This article is about thehistory of South Korean national football teams, including youth and women's teams.
Korea (Joseon) was not introduced to the sport of association football until the late 19th century; it is often said that football in Korea dates to 1882, when theRoyal Navy sailors fromHMS Flying Fish played a game while their vessel was visiting theIncheon Port.[1] Korea became aJapanese colony in 1905 and was annexed into it outright in1910.
In 1921, the firstAll Joseon Football Tournament was held, and in 1928, the Joseon Football Association 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 ade facto national team for Koreans, and won the1935 Emperor's Cup.[1] Koreans also played for theJapan national team, most notablyKim Yong-sik who played for Japan at the1936 Summer Olympics.[3]
The Joseon FA was reorganized in 1945 as Japanese occupation ended with the end ofWorld War II.[1][4] Following the establishment of theSouth Korean state in the late 1940s, a newKorea Football Association (KFA) was founded in 1948 and joinedFIFA, the international football governing body. The same year, the South Korean national team made its international debut and won 5–3 againstMexico at the1948 Summer Olympics inLondon.[1]
In 1954, South Korea enteredFIFA World Cup qualification for the first time, and qualified for the1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland by beating Japan 7–3 on aggregate.[5] South Korea were only the second Asian team to compete at a World Cup after theDutch East Indies (Indonesia) in 1938, and the first fully-independent Asian nation to do so. South Korea lost their only two games by heavy margins: 9–0 againstHungary (the joint-heaviest defeat in World Cup history) and 7–0 againstTurkey. Their third scheduled game, againstWest Germany, was never played because neither were seeded in their group, as per that tournament's rules.[6] It would take thirty-two years before South Korea was able to participate at the World Cup finals again.
Two years later, South Korea won theinaugural AFC Asian Cup in 1956.[7] They hosted the next edition in1960 and successfully retained the title, beatingSouth Vietnam,Israel, andRepublic of China in the process.[8] However, the South Korean players received fake medals, instead of the gold medals they had been promised, and returned them to the KFA.[9] The KFA promised to give them real medals, but this did not occur until 2019. South Korea have not won the AFC Asian Cup since, something that has thus been attributed to the "curse of the fake gold medals."[10]
In 1965, the South Korean government was hesitant to play football matches againstNorth Korea and thus withdrew from1966 FIFA World Cup qualification to avoid possibly playing the northern neighbors. Kim Yong-sik, the KFA vice-president at that time, had evaluated North Korea as a world-class team.[11] This would be proven true, as the North Koreans advanced to the quarter-finals at thefinals in England.
In March 1967, theSouth Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) foundedYangzee FC, collecting footballers in South Korea to train them intensively.[12] Yangzee players received benefits like exemption frommilitary service, long-term overseas training and high salaries in return for intensive training.[12] At the1968 Summer Olympics qualification, South Korea was eliminated by goal difference, despite being tied with Japan, the group winners, on points.[13] They also participated in the1969 Asian Champion Club Tournament, finishing as runners-up.[14] However, South Korea failed to qualify for the1970 FIFA World Cup despite governmental support, and Yangzee was losing support asKim Hyong-uk, the director of KCIA and supporter of the club, was dismissed from his post, and tensions between South and North Korea were beginning to subside.[12] Yangzee was eventually dissolved in March 1970 without ever having played against North Korea, but players achieved a good result by winning the1970 Asian Games.[15]
In 1985, South Korea won the East Asian tournament ofFIFA World Cup qualification including two victories against Japan in the final round, and sealed a spot at the World Cup for the first time since 1954. After one of the greatest forwards of GermanBundesliga at that time,Cha Bum-kun,[17][18] joined the existing winning team, the South Korean squad for the1986 FIFA World Cup was evaluated as the golden generation in their country.[19] South Korea lost 3–1 to the eventual championArgentina butPark Chang-sun scored the first-ever South Korean World Cup goal in the first group match. They drew 1–1 withBulgaria and faced the defending championItaly in the last match. They concededAlessandro Altobelli's opening goal, butChoi Soon-ho scored the equalizer outside the penalty area. However, Altobelli's second goal was followed byCho Kwang-rae's fatal own goal, and South Korea lost 3–2 in the match despiteHuh Jung-moo pulling one back. Afterwards, South Korean newscasts and journalists criticised the refereeDavid Socha, claiming that his judgements about situations of the game were poor including the decision to award a penalty to Italy.[20][21] South Korea redeemed their failure of World Cup success with a gold at the1986 Asian Games.[22]
