Hwaseong

In September 2012, Hwaseong City formed a committee to promote the establishment of Hwaseong FC. In January 2013, the team received approval from the Korea Football Association to participate in the amateur fourth-tier Challengers League (later renamed as K3 League). The club was officially founded on 23 January 2013 as a semi-professional club.

In their first season, Hwaseong FC immediately finished first in the Challengers League – Group B and advanced to the final stages, but failed to advance to the championship finals after being eliminated by Paju Citizen, finishing the season in third place overall. However, in the 2014 season, Hwaseong won their first title after defeating Pocheon Citizen 3–1 in the Challengers League championship play-off final, held in Pocheon in front of about 4,000 spectators.

Five years later, in 2019, Hwaseong, under head coach Kim Hak-chul, won their second K3 League title after defeating Yangpyeong FC 1–0 in the final. In the same season, Hwaseong became the first fourth-division team to reach the semi-finals of the Korean FA Cup. In the first semi-final match, Hwaseong managed to upset four-time Korean champions Suwon Samsung Bluewings with a 1–0 win, but lost the second leg 3–0 after extra time and were eliminated 3–1 on aggregate. They won another K3 League title in 2023, before finishing as runners-up in their final semi-professional season the following year.

Hwaseong FC turned professional in December 2024, joining the second-tier K League 2. Former South Korean international Cha Du-ri was appointed head coach for the team's first professional season.