32 Teams in 32 Days: South Korea

Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.

Country: South Korea
FIFA calls them: "Korea Republic"
Nickname: "The Reds" or the "Taeguk Warriors"

An electronics and tech giant, this small country is an anomaly in Asia. By turns both proud and belligerent, and yet also deeply socialized in the group mechanics that typify most of Asia, Korea is a weird, wonderful place.

An independent, isolated and comparatively poor kingdom for almost a millennia, Korea was always in the shadow of -- as well as closely influenced by -- China. As such, the country has always had something akin to the "small guy" syndrome -- a bit of a chip on its shoulder, a brashness that is not unbecoming, and a proud bit of difference.

Take the very language of Korea: it is unique in Asia in that it is NOT ideogrammatically based as Chinese and Japanese are; the hangul (written) alphabet has 24 characters and the spoken (called urimal or gugeo) is what linguists call a "language isolate," meaning that is bears no roots to any other known spoken language on the planet (in comparison, the Romance languages -- of which the six most prominent are Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Catalan -- are rooted in Latin).

Korean cuisine has similar flair. While touched by Chinese, Mongolian and Japanese influences, Korean food incorporates flourishes of French, sauce-based cooking (perhaps imported from Vietnam), barbecue, and the pungent, native cabbage dish of kimchee.

Modern Korea has yet to recover psychologically from the brutal Japanese occupation at the turn of the 20th Century and the partitioning of an already small country by the Korean War (1950-53). It has an enormous expatriate community in the United States.

Baseball was once its top sport, but since 2002, the K-League rules the roost, and the country is wildly attentive to and passionate about the national team. The comings and goings of the national side are covered with an exhaustive fervor that rivals America's intense scrutiny of the NFL. The Korean press corps following the team is a several-hundred strong gaggle with an unquenchable thirst to ask the same questions over and over to anyone they can get their hands on. They are single-minded: if you seem to be at all familiar with the sport of soccer, a Korean national will invariably ask you for your opinion on their team, regardless of the setting or situation.

Unfortunately, their team isn't great. Combined with the nation's grandly delusional (and to be fair, uninformed) opinion of their side's strength, it makes for a potent, woe-filled cocktail on the streets of Seoul. And the South Koreans do love their cocktails.

PAST WORLD CUP SUCCESS: South Korea has now made the World Cup eight times (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006), and has taken part in it every year since 1986. Co-hosts of the 2002 competition, South Korea's fourth place finish was nothing short of a miracle. They had never even won a game in the World Cup prior to 2002. They came back to earth a bit in Germany, finishing third in Group G at 1-1-1.

REGIONAL SUCCESS: Less than they'd prefer. Best recent finish was bronze at the 2007 Asian Cup; they last won it back to back in 1956 and 1960.

LEAGUE OVERVIEW: The K-League! It's tough not to have a soft spot for a league with teams named "Pohang Steelers" and "Suwon Samsung Bluewings." And while it's probably second best to the J-League across the ocean, their fans are rabid. Go for the planned cheerleading sections, stay for the very peculiar hot dogs and dry-ice cooled beer.

MANAGER: Huh Jung-Moo. He's an interesting fellow. Huh scored the goal that got South Korea back to the World Cup in 1986 (fittingly, it was against Japan). He also was one of the rare South Koreans to play in Europe in that era; he suited up for PSV Eindhoven from 1980-1983 and was not a bad midfielder. Most of his coaching experience has come either from the K-League (Chunnam Dragons, twice) or with the national teams program. He's currently the AFC coach of the year.

KEY PLAYERS: Most of the team is domestic-based, but the guys overseas are clearly the top dogs. Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United) is the standout. He's had a heck of a season in England, climbing up the ladder from squad player to on-field must have. Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton) has also had a good year on a team that flirted with the drop. Park Chu-Young (Monaco) has shown steady improvement, but is not a regular starter. A lack of options up top might make him the de facto first choice. A guy South Korea really wanted -- but was lost to injury -- is former Fulham man Seol Ki-Hyeon.

FIFA RANKING: 49th. Highest was 17th back in 1998; lowest was 56th (1996).

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENTS: Argentina, Nigeria and Greece

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST ARGENTINA: Argentina played, and beat, Korea at the 1986 World Cup in the group stage, 3-1. Argentina also won 1-0 in a 2003 Seoul friendly and beat them 2-1 back at the Seoul Olympic games.

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST GREECE: The Koreans have won and tied Greece in their two meetings, most recently winning out 1-0 in a London friendly back in 2007.

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST NIGERIA: The men's teams have never played against one another.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: Korea won Group B of Asian qualifying straight up. Korea didn't lose a game, going 4-4-0 in the final round against bitter rivals North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO PROGRESS: 20%. It's going to be tough. You have to think that Argentina is the group favorite, and Nigeria should get the boost that we expect all African teams to get at this Cup. Greece stinks, but because the Koreans don't score a lot of goals, they could struggle to get on the board.

TO WATCH: Can Korea put the ball on frame? It's a big problem for this team, but Park is the closest thing this squad has had to a playmaker in years. Keep on eye on Japan-based striker Lee Keun-Ho. If he has a breakout tournament, expect an offer sheet to roll in from Europe.

ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Lee Woon-jae (Suwon), Kim Young-kwang (Ulsan), Jung Sung-ryong (Seongnam)

Defenders: Kwak Tae-hwi (Kyoto), Kim Dong-jin (Ulsan), Kim Hyung-il (Pohang), Oh Beom-seok (Ulsan), Lee Young-pyo (Al Hilal), Lee Jung-soo (Kashima Antlers), Cha Doo-ri (Freiburg), Cho Yong-hyung (Jeju)

Midfielders: Koo Ja-cheol (Jeju), Ki Sung-yong (Celtic), Kim Bo-kyung (Oita), Kim Nam-il (Tom Tomsk), Shin Hung-min (Pohang), Kim Jae-sung (Pohang), Kim Jung-woo (Gwangju), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton), Park Ji-sung (Manchester United)

Forwards: Park Ju-young (Monaco), Ahn Jung-hwan (Dalian Shide), Lee Seung-ryul (FC Seoul), Yeom Ki-hun (Suwon), Lee Keun-ho (Jubilo Iwata), Lee Dong-guk (Jeonbuk)

TOMORROW'S TEAM: Nigeria