In 1997, Cha Bum-kun became the head coach going intoFIFA World Cup qualification. South Korea consecutively won four early qualifiers againstKazakhstan,Uzbekistan, Japan and theUnited Arab Emirates, and quickly solidified their position as first place of the group. At the1998 FIFA World Cup in France, they lost their first match againstMexico 3–1.Ha Seok-ju scored a deflected free kick for the opening goal, but was then sent off only three minutes after for an ill-advised tackle.[23] South Korea was then thoroughly outclassed by theNetherlands, managed byGuus Hiddink, losing 5–0 inMarseille. Cha was sacked in the middle of the group stage after the loss to the Netherlands. The only South Korean player to be praised from the match was the goalkeeperKim Byung-ji,[24] who conceded five of the Netherlands' 17 shots on target.[25] The team then drew 1–1 againstBelgium in their final group match.
On 18 December 2000, the KFA named Dutch coachGuus Hiddink as the manager of the team for the2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted in South Korea.[27] At the2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, they lost 5–0 againstFrance, the eventual champions, and failed to advance to the semi-finals although defeatingAustralia and Mexico. South Korean journalists criticized Hiddink and gave him a nickname "Oh-dae-ppang", which means five to nothing in Korean, when South Korea lost 5–0 again in the friendly match againstCzech Republic after the Confederations Cup.[28] At the2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, South Korea finished in fourth place with two draws and three losses without a win. However, they showed their improvement in friendly matches against European teams just before the World Cup.[29][30][31]
South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup tournament with Japan. Having never won a game in the World Cup previously, the South Korean team achieved their first ever victory in a World Cup with a 2–0 victory againstPoland when the tournament began. Their next game was against theUnited States and earned a 1–1 draw, with strikerAhn Jung-hwan scoring a late game equalizer. Their last game was againstPortugal, who earned two red cards in the match, reducing them to nine men.Park Ji-sung scored 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 theRed Devils, which gained widespread attention with their passionate support of the team.[32]
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 keeperGianluigi Buffon.Christian Vieri then scored to put Italy ahead butSeol 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.[33] South Korea facedSpain in the quarter-finals. Spain managed to score twice in this match, but both goals were disallowed by the referees.[34][35] The game then went to the penalty shoot-out where South Korea won 5–3, thus becoming the first Asian team to reach the semi-finals.[36] The South Korean team's run was halted by a 1–0 loss to Germany, and their tournament ended in fourth place after a loss to Turkey 3–2 in the third-place match.
Team captainHong Myung-bo received the Bronze Ball as the third best player of the World Cup, the first Asian footballer to receive this award.[37] In addition, Hong was named in the team of the tournament alongside teammateYoo Sang-chul.[37] This level of success was unprecedented for a country that had never won a World Cup match before. They went further than any Asian team, upsetting several established European teams in the process, leading to a rise in the popularity of football in the country. Hiddink became a national hero in South Korea and was granted honorary citizenship.[38]
In 2008, South Korea chose Hiddink's predecessor Huh Jung-moo as their manager again. Huh appointed Park Ji-sung, who got his international debut after being discovered by Huh in the past, as a new captain.[40] Under Huh and Park, the South Korean team was undefeated for 27 consecutive games between 2008 and 2009.[41] In the fourth round of the2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, they recorded four wins and four draws without a loss against North Korea,Saudi Arabia,Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
At the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they won their first game againstGreece 2–0, with goals fromLee Jung-soo and Park Ji-sung. They then faced Argentina and suffered a 4–1 defeat, including an own goal by forwardPark Chu-young. Their next result was a 2–2 draw in the match againstNigeria, with Lee Jung-soo and Park Chu-young scoring. This allowed them to make it to the knockout stage for the first time on foreign soil. In the round of 16 they metUruguay, who took an early lead throughLuis Suárez. South Korea equalized in the second half afterLee Chung-yong scored his second goal of the tournament but conceded to Suárez again in the 80th minute. Despite maintaining the majority of the possession in the second half, South Korea was unable to equalise again and were eliminated from the tournament.
