The South Korea national football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

) represents

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in men's international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and is governed by the Korea Football Association. South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia since the 1980s, having participated in ten consecutive and eleven overall

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

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 the 2002 tournament with Japan. South Korea also won two AFC Asian Cup titles, and finished as runners-up on four occasions. Furthermore, the team won three gold medals and three silver medals at the senior

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

. 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 the Red Devils.

History

Early history

First World Cup team (1954)

Foundation of Yangzee (1967)

Golden generation (1986)

Tragedy of Marseille (1998)

Hiddink's magic (2002)

Captain Park era (2008)

Proactive football (2022)

Team image

Nicknames

The South Korea national football team has been known or nicknamed as the ''

Taegeuk ''Taegeuk'' (, ) is a Korean term cognate with the Chinese term '' Taiji'' ( Wade-Giles spelling: ''T'ai-chi''), meaning "supreme ultimate", although it can also be translated as "great polarity / duality". The symbol was chosen for the desig ...

Warriors'' () and the ''Tigers of Asia'' ().

Kits and crest

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 home color, paired with black shorts. South Korea used to wear the South Korean flag as their shirt badge until 2001, when their tiger crest was unveiled. On 5 February 2020, the KFA announced a new, more simplistic logo. The emblem retained the tiger, albeit in a more minimalist design, enclosed in a rectangular frame. Red, blue and white, South Korea's traditional colors, have been maintained in the new logo.

Kit suppliers

Kit deals

Home stadium

The South Korea national team played their first home match at the

Dongdaemun Stadium Dongdaemun Stadium was a sports complex in Seoul, South Korea and included a multi-purpose stadium, a baseball park and other sports facilities. It was located near Dongdaemun or Great East Gate. The surrounding Dongdaemun market had many vendo ...

on 21 April 1956. The match was a

qualifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...

for the 1956 AFC Asian Cup against the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. They currently play their home matches at several stadiums, which are also used by K League clubs.

Rivalries

South Korea's greatest rival is

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. This

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

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. South Korea leads the all-time series with 42 wins, 23 draws and 16 losses. A rivalry has also developed with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The two nations have played against each other officially since 1958, totalling 33 matches as of March 2022, including eleven World Cup qualifiers. South Korea and Iran were among the strongest Asian national teams during the 1960s and 1970s. Although the teams only had one chance to play against each other in the final match of the AFC Asian Cup, in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, 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. Another major rival is

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and is also one of the most followed rivalries in Asia. South Korea trails behind Australia with 8 wins, 11 draws and 9 defeats. In major competitions, South Korea won only two official matches against Australia, and also lost in the

2015 AFC Asian Cup Final The 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match which took place on 31 January 2015 at the Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, to determine the winner of 2015 AFC Asian Cup. It was played between South Korea and hosts Australia. Austral ...

. South Korea has had great success against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, with China failing to defeat them in 28 competitive matches before finally winning a game in 2010. They also possess a strong

with

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, though matches are infrequent due to diplomatic and security reasons.

Supporters

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 the 12th man. Their most common chant is "Dae-Han-Min-Guk" (; 'Republic of Korea' or 'Great Korea'), followed by five claps. The

FIFA Fan Fest The FIFA Fan Festivals are public viewing events organized by FIFA and the host cities during the FIFA World Cup. FIFA Fan Festivals (initially named FIFA Fan Fests) followed the success of public viewing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea ...

was introduced at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea.

All-time results

Coaching staff

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were called up for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

. ''Caps and goals updated as of 5 December 2022, after the match against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the South Korea squad within the last twelve months. ;Notes *^INJ = Withdrew due to injury
*^PRE = Preliminary squad

Notable former players

The following players were inducted into the KFA Hall of Fame, or were selected for the Korean Best XI of All Time in one or more surveys.

Goalkeepers * Hong Deok-young (1948–1954) *

Lee Se-yeon Lee Se-yeon ( ko, 이세연; born 11 July 1945) is a former South Korean Association football, footballer. International career Lee Se-yeon is regarded as one of the greatest South Korean goalkeepers of the 20th century. He conceded 55 goals ...

(1966–1973) *

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 ...

