South Korea's K League players at World Cups 1986-2018
Image credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images
Qatar 2022 will be South Korea's 10th consecutive World Cup and 11th in total. In the nine previous campaigns there has been an average of 14.66 K League players involved in the 22 or 23-man squads.
1986 Mexico
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Photo by AFP via Getty Images |
There were some familiar names in that squad, some who went on to manage at K League level or for the national team later in their careers such as Park Kyung-hoon, Cho Kwang-rae, the aforementioned Kim Jong-boo, Choi Soon-ho, Cho Min-gook, and Huh Jung-mu (pictured above).
The most represented club was Daewoo Royals (now Busan IPark) with five players, Yukong Elephants (now Jeju United) with four, Hyundai Horangi (now Ulsan Hyundai) had three, as did Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso (now FC Seoul), and Posco Atoms (Pohang Steelers) two with one from Hallelujah FC.
South Korea finished bottom of their group after picking up just one point, a 1-1 draw with Bulgaria in Mexico City. Kim Jong-boo scored in the 70th minute, cancelling out Getov's 11th-minute opener after coming off the bench to replace Noh Soo-jin at halftime.
Three of South Korea's goal scorers at Mexico 86 were K League players: Park Chang-sun (Daewoo Royals), Choi Soon-ho (POSCO Atoms), and Huh Jung-mu (Hyundai Horangi).
K League: 18
Overseas: 1
Other: 3
Total: 22
% of starts by K League players: 82%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 66%
% of goals by K League players: 75% (3)
1990 Italy
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Olympic Stadium in Rome prior to the 1990 World Cup Image: GERARD MALIE/AFP via Getty Images |
Some familiar names from that squad include Choi Kang-hee (Hyundai Horangi), Hwang Sun-hong (Konkuk University), Hong Myung-bo (Korea University), Choi Soon-ho (Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso), as well as Park Kyung-hoon and Lee Heung-sil (POSCO Atoms).
But the 1990 World Cup was even less successful for South Korea. The Taeguk Warriors, led by Lee Hoe-taik, finished bottom of the group without picking up a single point. In fact, South Korea only scored one goal - Hwangbo Kwan of Yukong Elephants in a 3-1 loss to Spain in Udine. Hwangbo had actually levelled in the 43rd minute after Michel had made it 1-0 on 23 but the then Real Madrid midfielder scored two more to complete his hat-trick.
K League: 20
Overseas: 0
Other: 2
Total: 22
% of starts by K League players: 88%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 83%
% of goals by K League players: 100% (1)
1994 USA
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Image: Simon Bruty/ALLSPORT |
LG Cheetahs (FC Seoul) and POSCO Atoms were the most represented K League teams with four players each, Hyundai Horangi with four, Ilhwa Chunma three and Daewoo Royals three
South Korea did a bit better in 1994, finishing third in the group and picking up two draws including against Spain in Dallas. Hong Myung-bo (POSCO Atoms) and Seo Jung-won (Sangmu FC) got themselves on the score sheet in the last five minutes to help Korea fight back from being 2-0 down. The other point came from a 0-0 draw with Bolivia in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
In total, Korea scored four goals at USA '94 and three were scored by K League players - Hwang Sun-hong, and Hong Myung-bo (2) who were both on the books of POSCO Atoms at the time.
K League: 18
Overseas: 2
Other: 2
Total: 22
% of starts by K League players: 88%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 72%
% of goals scored by K League players: 75% (3)
1998 France
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Photo by PEDRO UGARTE/AFP via Getty Images |
In 1998, South Korea were in Group E with Belgium, Mexico, and the Netherlands. A total of 14 of the 22 players were on the books of teams in K League at the time, while three were with Sangmu FC playing outside of K League.
That France '98 squad was filled with names K League fans will be familiar with today including Kim Byung-ji (Ulsan Hyundai Horangi), Lee Lim-saeng (Bucheon SK), Lee Min-sung (Busan Daewoo Royals), Yoo Sang-chul (Ulsan Hyundai Horangi), Kim Do-hoon (Vissel Kobe), Choi Yong-soo (Sangmu FC), Seo Jung-won (Strasbourg), Ko Jong-soo (Suwon Bluewings), Ha Seok-ju (Cerezo Osaka), Hong Myong-bo (Bellmare Hiratsuka), and Lee Dong-gook (Pohang Steelers).
