South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia since the 1980s, having participated in ten consecutive and eleven overallFIFA World Cup tournaments, the most for any Asian country. Despite initially going through five World Cup tournaments without winning a match, South Korea became the first (and so far only) Asian team to reach the semi-finals when they co-hosted the2002 tournament with Japan. South Korea also has won twoAFC Asian Cup titles, and finished as runners-up on four occasions. Furthermore, the team won three gold medals and three silver medals at the seniorAsian Games.[3]
The team is commonly nicknamed the "Reds" by both fans and the media due to the color of their primary kit. The national team's supporting group is officially referred to as theRed Devils.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[5] Koreans also played for theJapan national team, most notablyKim Yong-sik who played for Japan at the1936 Summer Olympics.[7]
The Joseon FA was reorganized in 1945 as Japanese occupation ended with the end ofWorld War II.[5][8] 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.[5]
The South Korean team with the country's presidentSyngman Rhee after winning the 1956 AFC Asian Cup
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] They hosted the next edition in1960 and successfully retained the title, beatingSouth Vietnam,Israel, andRepublic of China in the process.[12] However, the South Korean players received fake medals, instead of the gold medals they had been promised, and returned them to the KFA.[13] 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."[14]
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.[15] 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.[16] Yangzee players received benefits like exemption frommilitary service, long-term overseas training and high salaries in return for intensive training.[16] At the1968 Summer Olympics qualification, South Korea was eliminated by goal difference, despite being tied with Japan, the group winners, on points.[17] They also participated in the1969 Asian Champion Club Tournament, finishing as runners-up.[18] 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.[16] 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.[19]
South Korea's starting line-up against Italy at the 1986 FIFA World Cup[20]
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,[21][22] joined the existing winning team, the South Korean squad for the1986 FIFA World Cup was evaluated as the golden generation in their country.[23] 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.[24][25] South Korea redeemed their failure of World Cup success with a gold at the1986 Asian Games.[26]
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.[27] 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,[28] who conceded five of the Netherlands' 17 shots on target.[29] The team then drew 1–1 againstBelgium in their final group match.
South Korea's starting line-up against Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup[30]
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.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33][34][35]
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.[36]
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.[37] South Korea facedSpain in the quarter-finals. Spain managed to score twice in this match, but both goals were disallowed by the referees.[38][39] 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.[40] 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.[41] In addition, Hong was named in the team of the tournament alongside teammateYoo Sang-chul.[41] 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.[42]
South Korea's starting line-up against Greece at the 2010 FIFA World Cup[43]
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.[44] Under Huh and Park, the South Korean team was undefeated for 27 consecutive games between 2008 and 2009.[45] 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.
Paulo Bento was the longest-serving manager in South Korean national team history.[46]
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.[47] Bento showed a philosophy that wasn't dominated by the opposition's tactics and maintained his team's build-up play.[48] 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.[49]
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.[50][51][52] 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.[53] 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.[54] Bento was sent off for arguing with refereeAnthony Taylor just after the match ended,[55] 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.[56] 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.[57]
The South Korea national football team has been known or nicknamed as theTaegeuk Warriors (Korean: 태극전사) and theTigers of Asia (Korean: 아시아의 호랑이).[58][59]
Red is the traditional shirt color of the South Korean national team, who are consequently nicknamed the "Reds", while the fans are called the "Red Devils". The away shirt has varied between white and blue. In 1994, the home shirt shifted from red to white, but in October 1995, red returned as the home color, paired with black shorts.
South Korea used to wear thecountry's flag as their shirt badge until 2001, when their tiger crest was unveiled.[60] On 5 February 2020, theKFA announced a new, more simplistic logo.[61] The emblem retained the tiger, albeit in a more minimalist design, enclosed in a rectangular frame.[61] Red, blue and white, South Korea's traditional colors, have been maintained in the new logo.[61]
The South Korea national team played their first home match at theDongdaemun Stadium on 21 April 1956. The match was aqualifier for the1956 AFC Asian Cup against thePhilippines.[71] They currently play their home matches at several stadiums, which are also used byK League clubs.
South Korea's biggest rival isJapan. The rivalry is an extension of a competitive rivalry between the two nations that goes beyond football, and some matches in the past have been tainted with controversy.[72][73] South Korea leads the all-time series with 42 wins, 23 draws and 17 losses.[74]
A rivalry has also developed withIran.[75] The two nations have played against each other officially since 1958, totalling 33 matches as of March 2022, including eleven World Cup qualifiers. Although the teams played against each other only once in the final match of theAsian Cup, in1972, they have faced each other five consecutive times in the quarter-finals between 1996 and 2011, with each team recording two wins, two losses, and a draw. Iran leads the all-time series with 13 wins, 10 draws and 10 losses.[74]
Another major rival isAustralia. In head-to-head matches, each team achieved 9 wins in 29 encounters, and 11 matches ended in a draw.[74] The two countries have also met in four matches at the Asian Cup,[76] including the2015 final, where Australia won 2–1 after extra time for their first ever Asian championship.[77]
South Korea has had great success againstChina, as China failed to beat them in competitive matches for 32 years before finally winning in 2010.[78] They also possess a strong rivalry withNorth Korea, though matches are infrequent due to diplomatic and security reasons.
The official supporter group of the national team, the Red Devils, were founded in 1995. Known for their passionate support, they are commonly referred to as the12th man.[36] Their most common chant is"Dae~ Han-Min-Guk" [ko] (대~한민국), followed by five claps.[79]
The following players were called up for thefriendly matches againstBolivia andGhana on 14 and 18 November 2025, respectively.[89][90] Caps and goals updated as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Ghana.
^축구 국가대표팀 외국인 코칭스태프 선임 [Appointment of foreign coaching staff for the national football team] (in Korean). KFA. 21 August 2024. Retrieved21 August 2024.
^대표팀 국내 코치진 발표 - 박건하, 김동진, 김진규 선임 [Announcement of the national team's domestic coaches - Appointment of Park Kun-ha, Kim Dong-jin, and Kim Jin-kyu] (in Korean). KFA. 16 August 2024. Retrieved21 August 2024.
^2026 북중미 월드컵 본선 대비 축구대표팀 코칭스태프 개편 [2026 Football North and Central America Finals National Team Coaching Staff Reorganization] (in Korean). KFA. 24 July 2025. Retrieved24 July 2025.
.jpg)
