Gangneung City

The "Gangwon Derby" is played against Chuncheon Citizen FC, the other club in the province. Gangneung have no such feud with Gangwon FC, even though the two share the same ground, and the derby with Chuncheon is the one that carries weight.

The club began on 6 May 1999 as an amateur side run by Gangneung City Hall. In 2021 it was reorganised as a citizen-owned club, Gangneung Citizen FC, to meet K League standards. In November 2025 it was announced that from the 2026 season it would be called FC Gangneung.

The strongest years came in the Korea National League. In 2009 the club beat Gimhae City FC to win the championship playoffs and took the President's Cup National Football Tournament in the same year. Between those two, 2016 brought the other side of the story. Gangneung finished top of the regular season but lost the playoff final to Ulsan Hyundai Mipo Dolphins FC. That season also produced the league's most valuable player, goalkeeper Park Chung-hyo, and the assists leader, Yang Dong-hyeop.

Kim Jung-joo, a winger, played for the club in 2013 and again in 2018, and was named to the National League Best XI.

Home games are played at Gangneung Stadium, known as Gangneung HIGH1 ARENA. It seats 22,333, and the team wears blue at home and red away. The regular-season title has come three times: 2010, 2016 and 2019.