The

South Korea national football team The South Korea national football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in men's international football and is governed by the Korea Football Association. South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia ...

has appeared 14 times at the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

. They have failed to qualify for the finals on three occasions, in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. South Korea won the inaugural edition of the tournament in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, held in Hong Kong, and successfully defended the title on home soil in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. In addition, the team finished as runners-up on four occasions.

Competitive record

Details

1956 (Hong Kong)

South Koreans are inaugural champions of the Asian Cup. South Korea had unfavorable schedule that required them to meet their largest rivals

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

two days after playing their first match, but defeated Israel.

1960 (South Korea)

South Korea won their second consecutive title, and a South Korean forward

Cho Yoon-ok Cho Yoon-ok (25 February 1940 – 22 June 2002) was a South Korean football player and manager. Considered one of Asia's greatest inside forwards in the 1960s, Cho led South Korea to an AFC Asian Cup title. He also participated at the 1964 Sum ...

became the top goalscorer. However, South Korean players received fake medals, and returned the medals to the Korean FA. The KFA gave real medals to their families in 2019.

1964 (Israel)

The 1964 Asian Cup was held when South Korea had to play the Olympic qualifier against

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. The Korean FA sent the reserve team to the competition.

1972 (Thailand)

1980 (Kuwait)

South Korea won all matches from the second match to the semi-finals including a match against the host Kuwait. However, they lost in the final where they met Kuwait again. Their 18-year-old striker

Choi Soon-ho Choi Soon-ho (Hangul: 최순호; Hanja: 崔淳鎬; born 10 January 1962) is a former South Korean football manager and player. International career Choi was named in the South Korean squad for the 1980 AFC Asian Cup. He scored seven goals ...

became the youngest scoring champion in Asian Cup history.

1984 (Singapore)

South Koreans left their worst result in the 1984 tournament. They got no victory and made only one goal.

1988 (Qatar)

South Koreans got a chance to win their third title again after winning all matches until the semi-finals, but they lost the final to Saudi Arabia after the penalty shoot-out. This was the third time for South Korea to finish as runners-up. Their new star player Kim Joo-sung was named the Most Valuable Player.

1996 (United Arab Emirates)

Before the 1996 tournament, the Korean FA appointed

Park Jong-hwan Park Jong-hwan ( born 9 February 1938) is a former South Korean football manager. Managerial career Considered one of South Korea's greatest football managers in the 20th century, Park led South Korean under-20 team to the semi-finals in t ...

as the new manager. Park was evaluated as the greatest South Korean manager at the time by leading Ilhwa Chunma to three consecutive

K League K League (Hangul: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes first division K League 1 and second division K League 2. History Until the 1970s, South Korean football operated two major football leagues, the National S ...

titles, but he disappointed his country in the competition. South Korea finished their group stage in third place, showing shaky start. In the quarter-finals, South Korea held a 2–1 lead against Iran at half-time, but they conceded five goals in the second half including

Ali Daei Ali Daei ( fa, ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian football manager and former player. A striker, he was the captain of the Iranian national team between 2000 and 2006 and played in the German Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich ...

's four goals. After the disaster, Park resigned as manager, and a defender

Hong Myung-bo Hong Myung-bo ( ko, 홍명보, Hanja: 洪明甫; ; born 12 February 1969) is a South Korean former footballer who played as a sweeper, and the current head coach of Ulsan Hyundai. Hong is often considered one of the greatest Asian footballers ...

was suspected of

slowdown A slowdown ( UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an alternative to a stri ...

2000 (Lebanon)

2004 (China)

South Korea reached the semi-finals in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, but their performance wasn't continued after

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

left them. They suffered shock defeats to Oman and Vietnam in the

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

. They were eliminated by the quarter-final defeat to Iran after conceding

Ali Karimi Mohammad Ali Karimi Pashaki ( fa, علی کریمی ; born 8 November 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player. During his professional football career, he has played in the Iran Pro League, UAE Pro League, Qatar Stars League and B ...

's hat-trick and an own goal.

2007 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam)

After excluding three

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

players (

Park Ji-sung Park Ji-sung (; ; born 30 March 1981) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, Park is the most successful Asian player in football history, having won 19 trophies in ...

Lee Young-pyo Lee Young-pyo ( ko, 이영표; ; born 23 April 1977) is a retired South Korean professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called him ...

and

Seol Ki-hyeon Seol Ki-hyeon (born 8 January 1979) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a winger, and who currently is the manager of Gyeongnam FC. He is also the first South Korean footballer to score in the history of the UEFA C ...

) due to their injuries, South Korea had difficulty again in the Asian Cup. Furthermore, some players including the captain

Lee Woon-jae Lee Woon-jae (; born 26 April 1973) is a South Korean former football goalkeeper. He was part of South Korea's 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup campaigns. He was the only Asian player nominated for the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of ...

were criticised by fans for visiting a hostess bar in the middle of the group stage. South Korea's outfield players made only three goals during the competition. However, Lee led his team to third place by keeping four clean sheets and winning two penalty shoot-outs.

2011 (Qatar)

After beating Iran in extra time of the quarter-final match, South Korea once again played extra time in the semi-finals against Japan. In this extra time,

Hajime Hosogai is a Japanese professional footballer. He is a flexible player, able to play in his natural role as defender, defensive midfielder, and plays for Thespakusatsu Gunma, and the Japan national team. Club career Hosogai was amongst the most promi ...

who moved into the penalty area before

Keisuke Honda is a Japanese professional football manager and former player. he is the current general manager & head coach of the Cambodia U-23. A versatile player, Honda usually played as an attacking midfielder, but could also play as a winger, a fa ...

kicked a penalty scored a controversial goal from the rebound. South Korea scored the equaliser after the misfortune, but lost on penalties.

2015 (Australia)

Under the leadership of manager

Uli Stielike Ulrich "Uli" Stielike (born 15 November 1954) is a German former footballer and manager. Usually a central midfielder or sweeper, Stielike was well known for his stamina and footballing intelligence.Radnedge, Keir. (2004). The Complete Encyclop ...

, the South Korean players underperformed in the first two matches against Oman and Kuwait. They won both matches, but expressed dissatisfaction with Stielike, who then handed over command to assistant manager

Shin Tae-yong Shin Tae-yong (, Hanja: 申台龍; born on 11 May 1970) is a South Korean former professional footballer and manager who is currently coaching the Indonesia national football team. He is the first man to win the Asian Club Championship/AFC Cha ...

for the rest of the tournament. Goalkeeper

Kim Jin-hyeon Kim Jin-hyeon (; Hanja: 金鎭鉉; ; born 6 July 1987) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Cerezo Osaka. International career Kim made 3 appearances for South Korea U-20 in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. ...

then kept a clean sheet in every match until the final, as the team eliminated Uzbekistan and Iraq in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively. Their opponent in the final was Australia, which they had already beaten 1–0 in the group stage. However, South Korea lost the final 2–1 after extra time, evoking the 1980 final between them and Kuwait.

2019 (United Arab Emirates)

External links

Korea Football Association official website
{{South Korea national football team Korea Rep.