History of the South Korea national football team

Korea was not introduced to the sport of association football until the late 19th century; it is often said that soccer in Korea dates to 1882, when British sailors from HMS Flying Fish played a game while their vessel was visiting the Incheon Port.[1]

Korea became a Japanese colony in 1905 and was annexed into it outright in 1910. In 1921, the first All Joseon Football Tournament was held, and in 1928, the Joseon Football Association (JFA) was organized, which created a foundation to disseminate and develop football in Korea.[2] Korean teams participated in competitions with Japanese teams from around 1926; Joseon Football Club became a de facto national team for Koreans, and won the 1935 Japanese national championship.[1] Koreans also played on the Japanese national team, most notably Kim Yong-sik who played for Japan at the 1936 Summer Olympics; Japan's last prewar national team in 1940 had two Korean players, Kim Yong-sik and Kim Sung-gan.[3][4]

The JFA was reorganized in 1945 as Japanese occupation ended with the close of World War II.[1][5] Following the establishment of the South Korean state in the late 1940s, a new Korea Football Association (KFA) was founded in 1948 and joined FIFA, the international football governing body. The same year, the South Korean national team made its international debut and won 5–3 against Mexico at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.[1]

South Korea first entered the FIFA World Cup qualification in 1954 and qualified to participate at the 1954 FIFA World Cup by defeating Japan 7–3 on aggregate with Choi Chung-min's three goals.[6] South Korea became the second Asian team ever to compete at the FIFA World Cup after the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). South Korea played games against Hungary and Turkey, losing 9–0 and 7–0 respectively (the game scheduled against West Germany was never played because neither were seeded in their group, as per that tournament's rules).[7] It would take thirty-two years before South Korea was able to participate at the World Cup finals again.

The KFA joined the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) in 1954.[8] South Korea won three silver medals consecutively at the Asian Games (1954, 1958, 1962).[9] The South Korea's 5–0 win against Iran at the 1958 Asian Games is the largest margin in their rivalry.[10] At the 1962 Asian Games, South Korea won all group matches against Japan, Thailand and India. They defeated Malaya in the semi-finals and met India again in the final but lost.[11] South Korea participated at the first AFC Asian Cup in 1956. They drew with Hong Kong but defeated Israel and South Vietnam to take first place.[12] They hosted and won the 1960 AFC Asian Cup by winning all of their games against South Vietnam, Israel and Republic of China but failed to repeat this success at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup which Israel won.[13][14]

South Korea didn't enter the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to avoid North Korea. The Korean Central Intelligence Agency was motivated by North Korea's advancing to the quarter-finals at the 1966 FIFA World Cup and ordered KFA to found Yangzee FC for the national team's development.[15] South Korea failed to qualify for the 1970 FIFA World Cup but achieved a good result by winning the 1970 Asian Games.[16] South Korea reached the final at the 1972 AFC Asian Cup but lost against Iran after extra time.[17] South Korea won all six games until the semi-finals at the 1978 Asian Games and shared gold medals by drawing with North Korea in the final.[18] South Korea reached the final with the 18-year-old forward Choi Soon-ho's seven goals at the 1980 AFC Asian Cup and met Kuwait, who they defeated 3–0 in the group stage, but lost 3–0 this time.[19]

In 1986, South Korea won the East Asia zone competition of the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification with two wins against Japan in the final round and was able to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1954. South Korea lost 3–1 to the eventual champion Argentina but Park Chang-sun scored the first South Korean goal of the World Cup in the first group match. They drew 1–1 with Bulgaria and faced the defending champion Italy in the crucial last match. However, South Korea lost 3–2 in a match that caused controversy in South Korea due to the referee David Socha's alleged poor officiating.[20]

In the same year, South Korea hosted the 1986 Asian Games. Cho Kwang-rae led the team's gold medal by consecutively scoring winning goals in the semi-finals against Indonesia and the final against Saudi Arabia.[21] South Korea also hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics and drew 0–0 with the eventual champion Soviet Union and United States but lost 2–1 against Argentina in the group stage. Their next major tournament was the 1988 AFC Asian Cup, in which they won all four games in the group stage and defeated China in the semi-finals but lost on penalties 4–3 in the final against Saudi Arabia. Kim Joo-sung became the first Korean player who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.[22] South Korea finished the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification in first place by recording nine wins and two draws without a loss and qualified for the World Cup again.

