{"id":1437172,"date":"2026-03-08T16:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T16:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=cult-corner&p=1437172"},"modified":"2026-06-01T19:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:34:17","slug":"south-korea-2002-world-cup-semi-final-team-vs-germany","status":"publish","type":"cult-corner","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/cult-corner\/south-korea-2002-world-cup-semi-final-team-vs-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened next? The South Korea side that reached the 2002 World Cup semi-finals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Korea’s run to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup remains one of the greatest achievements in the tournament’s illustrious history.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Asian side were co-hosting the tournament alongside Japan, but had never made it past the group stage or even won a game previously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the Tigers of Asia took seven points and went unbeaten in their group, beating Poland and Portugal, either side of a draw against the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sele\u00e7\u00e3o das Quinas weren’t the only victims of South Korea, however, with this Guus Hiddink-managed side dumping out fellow European giants Italy and Spain in the last 16 and quarter-finals, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Ballack broke South Korean hearts in this match, with his 75th-minute strike proving decisive, while the co-hosts ran out of steam with a 3-2 defeat to Turkey in the third-place playoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this remains the zenith of South Korean football. So, what happened to the players who gave it all out on the pitch against Germany?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

GK: Lee Woon-jae<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lee Woon-Jae put in a heroic performance against Germany, making five saves to try and give the co-hosts a chance. One of those saves, however, deflected back to Michael Ballack for the winning goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was a mere continuation of his excellent showings throughout the tournament, the pick of the bunch being the four saves he made to keep a clean sheet and force extra-time and penalties against Spain in the quarter-finals, going on to make a crucial save in the shootout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee continued on with the national team until 2010, clocking up 133 caps in total to sit fourth all-time for South Korea. At club level, he spent his entire career in his homeland, most prominently over 14 years with Suwon Samsung Bluewings, where he won four league titles and an AFC Champions League, among other major honours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CB: Choi Jin-cheul<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Choi Jin-cheul lasted 56 minutes of the semi-final against Germany, having been a mainstay in the tournament beforehand. He would go on to sit out the third-place playoff against Turkey, but featured for South Korea again at the 2006 World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Lee, Choi spent his entire career in South Korea, winning a host of major honours with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CB: Hong Myung-bo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hong Myung-bo was sacrificed in the final 10 minutes to get another forward onto the pitch, but not before making seven clearances and three interceptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The captain ended his international career shortly after this defeat in a friendly match against Brazil, with his 136 caps a record that has since been beaten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong won plenty of honours during his time playing in South Korea and Japan, while ending his career with a couple of years in MLS with the LA Galaxy — earning an MLS All-Star call-up in the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CB: Kim Tae-young<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kim Tae-young threw everything at Germany in a bid to keep them out in this classic semi-final, just as he had done in every game at the tournament previously — even having to wear a face mask after sustaining a broken nose courtesy of Italy’s Christian Vieri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defender finally ended his 105-cap international career two years later, while he finally retired from club football in 2005 after spending almost his entire career with Jeonnam Dragons — winning the 1997 Korean FA Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RWB: Song Chong-gug<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Song Chong-gug was one of the more inexperienced inclusions in this South Korea squad, having played less than 50 club games before the tournament, and with only a handful of senior international caps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He made his presence felt, however, with excellent performances against the likes of Portugal and Spain, while he scored a late goal in South Korea’s third-place playoff defeat to Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Song earned a move to Feyenoord off the back of this tournament and reached a KNVB Cup final with the Rotterdam giants. He returned to his homeland three years later, and ended his career in 2011, having also enjoyed spells in Saudi Arabia and China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CM: Yoo Sang-chul<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yoo Sang-chul was another Asian mainstay in this squad, winning a host of league titles and cups in South Korea and Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He scored South Korea’s second goal in a 2-0 win over Poland in their tournament opener and was an excellent midfield presence throughout. He ended his international career a year later with 122 caps, which is seventh all-time for South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, Yoo passed away in June 2021, aged 49, after an 18-month battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CM: Park Ji-sung<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The most famous member of this squad, Park Ji-sung is best-known for his relentless running and big-game reliability during a seven-year stay at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles and a Champions League among other major honours under Sir Alex Ferguson. And all that came after a two-league title spell with PSV Eindhoven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was Park who scored the winning goal against Portugal during the group stage, while in this match, he characteristically made three interceptions, two clearances and five recoveries as he went toe-to-toe with the likes of Ballack and Dietmar Hamann in midfield. