It is the club that has turned social media into one of football’s great forms of entertainment. Atlético Madrid have been pushing the boundaries on X, Instagram and above all TikTok for years, but this time they found another way to surprise people. The arrival of Kang-in Lee gave them the perfect opportunity. The South Korean forward joined from Paris Saint-Germain with a significance that went beyond the transfer itself, especially in a country where his profile carries a particular importance. On the pitch, Atlético see him as the player who can inherit Antoine Griezmann’s role, and with it the famous number 7 shirt. Beyond the game, the move carries another weight: Los Colchoneros have signed the player widely considered the natural successor to Son Heung-min. The announcement had to match the scale of the signing. Atlético spent days working with Mr Red, their creative agency, coordinating every detail with the team sent to South Korea. The aim was to make an official transfer announcement feel like something beyond the usual routines of the market.
Everything was planned carefully, starting with the timing. In Spain, the news arrived while many were still beginning their day or enjoying the weekend. In Seoul, it was 5pm — the point when the city was fully alive. The timing was deliberate. Atlético wanted South Korean supporters to discover the news in the middle of their day, at the centre of the capital, when the streets were busiest. And that is what happened. The first image of Kang-in Lee in Atlético’s red and white appeared on the enormous LUUX screen covering the façade of the Donga Media Center in Gwanghwamun, one of Seoul’s most recognisable and frequented areas. At the same moment, Atlético and Paris Saint-Germain published the official announcement across their social channels. For thousands of people passing through the area, their new idol appeared without warning. Kang-in Lee’s face suddenly filled South Korea’s largest outdoor LED display: more than 3,000 square metres of screen spread across three façades, shaped by the building’s distinctive J structure and integrated into its architecture. A transfer announcement becoming part of the city.
@atleticodemadrid Hello Seoul, delighted to introduce a new member of the rojiblanca family! ❤️🤍 #atleticodemadrid#atleti#kangin#korea#seoul♬ original sound – Atlético de Madrid
The Donga Media Center was not a random choice. The building stands in one of Seoul’s defining spaces, where history, institutions and everyday life come together. Bringing Kang-in Lee’s arrival there placed the announcement in the same landscape where his story has been followed for years. Atlético then introduced artificial intelligence into the project, using it to create the first image of the South Korean playmaker wearing the red-and-white shirt. It was also the moment when another detail emerged: Kang-in Lee would leave behind the number 19 worn at Paris Saint-Germain and with the national team, taking Atlético Madrid’s number 7 instead. More than a presentation, it was the first glimpse of what Atlético hope Kang-in Lee can represent. A footballer, a national figure, a new global face for the club. And there was no more fitting place to begin than Seoul, in front of his own country.