South Korea started the 1990s poorly. At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, they lost all their games against Spain (3–1), Uruguay (1–0), and Belgium (2–0). South Korea won the 1990 Dynasty Cup, the East Asian tournament, but failed to qualify for the 1992 AFC Asian Cup by losing against Thailand in the qualification because the KFA sent B team to the match.

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup they managed to draw with Spain 2–2. Hong Myung-bo scored a goal and assisted teammate Seo Jung-won with the second, with both goals occurring in the last five minutes of the game. In their next game they earned another draw with Bolivia 0–0. In their last game against Germany they nearly managed another draw with Hwang Sun-hong and Hong Myung-bo each scoring a goal in the second half after being down 3–0 but they were unable to score thereafter and were defeated 3–2.

South Korea participated at the 1994 Asian Games after the World Cup. They defeated Nepal 11–0 with Hwang Sun-hong's eight goals in the first match. They also defeated Oman but lost to Kuwait and finished the group stage in second place. They defeated Japan in the quarter-finals but lost to Uzbekistan in the semi-finals and Kuwait again in the bronze medal match so stayed in fourth place.[23] Their poor performances continued at the 1996 AFC Asian Cup. They barely managed to make it out of the group stage as they ranked third in their group, losing to Kuwait on goal difference.[24] A comparison made between all the third-ranked teams in each group allowed South Korea to advance. However, they suffered a 6–2 loss to Iran in the quarter-finals, conceding five goals in the second half which included Ali Daei's four goals.[25]

Afterwards, former South Korean international Cha Bum-kun became the head coach going into the 1998 FIFA World Cup. They won the group of the final round in the qualification. However, performing well in the qualification, the team played poorly in the tournament, losing to Mexico 3–1 and the Netherlands 5–0. Cha was sacked after the loss to the Netherlands. The team then managed a 1–1 draw against Belgium.

Huh Jung-moo succeeded to the position of manager and participated at the 1998 Asian Games during December. They precariously started the tournament with loss to Turkmenistan in the first round. They won all matches against Japan, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in the second round but lost to Thailand in the quarter-finals by conceding golden goal during extra time.[26] South Korea ranked 17th place in the FIFA World Rankings after the tournament which is their highest ranking despite their poor results in major tournaments.[27] South Korea was invited out to the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and met Canada and Costa Rica in the group stage. The three teams drew all their games and Costa Rica took first place in the group by more goals. South Korea had a coin toss with Canada to decide quarter-finalists and lost it. At the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, South Korea managed to advance out of the group stage and defeated Iran in the quarter-finals but were beaten by Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals. They defeated China to gain third place.[28]

On 18 December 2000, the KFA named Dutch coach Guus Hiddink as the manager of the team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted in South Korea.[29] The KFA promised him to ensure long-term training camps and authority about management of coaching staff.[30] At the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, they lost 5–0 against France, the eventual champions, and failed to advance to the semi-finals although defeating Australia and Mexico. South Korean journalists criticized Hiddnk and gave him a nickname "Oh Dae Ppang", meaning five to nothing, when South Korea lost 5–0 again at the friendly match against Czech Republic after the Confederations Cup.[31] At the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, South Korea finished in fourth place with two draws and three losses without a win. However, their results improved at three friendly matches prior to the World Cup against Scotland (4–1 win), England (1–1 draw) and France (3–2 loss).[32][33][34]

Seoul Plaza during the 2002 World Cup

South Korea co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament with Japan. They had never won a game in the World Cup previously but the South Korean team achieved their first ever victory in a World Cup with a 2–0 victory against Poland when the tournament began. Their next game was against the United States and earned a 1–1 draw, with striker Ahn Jung-hwan scoring a late game equalizer. Their last game was against the favored Portuguese side. Portugal earned two red cards in the match, reducing them to nine men and Park Ji-sung scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory, allowing the South Korean team to qualify for the second round for the first time in their history. The team's success led to widespread euphoria from the South Korean public, with many people joining the Red Devils, which gained widespread attention with their passionate support of the team.[35]

South Korea's second round opponents were Italy, who they defeated 2–1. The South Korean team was awarded an early penalty but Ahn Jung-hwan's effort was saved by Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon. Christian Vieri then scored to put Italy ahead but Seol Ki-hyeon scored an equalizer in the 88th minute, allowing the game to go through to extra time. Francesco Totti was controversially sent off for an alleged dive and Ahn redeemed his missed penalty by scoring the winner with a headed golden goal, allowing them to advance to the quarter-final. South Korea faced Spain in the quarter-finals. Spain managed to score twice in this match, but both goals were cancelled by the referees.[36][37] The game then went to the penalty shoot-out where South Korea won 5–3, thus becoming the first Asian team to reach the final four.[38] The South Korean team's run was halted by a 1–0 loss to Germany in the semi-finals. They lost to Turkey 3–2 in the third-place match and finished the tournament in fourth place.