Kim Pan-gon, the KFA official in charge of finding a new manager, contractedPaulo Bento and his coaching team to set long-term goals after the2018 FIFA World Cup.[43] Bento showed a philosophy that wasn't dominated by the opposition's tactics and maintained his team's build-up play.[44] However, South Korea had been familiar with reactive tactics that focus on defense. His style received negative assessments from a significant number of KFA's executives, and he came under fire from the South Korean media. Bento severed relations with the technical committee and managed the national team with only his coaching staff after Kim Pan-gon resigned from the association. Nevertheless, the national team players were attracted to his tactics and systematic training programs, and strongly supported him.[45]
Bento's team easily qualified for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after scoring well against Asian teams, but the media still doubted that his proactive tactics would be effective against World Cup giants.[46][47][48] Before the tournament,Son Heung-min, thePremier League Golden Boot winner and one of South Korea's key players, injured his eye socket and wasn't in optimal condition.[49] At the World Cup, South Korea contested a goalless draw with Uruguay, and encountered a crisis after losing 3–2 toGhana in the second match. Their defense failed to block all three of Ghana's shots on target, although their strikerCho Gue-sung scored two goals with headers.[50] Bento was sent off for arguing with refereeAnthony Taylor just after the match ended,[51] and had to see South Korea's last group match against his homeland Portugal in the stands. However, South Korea defeated Portugal 2–1 withKim Young-gwon andHwang Hee-chan's goals, advancing to the knockout stage as group runners-up.[52] Despite a 4–1 defeat toBrazil in the round of 16, the four-year challenge with Bento was finally appreciated by journalists and set a good direction for South Korean football.[53]
In August 1976, South Korean universities' national football team participated in theWorld University Football Championship, the football competition of theInternational University Sports Federation before theUniversiade football was established.[54] South Korea advanced to the knockout stage by defeating Brazil and Chile, and drawing with France in the group stage. It also won against Senegal and the Netherlands in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively. In the final against Paraguay, South Korean forwardYoo Dong-choon scored the opening goal, but South Korea drew the first half after conceding a goal. During the second half,Cho Kwang-rae won a crucial penalty, and Paraguay gave up the match after two Paraguayan players who didn't accept the judgement were sent off for hitting the referee.[55][56] This scene was a historic moment as South Korea won a world football competition for the first time, although it was not achieved in a professional tournament.
Under manager Hong Myung-bo, the South Korean under-23 team participated at the2012 Summer Olympics in London. In the group stage, South Korea qualified for the quarter-finals as runners-up of their group by beatingSwitzerland 2–1 and drawing withMexico andGabon in two goalless matches. In the quarter-finals, South Korea met hostsGreat Britain. South Korean forwardJi Dong-won scored the opening goal, but British midfielderAaron Ramsey scored a penalty equaliser. Ramsey once again had a penalty chance four minutes after his penalty goal, but South Korea's over-aged goalkeeperJung Sung-ryong blocked it.[57] However, Jung was injured in a collision withMicah Richards in the middle of the second half, and was replaced byLee Bum-young. Nevertheless, Lee did not concede a goal until the end of extra time, and made a save from the shot of Britain's fifth kickerDaniel Sturridge in the penalty shoot-out. South Korea beat Great Britain 5–4 on penalties and Lee was praised by finishing the game successfully, but the compliments turned to criticisms after the semi-finals. He conceded three goals againstBrazil, failing to perform his role.[58] After being eliminated by a 3–0 loss to Brazil, South Korea competed with their historical rivalJapan for a bronze medal. Their over-aged strikerPark Chu-young scored the opening goal with a solo effort against three Japanese defenders, andKoo Ja-cheol scored an additional goal, a decisive one for the victory. South Korea won their first-ever medal in Olympic football after defeating Japan 2–0, and the medalists were exempted from mandatory military service according to the laws of the country. They were called the "London Generation" in South Korea, and most of them played for the senior team in the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where they were eliminated after finishing last in their group.[59]
