Bayern Munich’s plans for the summer are already starting to take shape. The club will be heading to Asia for the third time in four years for their 2026 preseason tour.
Their first stop will be Hong Kong, where they will play a friendly against a currently undetermined opponent. Details about the Hong Kong tour are currently few. Tz’s Philipp Kessler, Hanna Raif, and Manuel Bonke first announced the news (which were captured by @iMiaSanMia) on Tuesday.
After Hong Kong, Bayern will travel to South
Korea, where they enjoyed immense success in the summer of 2024 (and no, it was not just about winning the Coupang Play Series). However, this time, the capital city of Seoul is not the destination. Rather, Bayern will travel to one of the most exotic locations in the Land of the Morning Calm – Jeju Island.
Jeju Island, or as Koreans (including this writer) call it Jeju-do, is an extremely popular tourist destination for locals and foreigners alike. In fact, the Seoul-Jeju flight route is officially the busiest route in world air travel, with over 130 flights daily and over 14 million annual passengers.
Bayern will be playing a friendly against local club Jeju SK, who have been partners with them since last year through the Red & Gold Football Venture. Jeju just barely escaped relegation last season, and are currently bottom of the K League at the time of writing. However, since the K League season just kicked off a month ago, that is naturally subject to change by the time Bayern come knocking. (Author’s Note: The author’s club, Pohang Steelers, are currently sitting right above Jeju, albeit with a game in hand.)
Whether the tour will be as successful as it was in 2024 remains to be seen. While Jeju is a popular destination, Bayern’s visit is likely to fall in peak travel season, which will drive up local prices exorbitantly. What is more, Korea’s sweltering summer heat only gets worse in Jeju. Add that to the fact that almost all of the first team squad might miss a good chunk of preseason due to the World Cup, and the fans may think twice about flocking to the Jeju World Cup Stadium, where the friendly is likely to take place. That said, a lot of the first team did make it to Korea last time around, despite the Euros and the Copa America, so there might still be a chance for the fans to meet a number of players.
This writer will provide live reports from the tour should he get the chance.