Team captain Hong Myung-bo received the Bronze Ball as the World Cup's third best player, the first Asian footballer to be awarded this. In addition Hong was selected for the team of tournament alongside teammate Yoo Sang-chul, the first and only time Asian footballers have been named. This level of success was unprecedented for a country that had never before won a game in the World Cup. They had gone further than any Asian team and upset several established European teams in the process, leading to an increase in the popularity of football in the country. Hiddink became a national hero in South Korea, becoming the first person to be granted honorary citizenship as well as being given a private villa.

Despite widespread pleas for him to stay, Hiddink resigned following the 2002 World Cup. After his departure there was a greater emphasis on hiring foreign coaches. As a result, Portuguese coach Humberto Coelho became the new manager. Under his management South Korea participated in and won the first EAFF East Asian Cup in 2003. However, following a defeats to Oman and Vietnam and a draw against the Maldives, Coehlo was sacked. Dutch coach Jo Bonfrère then took over. They had less success the next year at the Asian Cup, losing to Iran in the quarter-finals. South Korea hosted the 2005 EAFF East Asian Cup but finished in last place.

South Korea qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup after defeating Kuwait in the qualifiers, finishing second in Group B after Saudi Arabia. By this point Bonfrère had come under heavy criticism for the team's poor performance during the 2005 East Asian Cup as well as a loss to Saudi Arabia during World Cup qualification. He eventually resigned, and as a result, the KFA named Dick Advocaat the new coach to lead the team into the World Cup. During the 2006 World Cup, South Korea achieved their first World Cup victory outside Asia by beating Togo 2–1, with goals from Lee Chun-soo and Ahn Jung-hwan. Their next game was against France, who held the lead for most of the game but a goal by Park Ji-sung allowed the South Korean team to draw with the eventual finalists. This placed South Korea at the top of their group but they lost their last game 2–0 to Switzerland, which eliminated them from the tournament. Advocaat resigned due to his contract with a Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg before the World Cup and was replaced by assistant coach Pim Verbeek, who had also worked under Hiddink during the 2002 World Cup.

South Korea's next major tournament was the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. The team struggled in the group stages without Premier League players Lee Young-pyo, Park Ji-sung, and Seol Ki-hyeon. The team drew its first game against Saudi Arabia but suffered a shocking loss to Bahrain. They narrowly defeated co-host Indonesia in their final group game and managed to scrape through with four points. They defeated Iran in the quarter-finals via penalty shoot-out following a draw. South Korea entered another penalty shoot-out after another goalless draw to Iraq but were defeated. They then beat Japan on penalties once more to gain third place. Later, it was discovered that during the tournament, four veteran players, including then captain Lee Woon-jae, broke team rules to go on a late-night drinking binge in an Indonesian bar. Each of the four players were banned from national team participation for at least two years.[39] Verbeek resigned after the tournament, taking blame for the team's unsatisfactory performance as they had failed to score a single goal following the group stage and had to resort to penalties for three games in a row. He also criticized the unrealistic expectations from the fans.

South Korea playing against Argentina at the FIFA World Cup, in June 2010.

Afterwards, South Korea chose Huh Jung-moo as their manager again and Park Ji-sung as the next captain. Under Huh's management, the South Korean team managed to win the 2008 EAFF East Asian Cup, go undefeated for 27 consecutive games in 2009. South Korea won the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification with seven wins and seven draws without a loss.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, they won their first game against Greece 2–0, with goals from Lee Jung-soo and Park Ji-sung. They then faced Argentina and suffered a large loss 4–1, including an own goal by forward Park Chu-young. They then obtained a 2–2 draw in a match against Nigeria, with Lee Jung-Soo scoring in the tournament once more and Park Chu-young redeeming his own goal from the previous game by scoring from a free kick. This allowed them to make it to the second round for the first time on foreign soil. In the knockout stage they met Uruguay, who took an early lead with a goal from Luis Suárez. South Korea equalized in the second half after Lee Chung-yong scored his second goal of the tournament but South Korea conceded another goal by Suárez in the 80th minute. Despite maintaining the majority of the possession in the second half, South Korea was unable to equalize again and were eliminated from the tournament.