(1994–2010)

Defenders * Kim Jung-nam (1964–1973) *

Kim Ho Kim Ho (; born 24 November 1944) is a South Korean former football player and manager. Early life Kim was born in Tongyeong, a coastal city of South Korea, and started football in his hometown. He originally joined Tongyeong High School whe ...

(1966–1972) *

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 ...

(1990–2002) *

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 h ...

(1999–2011)

Midfielders *

Kim Yong-sik Kim Yong-sik (; Hanja: 金容植; 25 July 1910 – 8 March 1985) was a South Korean Association football, football player and manager. He is esteemed as the godfather of the South Korean football. International career Kim played internationa ...

(1948–1950) *

Huh Jung-moo Huh Jung-moo (Korean: 허정무, Hanja: 許丁茂; born 13 January 1955) is a former South Korean football player and manager. Playing career Huh was one of the best South Korean college footballers before starting his semi-professional care ...

(1974–1986) *

Lee Young-moo Lee Young-moo (Hangul: 이영무, born July 26, 1953) is a retired South Korean football player. Style of play Lee didn't have a great talent or physique, but he was the most active South Korean footballer of all time. He was designated as a ...

(1975–1981) *

Cho Kwang-rae Cho Kwang-rae ( ko, 조광래, born March 19, 1954) is a former South Korean football player and manager. He is the current executive director of Daegu FC. International career Cho was selected for the university students' national team for t ...

(1977–1986) *

Park Chang-sun Park Chang-sun (born 2 February 1954) is a South Korean former international footballer. Playing career Park played for six clubs in South Korea and won domestic leagues with five teams. He played roles as the captain and the playmaker for S ...

(1979–1986) *

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 ...

(2000–2011)

Forwards *

Lee Hoe-taik Lee Hoe-taik (이회택, born 11 October 1946) is a former South Korean Association football, football player and manager. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest South Korean forwards of all time. He is also one of four players inducted i ...

(1966–1977) * Cha Bum-kun (1972–1986) *

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 ...

(1980–1991) * Kim Joo-sung (1985–1996)

Individual records

Players in bold are still active with South Korea.

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played on home soil

FIFA World Cup

Olympic Games

:''Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992.''

AFC Asian Cup

Asian Games

:''Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.''

EAFF Championship

Other competitions

Head-to-head record

The following table shows South Korea's head-to-head record, correct as of 5 December 2022.

Honours

:: Fourth place: 2002 *

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations The Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, also called the AFC Asia/Africa Challenge Cup, was an intercontinental football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), contested between repr ...

: Champions: 1987 * AFC Asian Cup : Champions: 1956, 1960 : Runners-up:

, 1980, 1988, 2015 : Third place: 1964,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, 2007,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

: Gold medalists:

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, 1978,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

: Silver medalists: 1954, 1958, 1962 : Bronze medalists:

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

:: Fourth place:

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

:: Fourth place: 2002 * EAFF Championship : Champions: 2003, 2008, 2015, 2017, 2019 : Runners-up:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

: Third place:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

:: Fourth place: 2005 * Minor competitions **

Korea Cup The Korea Cup ( ko, 코리아컵 국제축구대회) was an international football tournament held annually in South Korea from 1971 to 1999. History The Korea Cup was created with the name President's Cup Football Tournament ( ko, 박대통 ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, 1974, 1975,

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 ...

, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1997 **

Merdeka Tournament Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...

: 1960, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978 **

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1998 **

Jakarta Anniversary Tournament The Jakarta Anniversary Tournament was a football tournament hosted by Indonesia. The tournament was established in 1970 to commemorate the establishment of Jakarta Government. Results References {{Friendly association football tourname ...

: 1981 **

Dynasty Cup Dynasty Cup was an East Asian international association football tournament. The tournament was held every 2 or 3 years. It was hosted by Beijing in 1990 and 1992, Hong Kong in 1995, Yokohama and Tokyo in 1998. In 2002 the East Asian Football F ...

** LG Cup:

, 2001, 2006 * Awards ** FIFA World Cup Most Entertaining Team: 2002 ** AFC National Team of the Year: 2002, 2009 ** EAFF Championship Fair Play Award: 2008 ** AFC Asian Cup Fair Play Award:

References

External links

* of the Korea Football Association
Korea Republic
at FIFA {{DEFAULTSORT:South Korea national football team AFC Asian Cup-winning countries Asian national association football teams