Star player:
Park Ji-Sung

Previous appearances:
1986 (first round), 1990 (first round), 1994 (first round), 1998 (first round), 2002 (fourth place), 2006 (first round)

How they qualified
AFC
Turkmenistan (h)             4-0
North Korea (a)               0-0
Jordan (h)                      2-2
Jordan (a)                      1-0
Turkmenistan (a)             3-1
North Korea (h)               0-0
North Korea (a)                1-1
United Arab Emirates (h)   4-1
Saudi Arabia (a)               2-0
Iran (a)                           1-1
North Korea (h)               1-0
United Arab Emirates (a)   2-0
Saudi Arabia (h)               0-0
Iran (h)                           1-1

Chances:
Better equipped to progress from the group phase this time around than in Germany. They are usually physically very well drilled and that stamina should stand them in good stead in the heat of competition.

Strange but true
After steering the nation to the semis of the 2002 World Cup, Dutch coach Guus Hiddink was given honorary citizenship and promised free flights on Korean Airlines for life, such was the depth of feeling towards him after the team’s success.