Following the 2010 World Cup, Cho Kwang-rae took over as the coach. At the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, they won against Bahrain, India and drew with Australia in the group stage. They finished with seven points but was second in the group after Australia on goal difference. They won Iran after extra time in the quarter-finals and faced rivals Japan in the semi-finals. They drew with Japan during 120 minutes, but failed to score in the penalty shoot-out with Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima saving two shots and were beaten 3–0. They defeated Uzbekistan to earn third place and managed to win the Fair Play Award. Koo Ja-cheol finished as the tournament's top scorer with five goals. Following the Asian Cup, key players Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo retired and the team's performance began to decline. Following a defeats to Japan and Lebanon, Cho was sacked.

South Korea national football team – October 2012

Cho Kwang-rae was hurriedly replaced with Choi Kang-hee with the task of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as the team was in jeopardy of breaking its long-running streak of World Cup qualification. Under Choi South Korea narrowly qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil by finishing second in their group via goal difference. Choi's contract was up after the conclusion of the qualification matches and was replaced by former player Hong Myung-bo, who had captained the 2002 World Cup team and coached the under-23 team to a bronze medal finish at the 2012 Summer Olympics, hosted in London. Hong actively used the Olympic bronze medalists for the 2014 World Cup who are called the "London Generation".[40]

South Korea started its World Cup campaign against Russia and drew 1–1 with them. South Korea suffered a 4–2 loss to Algeria in their second game, conceding three goals by half time with no shots on goal. Son Heung-min and Koo Ja-cheol both scored goals in the second half but the South Koreans were unable to equalize, leaving them at the bottom of their group. Their final game was against Belgium and despite Belgian midfielder Steven Defour earning a red card in the match they were able to win 1–0, eliminating South Korea and leaving them without a single win for the first time since 1998.

The team's poor performance resulted in a hostile reaction from fans, who threw toffees at them upon their return.[41] Hong was heavily criticized for the perceived lack of strategy and team selection controversies. Following the World Cup, Hong initially intended to continue in his position until the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, but relented and resigned under heavy media pressure along with several KFA associates in responsibility for the failures at the World Cup. The team was ranked 69th by the end of the year, their worst ever. After initial negotiations with Bert van Marwijk broke down, the KFA appointed Uli Stielike in October as the new manager with a contract up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. At the group stage of the 2015 Asian Cup, they won all three games against host country Australia, Kuwait and Oman but some players suffered injuries and had to leave the tournament. South Korea defeated Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals with two goals from Son Heung-min in extra time and advanced to semi-finals for the tenth time, a tournament record. They defeated Iraq in the semi-finals and advance to the final for the first time since 1988. In the final, South Korea faced Australia which they defeated in the group stage but lost after extra time.[42] Despite the loss in the final, the team was praised for its performance as they had managed to reach the final without conceding any goals.[43] For the combined qualification matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, South Korea won all seven matches without conceding a goal in the second round but following a series of poor results in the third round of qualifiers, including losses to China and Qatar, Stielike was sacked and was replaced by former under-20 and under-23 coach Shin Tae-yong for the remainder of the qualifying round.[44] Under Shin, the team managed to qualify as the second-placed team in their group following two goalless draws against Iran and Uzbekistan, sending South Korea to the World Cup for the ninth consecutive time.[45]

South Korea national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

At the 2018 World Cup, they lost their first game against Sweden 1–0 after conceding a penalty kick. They then faced Mexico and lost 2–1 after conceding another penalty kick. However, despite their two consecutive losses, South Korea was not eliminated just yet. To have any chance of advancing, South Korea would have to win their final group stage match against the defending champions Germany by at least two goals and Mexico would have to defeat Sweden in its last group stage game.[46] South Korea for its part did what it had to do to stay in contention and won 2–0 against Germany, causing them to be eliminated in the first round for the first time in 80 years. Germany had 28 shots with 6 on target, but the South Korea's defense, led by keeper Jo Hyeon-woo, did not concede once.[47][48][49] However, Mexico lost to Sweden that same day and thus South Korea ultimately finished third in the group. As a result, South Korea saved Mexico from being eliminated and Mexican fans heavily praised the Koreans and celebrated their victory in front of the South Korean embassy.[50][51][52] The match is also called the "Miracle of Kazan" in South Korea although they dropped out of the tournament.[53] However, Shin resigned from the team and Portuguese manager Paulo Bento replaced him after the World Cup.[54]

South Korea participated at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and finished the group stage with nine points.[55] The team eliminated Bahrain after extra time in the Round of 16,[56] but lost in quarter-finals by the eventual tournament winners Qatar.[57]