First steps into the K League (1997) Following the foundation of the professional football league (the Korean Super League, reorganized as the
K League in 1998) in Korea, there were few league matches held in Daejeon, and such matches that were held were played by visiting clubs. The absence of a local team in the league made it difficult for the citizens of Daejeon to identify with any particular team. However, in 1996 a plan to establish 'Daejeon Citizen' – their own local community club – was unveiled, which meant the citizens of Daejeon would have their own team to support in the league. Daejeon was the first club that did not belong to a major company, and would play in the
Daejeon Hanbat Stadium.
Kim Ki-bok was appointed the first manager of Daejeon Citizen. With high expectations, Daejeon took their first step in the K League in 1997, opening their season with a match vs.
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i. However, the results achieved in their first season did not live up to expectations. Although the club placed seventh in the league, ahead of
Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma,
Anyang LG Cheetahs, and
Bucheon SK, they won only three matches out of 18 games.
The IMF Crisis (1998–2000) In 1998, a
major economic crisis hit the South Korean economy. Daejeon Citizen did not escape this crisis unscathed. The main board of Daejeon consisted of 4 groups – Kyeryong Construction Industrial, Dong-A Construction, DongYang Department Store and Chungcheong Bank. But as a consequence of the IMF crisis, three of the four groups went bankrupt, leaving Kyeryong as the only survivor of the original board. There was a subsequent impact on the level of financial and management support provided to the club. This made for a particularly difficult
1998 season. Daejeon once again won only three games, placing ninth. In the following season,
1999, Daejeon improved their winning record to six victories. However, changes in the K League structure since the previous year meant that an extra 9 games were played, 27 in total, from the previous season. There were a total of 18 losses, the worst in the league. Despite this, Daejeon improved to eighth place.
On the verge of disappearing (2001–2002) For the 2001 season,
Lee Tae-ho was appointed manager, and promptly took Daejeon Citizen's first piece of silverware, leading Daejeon to victory in the
season's FA Cup. The decisive goal of the FA Cup final came from
Kim Eun-jung, which gave the team a one-nil victory over the Pohang Steelers. Due to this win, Daejeon also qualified for the 2002–03
AFC Champions League for the first time. This helped compensate for their poor performance in the K League, in which they finished last. South Korea was a co-host of the
2002 FIFA World Cup, with Daejeon as one of the host cities. The city constructed a brand new stadium for the World Cup, and following the conclusion of the tournament, Daejeon Citizen changed stadiums. The shift from their former stadium,
Daejeon Hanbat Stadium, to
Daejeon World Cup Stadium, meant the club not only benefited from the new facilities, but also the greater capacity of the stadium. Daejeon's poor league performance from the previous year was carried into the
2002 season, and the club finished last again with only a single victory. Lee Tae-ho eventually resigned taking responsibility for the poor results. However, more creditable results were achieved in the
AFC Champions League. Although they did not proceed beyond the group phase, they did finish second in the group, defeating both
Shanghai Shenhua and
Kashima Antlers. Their only loss was to the eventual group winner and overall runner-up, Thai club
BEC Tero Sasana. In other changes for 2002, the key financial supporter of the club – Kyeryong, which with their support ensured that Daejeon Citizen would survive the IMF crisis – declared that they would withdraw from the club's board. Daejeon City Hall decided to give financial support to the club. This ensured the club would survive to participate in the 2003 season.
Football Special City (2003–2008) The
2003 season proved to be memorable for Daejeon fans.
Choi Yun-kyum, previously coach at Bucheon SK, was appointed manager to replace Lee Tae-ho who had resigned in the wake of the club's 2002 season. Choi promptly inspired the team and completely changed its dynamics by implementing the 4–3–3 formation. The outcome was a near miraculous recovery from 2002, and he, together with Daejeon Citizen, coined the catchphrase "Miracle 2003". Daejeon Citizen finished the season in sixth place, its best finish ever in the league, having won 18 out of 44 games. Its sixth place was even more meritorious as the K League had expanded to twelve teams, with
Daegu FC and
Gwangju Sangmu Phoenix entering the competition for the first time. The club's popularity flourished at this time, leading the city of Daejeon to be called "Football Special City" (축구특별시). Its home game attendance rose to 19,000, and a record home attendance of nearly 44,000 was set. It proved difficult for the club to maintain its performance into
2004. A lack of striking power at the attacking end of the field left the club with the worst offensive record of all the clubs in the K League, scoring 18 goals in 24 games. Daejeon slipped to eleventh place out of thirteen teams. However, they did make it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, going down to eventual runners-up, Bucheon SK. Daejeon also finished as runners-up in the
Hauzen Cup, behind only
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. However, superb defence saw only 20 goals conceded (best defensive record in the league) ensuring that Daejeon finished seventh in the regular season, having lost only six games. The win over Suwon was Daejeon's fifth consecutive victory and ultimately enabled them to qualify for the
championship playoffs for the first time in their history. When
Kim Ho took over from previous manager Choi Yun-kyum in the mid-season, Daejeon were sitting in eleventh place. However, under the guidance of their coach, and with good performances from
Denilson, who scored 14 goals, and one of Korea's best technical players,
Ko Jong-soo, they eventually qualified for the play-offs. They were ultimately beaten by Ulsan Hyundai in the first phase of the play-offs. The team continued to struggle in the following seasons, finishing 13th in 2012 and last in 2013, resulting in relegation. Daejeon won promotion back to the top tier, winning the
2014 K League Challenge. However, the club was immediately relegated back to the second division after finishing last in the
2015 K League Classic. The club would spend the next several seasons in K League Challenge/K League 2 while failing to advance past the round of 16 in the FA Cup.
Hana takeover (2019–present) In late 2019,
Hana Financial Group officially acquired the club, transitioning Daejeon Citizen from a public to a corporate club and renaming it Daejeon Hana Citizen. Hana's investment into the team led to improved results, with the newly renamed DHFC winning promotion to K League 1 after a runners-up finish in the
2022 K League 2. Attendance soared in their first season back in top flight, with the club recording an average attendance of nearly 13000 in the
2023 K League 1 season thanks to the effects of promotion, removal of
COVID-19 restrictions, and the bright performances of new stars such as
Bae Jun-ho, who would eventually transfer to
EFL Championship side
Stoke City. in a match against
FC Seoul in 2024 In the
2024 K League 1 season, former South Korean national team striker
Hwang Sun-hong was appointed head coach, and the club managed to avoid relegation play-offs. After a busy winter transfer market, they began the
2025 season very strongly, being first in the league with 23 points after 11 matches with a particularly good showing by newly acquired striker
Joo Min-kyu. The club's young attacker
Yoon Do-young signed a transfer agreement to join
Premier League side
Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer for a club record fee of 3.8 billion won. Under Hwang, Daejeon finished as runners-up behind
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2025, the club's highest-ever finish. ==Stadium==