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Park finally ended his international career at the 100-cap mark in 2011, with three of his 13 goals coming in World Cup tournaments. A true legend of his national team, Park — who could operate in all areas of midfield and on the wings — also played in the Premier League for one season at QPR during his time in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LWB: Lee Young-pyo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If Park is the star name of this South Korean team, Lee Young-pyo is second on the list. The all-action left-back followed a similar path to Park after this tournament, joining PSV aftera couple of league titles, before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2005.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee was part of the Spurs side that won the League Cup in 2008, and enjoyed a brief spell with Borussia Dortmund in 2008\/09. He then wound down his career with two league titles in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, and two years in MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the international scene, Lee kept going until 2011, with his 127 caps fifth all-time for South Korea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RF: Cha Du-ri<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

South Koreans playing in Germany are a common sight now, and Son Heung-min is one of the biggest success stories in that regard. But before Son, Cha Du-ri was one of the first exciting forwards to make that jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cha was born in Germany and came through the Bayer Leverkusen youth system, before a pit-stop tour saw him turn out for Arminia Bielefeld, Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz, Freiburg and others. Frankfurt got his best, with eight goals in 29 2. Bundesliga appearances in 2004\/25 the standout campaign, followed by a DFB-Pokal final appearance a year later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cha also spent a couple of years at Celtic, while he ended his international career in 2015 with 75 caps and four goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CF: Hwang Sun-hong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hwang Sun-hong had already scored 16 goals in 24 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen’s second team in 1991\/92, long before Cha was ready to kick a ball. It never quite worked out for the striker in Germany, however, and he returned to Asia in 1993, winning multiple honours in South Korea and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hwang scored South Korea’s first goal of the tournament against Poland, having already netted against Germany at the 1994 World Cup. That Poland strike proved to be his last for the national team, with Hwang retiring from international duty after this match with 103 caps and 50 goals — the latter third all-time for South Korea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LF: Lee Chun-soo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lee Chun-soo brought direct running and fearlessness around the box in this match, but was unable to breach the German defence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His efforts at the 2002 tournament — and 17 goals in 39 appearances for Ulsan Hyundai — earned him a move to Spanish giants Real Sociedad, but he failed to score in 21 appearances there, or in a 16-game loan at then-La Liga side Numancia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee spent the majority of the rest of his career in South Korea and Japan, but he did also turn out briefly for Feyenoord and Al-Nassr — winning a KNVB Cup with the latter. He earned 78 caps and 10 goals before retiring from international duty in 2008, with a strike against Togo at the 2006 World Cup as his highlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sub: Ahn Jung-hwan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ahn Jung-hwan had already scored against the United States in the groups and netted the extra-time winner against Italy in the last 16, so it was no surprise to see him thrown on in the second half of this one as Guus Hiddink tried to take the game to Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahn was unable to influence the match, but went on to enjoy a long and fruitful national team career, ending in 2010 on 71 caps and 17 goals, three of which came at World Cup tournaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His best exploits at club level came in Asia, but he did also enjoy a few highlights in Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, with Perugia, Metz and MSV Duisburg, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sub: Lee Min-sung<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lee Min-sung was one of the oldest players in this squad, and was an unused substitute until he was brought on in the 56th minute of the semi-final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee also played the full 90 minutes in the third-place playoff and picked up 67 caps for South Korea between 1995 and 2004, alongside a club career that never left Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sub: Seol Ki-hyeon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Seol Ki-hyeon kick-started that remarkable comeback against Italy with the equalising goal, and he was introduced in the last 10 minutes of the semi-final, as Hiddink tried to recover from that Ballack right hook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a surprise that Seol didn’t start the match, given he was already in Europe with Anderlecht by that point, winning a Belgian league title and scoring 24 goals for the Brussels giants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seol went on to enjoy modest success in England, first in the Championship with Wolves, before testing himself in the Premier League with Reading and Fulham. The striker then wound down his career back in Asia, but carried on for South Korea until 2009, registering 19 goals in 82 caps.<\/p>\n\n\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n