South Korea finished bottom of their group and managed to score just two goals. The first came from Ha Seok-ju in Korea's group opener, a 3-1 loss to Mexico in Lyon. Ha had actually given Korea the lead when he found the back of the net in the 27th minute but Mexico scored three in the second half to seal the win.
The other goal and point came in a 1-1 draw with Belgium in Paris where Yoo Sang-chul equalised in the 72nd minute, cancelling out Luc Nilis' seventh-minute opener. Yoo was the only K League-based player to score for Korea at France '98 (pictured above).
K League: 14
Overseas: 5
Other: 3
Total: 22
% of starts by K League players: 54%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 78%
% of goals by K League players: 50% (1)
2002 South Korea & Japan
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Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Imag |
The most-capped K League player was captain Hong Myung-bo with 128 heading into the tournament. Hong was one of two Pohang Steelers players. Other teams to send two players were Ulsan Hyundai Horangi, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Jeonnam Dragons, LG Anyang Cheetahs, and Busan I'Cons.
Famously, South Korea made it to the semifinals. In the group stage, Korea finished top with seven points but managed to score just four goals in the process. They would score eight in total including the match for third place but only two goals were scored by K League players - Lee Eul-yong (Bucheon SK) and Song Chong-gug (Busan I''Cons).
Relive the run to the last four with K League United's 2002 World Cup Rewind Podcast and YouTube series.
Opening Ceremony: Podcast & YouTube
South Korea 2-0 Poland: Podcast & YouTube
South Korea 1-1 USA: Podcast & YouTube
South Korea 1-0 Portugal: Podcast & YouTube
South Korea 2-1 Italy: Podcast & YouTube
South Korea 0-0 (3-5 pens) Spain: Podcast & YouTube
South Korea 0-1 Germany: Podcast & YouTube
2002 World Cup Legacy: Podcast & YouTube
K League: 15
Overseas: 7
Other: 1
Total: 23
% of starts by K League players: 64%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 47%
% of goals by K League players: 25% (2)
2006 Germany
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FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images |
The 2006 tournament was another in which South Korea failed to make it out of the group but they did come closer than they had done before. Led by Dick Advocaat, Korea picked up four points thanks to one win and a draw to come in third place and just one point behind France. Korea got their campaign up and running with a 2-1 win over Togo in Frankfurt with goals from Lee Chun-soo (Ulsan Hyundai Horangi) and Ahn Jung-hwan (MSV Duisburg).
The second group stage match ended in a 1-1 draw with France in Leipzig with Park Ji-sung scoring in the 81st minute to restore parity after Thiery Henry had opened the scoring in the ninth minute. However, the last game ended in a 2-0 loss to Switzerland and South Korea were out of the tournament.
In terms of goals, Korea scored just three during the 2006 World Cup and only one was from a K League player - Lee Chun-soo who was on the books of Ulsan Hyundai Horangi at the time.
K League: 16
Overseas: 7
Other: 0
Total: 23
% of starts by K League players: 61%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 33%
% of goals scored by K League players: 33% (1)
2010 South Africa
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JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images |
In South Africa, South Korea had their best World Cup since 2002 by reaching the Round of 16 but lost 2-1 to Uruguay thanks to a Luis Suarez brace. Throughout the competition, they managed to score six goals, five in the group stage, but none were scored by K League players.
K League: 13
Overseas: 10
Other: 0
Total: 23
% of starts by K League players: 38%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 70%
% of goals by K League players: 0%
2014 Brazil
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FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images |
Lee Yong and Lee Keun-ho played in all three matches while Jung Sung-ryong and Kim Shin-wook made two appearances. But the 2014 campaign yielded just three goals and only one was scored by a K League player.
K League: 6
Overseas: 17
Other: 0
Total: 23
% of starts by K League players: 15%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 50%
% of goals scored by K League players: 33% (1)
2018 Russia
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LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images |
K League: 12
Overseas: 11
Other: 0
Total: 23
% of starts by K League players: 51%
% of substitute appearances by K League players: 44%
% of goals by K League players: 0%
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