Korea Republic is Asia's most successful team in the FIFA World Cup. They qualified for the first time in 1954. The team competed at every tournament since 1986. Their first participation ended with heavy defeats to Hungary and Turkey.

32 years later, they returned back but losing only narrowly against Italy. 1990 saw an early exit after three straight defeats. In 1994 the team managed a draw against Spain and lost narrowly to Germany.

South Korea faced an uphill struggle in 1998 after finding themselves in a difficult group. However, in the 2002 world cup they would have enjoyed their greatest success. After victories over Italy and Spain, their dream was ended by a 1-0 semi-final defeat to Germany.

Ji Sung Park (midfielder), Young Pyo Lee (left-back) and goalkeeper Woon Jae Lee are their key players. Another star man to watch is Chu Young Park, who scored twice in his three qualifying appearances.