his Korean identity. “I always told Jens, ‘Your roots are Korean, and you must have a Korean identity,'” she said publicly before his debut for Korea. She also described how he lives off the pitch: “He does not spare himself. He has a strong sense of discipline. When he has free time, he walks his dog or goes fishing instead of going to parties. He focuses on football.”
She is, by every account, the reason he chose Korea.
Jens Castrop’s Father Was Shocked by the Korea Decision
His father is a German lawyer whose name has not been made public. He and An Su-yeon raised three boys in Dusseldorf, none of whom grew up with a football background.
“My parents had no connection to football,” Jens said in an Olympics.com interview. He joined his first club, Lohausener SV, simply because it was the nearest club to their home.
When Jens told his father he was switching to represent Korea, the reaction was not immediately supportive. He told the Korea Times his father was “very shocked.” But the decision stood, and both parents came around. Jens said they are now “very proud and happy” with where things stand.
His brother Lenny Castrop plays youth football at SC St. Tonis 1911/20 U19. Another brother, Adrian Castrop, has also been involved in youth football. Neither has reached the professional level.
Jens Castrop’s Girlfriend Has Not Been Confirmed
No girlfriend has been publicly confirmed by Jens or verified by any credible source.
His mother described his personal life as deliberately quiet: dog walks, fishing, nature with no phone, and football. He has said in interviews that managing mental and physical health through calm, low-stimulation activities is how he handles the stress of professional football.
Some fan communities, particularly on TikTok and Korean-language forums, have speculated about his relationship status. None of that speculation has been confirmed. Attributing a relationship without confirmation would be inaccurate, so this stays unconfirmed for now.
Why Fans Are Watching Jens Closely Right Now
Korea beat the Czech Republic in their World Cup opener, then lost 0-1 to Mexico on June 18. Jens did not play a single minute in either match.
The Korea Times and multiple analysts have publicly questioned coach Hong Myung-bo’s decision. Korea struggled to create chances from wide positions against Mexico, exactly where Jens plays. The player who took his wing-back spot received the lowest BBC player rating on the Korean team.
The reason Hong has held him back appears tactical. His attacking instincts leave defensive gaps behind him, and against stronger teams, the coach opted for the more defensively reliable Lee Tae-seok and Kim Moon-hwan. But against South Africa, with Korea needing a win, analysts expect Jens to finally get his first World Cup minutes.
PUMA signed him as a brand ambassador in May 2026 and put him in the same boot line as Neymar and Kai Havertz. If Hong plays him against South Africa, that investment is about to get its biggest stage yet.