South Korea's under-19 team, which finished third in the qualifying tournament, was initially ineligible to play in the final stage of the1982 AFC Youth Championship. However, theNorth Korean FA was punished with a two-year suspension for assaulting a referee at the1982 Asian Games by theAsian Football Confederation, so South Korea advanced to the final stage instead ofNorth Korea, the runners-up.[60] After winning the tournament, South Korea qualified for the1983 FIFA World Youth Championship as Asian champions. ManagerPark Jong-hwan trained his team with tactics that demanded a lot of endurance and teamwork for the World Youth Championship.[61]
Drawn in a group withScotland,Australia and the hostMexico, South Korea lost their first game against Scotland, but they advanced to the knockout stage by defeating the other two teams. In the quarter-finals, they facedUruguay, and won the game 2–1 with two extra time goals byShin Yon-ho. The news that they reached the semi-finals for the first time in a FIFA competition became a myth in South Korea,[62] a weak country in sports at the time, although it was a youth competition. The foreign press was also interested in South Korea's achievement, describing it as the "Red Fury".[63][64] South Korea finished the tournament in fourth place after losing toBrazil andPoland,[65] and South Korean defenderKim Pan-keun was named in the official All-Star Team.[66] The name of "Red Devils", the supporters' group for the South Korean national team, was inspired by this story.[67]
The Inter-Korean Sports Conferences were held on the recommendation of theInternational Olympic Committee since 1963, but the conferences always broke down until the 1980s because both sides had not seen eye to eye. In February 1991, however, they decided to make Korean unified teams intable tennis and football.[68] In that same year, both South and North Korea qualified for theFIFA World Youth Championship as winners and runners-up of the1990 AFC Youth Championship, so they urgently madeallied under-20 football team for the world championship despite concerns about communication and teamwork.[69] Their challenge was ended in the quarter-finals.
Less than a year after the government of the Republic of Korea was established in 1948, the first official women's football matches were held inSeoul on 28 and 29 June 1949, as a part of the National Girls' and Women's Sport Games. While women'sbasketball andvolleyball won public recognition through the Games, football was seen as being unsuitable for women and unattractive to the public. As a result, the women's teams were disbanded soon after the event.[70]
When women's football was officially adopted at the1990 Asian Games inBeijing, the South Korean sports authorities decided to form a women's team with athletes from other sports and send the team to the Games.[70] The result was defeat in all matches againstJapan,North Korea,China andChinese Taipei.[71] Nevertheless, colleges and corporations started to launch women's football teams through the 1990s and the first annual national women's football event, the Queen's Cup, was held in 1993.[72] When the1999 FIFA Women's World Cup sparked interest worldwide, the South Korean ministry in charge of sports sponsored the foundation of new teams and tournaments for girls’ high school teams, university teams and company teams. To promote women's football, the Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF) was established in March 2001, as an independent organization in association with theKorea Football Association (KFA).[70]
South Korea finished in third place at the2003 AFC Women's Championship and qualified for theFIFA Women's World Cup for the first time. TheTaegeuk Ladies were drawn inGroup B withNorway,France andBrazil. Their first match played at the World Cup was a 3–0 loss to Brazil. They then lost 1–0 to France and 7–1 to Norway,[73] withKim Jin-hee scoring South Korea's first ever World Cup goal against the latter. They also won the inauguralEAFF Championship on home soil in 2005.[74]
The notable talents in South Korea appeared in the late 2000s. They won the2009 Summer Universiade and the2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, as well as finishing third at the2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[75][76] The number of Women's World Cup berths in Asia was increased from three to five in 2012,[77] which saw South Korea qualify for the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup as the fourth-placed team at the2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup.[78] They earned their first ever World Cup victory by defeatingSpain 2–1 after a 2–0 loss to Brazil and a 2–2 draw withCosta Rica inGroup E. They made it out of the group stage for the first time with the new generation, although losing 3–0 to France in theround of 16.[79][80]