South Korea
- Cha Bum-Kun –Goals: 58
- Hwang Sun-Hong – Goals: 50
- Park Lee-Chun – Goals: 36
- Kim Jae-Han – Goals: 33
- Son Heung-Min – Goals: 33
Son Heung-Min is one of the best players in the world and is the first Asian player to win a Premier League Golden Boot. A Puskas award winner in 2020, Son has made over 100 appearances for the South Korea national team and scored over 30 goals. He has won the Best Footballer in Asia award for eight years running.
Cha Bum-Kun became the youngest player ever to reach 100 international appearances, at age 24. Nicknamed “Cha Boom” in Germany for his powerful strikes, he’s one of the best Asian players of all time. Cha Bum-Kun is South Korea’s all time leading scorer and was named IFFHS’s Asian Player of the 20th Century.
Hong Myung-Bo played in four World Cups for South Korea as a central defender. He was one of only two Asian players included in Pele’s FIFA 100, a 2004 list of the 125 greatest living soccer players. Hong Myung-Bo, for his efforts in the 2002 World Cup, won the Bronze Ball award as the tournament’s third-best player. He became the first Asian player to be named in the top three.
Park Ji-Sung was Manchester United’s unsung hero of the 2000’s. He won four Premier League titles as a versatile and energetic midfielder and the UEFA Champions League. Park Ji-Sung was named the AFC’s best ever player in the FIFA World Cup in 2020. He made 100 appearances for the South Korea national team, scoring 13 goals.
Lee Woon-Jae represented the South Korea national team for 16 years and played in four World Cups. The goalkeeper was the only Asian keeper nominated for the IFFHS best goalie of the 21st century. Excellent at saving penalties, Lee Woon-Jae won 11 of 12 shootouts in the K-League and made 133 appearances for South Korea.
Before 2002, South Korea had never reached the knockout stage at a World Cup. This time around, South Korea were co-hosts with Japan and could lean on their home fans for support.
In their first match vs. Poland, goals from Hwang Sun-Hong and Yoo Sang-Chul gave South Korea their first ever World Cup win. Ahn Jung-Hwan scored a late equalizer in the next match vs. the USA to preserve a draw. Then, South Korea defeated group favorites Portugal 1-0 to advance as group winners.
Unexpectedly, South Korea knocked off Italy in the round of 16. After the match ended 1-1 in normal time, Ahn Jung-Hwan’s golden goal header sent the South Koreans through. In the quarterfinals vs. Spain, the Taegeuk Warriors conceded twice but both goals were disallowed.
Winning in a penalty shootout, South Korea became the first Asian team to make the semifinals of a World Cup. They, however, fell to Germany 1-0 and lost 3-2 to Turkey in the third place game. For his efforts, defender Hong Myung-Bo won the Bronze Ball as the tournament’s third best player. He and teammate Yoo Sang-Chul are the only Asian players to ever be selected for a World Cup best XI.
South Korea did well to qualify for their first World Cup just six years after joining FIFA. However, their performance in 1954 left a lot to be desired and their first match ended in the joint-worst defeat in World Cup history. Hungary showed no mercy to South Korea, defeating them 9-0.
If that weren’t enough, Turkey put seven goals on the Taegeuk Warriors in the next match. South Korea didn’t play the other unseeded team in their group, Germany and were eliminated early with no goals scored and 16 conceded
Team Information
South Korea National Football Team History
Post-Japanese Occupation Beginnings
After the Japanese occupation ended, South Korea created a football federation in 1948. That same year, the South Korean national football team participated in their first tournament, the Summer Olympics.
In 1954, South Korea defeated Japan 7-3 on aggregate to become just the second Asian team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, their performance was one of the worst in the history of the tournament.
Major Trophy at the 1956 AFC Asian Cup
Regardless, they won their first major trophy at the inaugural AFC Asian Cup in 1956. The Taegeuk Warriors retained their title in 1960 but haven’t won the AFC Asian Cup since. They finished as runners up in 1972 and 1980 but failed to qualify for a World Cup in the 60’s and 70’s.
Another South Korea FIFA World Cup appearance finally came at Mexico 1986. Their much awaited return started off with a 3-1 loss to eventual champions Argentina. Park Chang-Sun scored South Korea’s first-ever World Cup goal in the match. With a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria, the Taegeuk Warriors got their first-ever World Cup point but fell 3-2 to Italy in the group stage finale.
Home-Soil World-Cup Win
South Korea qualified for the World Cup again in 1990, 1994, and 1998 but failed to get out of the group stage in any of them. Fans had to wait until 2002 for South Korea’s first World Cup win, but it came on home soil. In Busan, South Korea defeated Poland 2-0 in their opener with goals from Hwang Sun-Hong and Yoo Sang-Chul.
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With a late equalizer, South Korea national football team drew 1-1 with the USA in their next match. In the group stage finale, South Korea defeated Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo and Portugal with a score of 1-0 and won their group. Incredibly, in their first knockout stage appearance, South Korea made the semifinals and were narrowly eliminated by Germany.
A 27-Game Unbeaten Streak
Four years later, the Taegeuk Warriors were unable to reach the heights they did in 2002. At Germany 2006, they were eliminated in the World Cup group stage for a sixth time in seven World Cup appearances. South Korea were on an impressive 27-game unbeaten streak in 2009 and hopes were high for South Africa 2010.
South Korea returned to the knockout stage in 2010, opening up their campaign with a 2-0 win vs. Greece. Despite a 4-1 loss vs. Argentina, South Korea made the knockout stage with a 2-2 draw vs. Nigeria. Uruguay, with a 2-1 win, eliminated the South Koreans in the round of 16.
Ten World Cups in a Row
Qualifying again in 2014, 2018 and 2022, South Korea have appeared at an incredible 10 World Cups in a row. The Taegeuk Warriors were underwhelming in 2014 but got a shocking 2-0 win against Germany in 2018. Despite getting eliminated along with Germany, the South Korea national football team caused the first German first-round exit in 80 years.
With their appearance at the 2022 World Cup being their 11th, no Asian team has qualified more times than South Korea. Qualification for Qatar 2022 came in the form of a 2-0 win over Syria, in Dubai.
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