The South Korea national football team have appeared 15 times at the Asian Cup. They have failed to qualify for the finals on three occasions, in 1968, 1976 and 1992. South Korea won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1956, held in Hong Kong, and successfully defended the title on home soil in 1960. In addition, the team finished as runners-up on four occasions.

Competitive record AFC Asian Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundSquad 1956Champions321096Squad440091 1960Champions330091SquadQualified as hosts 1964Third place310224SquadDirect entry 1968Did not qualify411294 1972Runners-up512276SquadDirect entry 1976Did not qualify420233 1980Runners-up6411126Squad3300101 1984Group stage402213Squad4310130 1988Runners-up6510113Squad311153 1992Did not qualify210172 1996Quarter-finals4112711Squad3300170 2000Third place631296Squad3300190 2004Quarter-finals421194Squad6402304 2007Third place614133Squad6321155 2011Third place6420137SquadDirectly qualified 2015Runners-up650182SquadDirectly qualified 2019Quarter-finals540162Squad8800270 2023Semi-finals62311110Squad6510221 2027Qualified6510201Total733819161177462467920625

Head-to-head record Opponent421154+1430185+3431073+4110010+1211032+1210143+1330082+673131213–1312020+2320163+3312042+2302124–2110041+3831498+1110010+12020440110021+1110010+1110010+1420254+1504145–12200104+6100101–11010110431082+6220052+3

Details 1956 (Hong Kong) South Korea finished top at a round-robin torunament featuring four countries, becoming the inaugural champions of the AFC Asian Cup. South Korea had unfavorable schedule that required them to meet their largest rivals Israel two days after playing their first match, but defeated Israel, whose schedule had allowed them to rest for seven days.

1960 (South Korea) South Korea won their second consecutive title, and South Korean forward Cho Yoon-ok became the top goalscorer of the competition with four goals. However, South Korean players received fake medals, and returned the medals to Korean FA. The KFA gave real medals to their families in 2019.

1964 (Israel) The 1964 AFC Asian Cup was held when South Korea had to play an Olympic qualifier against South Vietnam. The Korean FA sent their reserve team to the Asian Cup.

1972 (Thailand)

1980 (Kuwait) South Korea won all matches from the second matchday to the semi-finals, including the match against hosts Kuwait. However, nine South Korean players were not in optimal condition after suffering injuries in the semi-final against North Korea, and they lost in the final where they met Kuwait again. 18-year-old striker Choi Soon-ho became the youngest top scorer in Asian Cup history.

1984 (Singapore) The year 1984 is regarded as one of the worst years in South Korean football. After failing to qualify for the football tournament of the 1984 Summer Olympics, South Korea once again faced shocking results without a victory at the 1984 AFC Asian Cup. They scored only one goal while attempting 53 shots.

1988 (Qatar) South Korea 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 a penalty shoot-out. This was the third time they had finished runners-up at the Asian Cup. 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 as the new manager. Park was evaluated as the greatest South Korean manager at the time by leading Ilhwa Chunma to win three consecutive K League titles. Contrary to expectations, South Korea finished third in their group stage, showing a shaky start. In a quarter-final match against Iran, South Korea held a 2–1 lead until half-time, but they conceded five goals during the second half including Ali Daei's four goals. After the disaster, Park resigned from the team, and defender Hong Myung-bo was suspected of slowdown.

2000 (Lebanon)

2004 (China) Despite finishing fourth at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, South Korea was not able to dominate Asia after Guus Hiddink left them. They suffered shock defeats in the qualifiers against Oman and Vietnam. In a 4–3 quarter-final defeat to Iran, they conceded Ali Karimi's hat-trick and scored an own goal.

2007 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam) After excluding three Premier League players (Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo and Seol Ki-hyeon) due to their injuries, South Korea had difficulty again at the Asian Cup. Furthermore, some players including captain Lee Woon-jae 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 until the end of the competition. During their lack of offensive capability, Lee, the captain and goalkeeper, led his team to a third-place finish by keeping four clean sheets and winning two penalty shoot-outs.

2011 (Qatar) After beating Iran in extra time of a quarter-final match, South Korea once again played extra time in the semi-finals against Japan. In this extra time, Hajime Hosogai, who moved into the penalty area before his teammate Keisuke Honda missed a penalty, got a rebound and scored a controversial goal for Japan. South Korea scored an equaliser after the misfortune, but lost on penalties.

2015 (Australia) Under the leadership of manager Uli Stielike, 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 for the rest of the tournament. Goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon 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)

2023 (Qatar) After the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Korean FA president Chung Mong-gyu directly appointed Jürgen Klinsmann as national team manager without a general process. Chung's decision created concern among South Korean media, who knew Klinsmann's neglect of duty at Hertha BSC and Philipp Lahm's criticism of Klinsmann's indifference to tactics, and the concern came true. Klinsmann was widely unpopular amongst fans due to him working from his home in the United States rather than relocating to South Korea, alleged lack of interest in K League players, poor results in friendlies, questionable squad line-ups, lazy attitudes, and lack of transparency during the appointment process.

Despite the controversies over the new manager, South Korea were considered among the pre-tournament favourites. After winning their opening match against Bahrain, the team failed to win their remaining two group stage matches after drawing with Jordan and Malaysia, respectively, finishing second in their group and conceding goals in all matches. South Korea narrowly advanced to the semi-finals after knocking out Saudi Arabia on penalties and Australia in extra time, but Klinsmann came under heavy scrutiny over his questionable tactics and work ethic, to which South Korean media dubbed "Zombie football". After South Korea's semi-final loss to Jordan without a shot on target, Klinsmann was fired, and Chung was called to be held responsible for his decision.

2027 (Saudi Arabia)

See also History of the South Korea national football team South Korea at the FIFA World Cup South Korea at the CONCACAF Gold Cup

References

External links

Korea Football Association official website