South Korea women's national football team

The South Korea women's national football team (Korean: 대한민국 여자 축구 국가대표팀, recognised as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in international women's football competitions. The South Korean women's team has qualified for four FIFA World Cups in 2003, 2015 (when they reached the round of 16), 2019 and 2023.

Korea Republic
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)태극 낭자 (Taegeuk ladies)
아시아의 호랑이 (Tigresses of Asia)
AssociationKorea Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationEAFF (East Asia)
Head coachColin Bell
CaptainKim Hye-ri
Most capsJi So-yun (152)[1]
Top scorerJi So-yun (69)
FIFA codeKOR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 20 Decrease 3 (25 August 2023)[2]
Highest14 (December 2017, September 2018 – March 2019)
Lowest26 (August 2004 – June 2005)
First international
 Japan 13–1 South Korea 
(Seoul, South Korea; 6 September 1990)
Biggest win
 South Korea 19–0 Northern Mariana Islands 
(Tainan County, Taiwan; 26 August 2009)
Biggest defeat
 Japan 13–1 South Korea 
(Seoul, South Korea; 6 September 1990)
World Cup
Appearances4 (first in 2003)
Best resultRound of 16 (2015)
Asian Cup
Appearances13 (first in 1991)
Best resultRunners-up (2022)

History

1949–2002: The beginning

Less than a year after the government of the Republic of Korea was established in 1948, the first official women's football matches were held in Seoul on 28 and 29 June 1949, as a part of the National Girls' and Women's Sport Games. While women's basketball and volleyball won public recognition through the Games, football was seen as being unsuitable for women and unattractive to the public. As a result, the women's teams were disbanded soon after the event.[3]

When women's football was officially adopted at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, the South Korean sports authorities decided to form a women's team with athletes from other sports and send the team to the Games.[3] The result was defeat in all matches against Japan, North Korea, China and Chinese Taipei.[4] Nevertheless, colleges and corporations started to launch women's football teams through the 1990s and the first annual national women's football event, the Queen's Cup, was held in 1993. With these changes, South Korea was able to finish in fourth place at the 1995 AFC Women's Championship in Malaysia.[5]

When the 1999 Women's World Cup sparked interest worldwide, the South Korean ministry in charge of sports sponsored the foundation of new teams and tournaments for girls’ high school teams, university teams and company teams. To promote women's football, the Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF) was established in March 2001, as an independent organization in association with the Korea Football Association (KFA).[3]

2003–2013: First World Cup and a period of decline

South Korea finished in third place at the 2003 AFC Women's Championship and qualified for the World Cup for the first time. The Taegeuk Ladies were drawn in Group B with Norway, France and Brazil. Their first match played at the World Cup was a 3–0 loss to Brazil on 21 September 2003. They went on to lose 1–0 to France and 7–1 to Norway. Kim Jin-hee scored the first ever South Korean World Cup goal on 27 September 2003 against Norway.

Despite winning the inaugural EAFF E-1 Football Championship on home soil in 2005, South Korea failed to qualify for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. The Taegeuk Ladies won bronze at the 2010 Asian Games and at the 2010 EAFF Women's Football Championship, but once again failed to qualify for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

2014–present: World Cup breakthrough and disappointments

South Korea finished in fourth place at the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup and qualified for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, where they made it out of the group stage for the first time. They were drawn in Group E with Brazil, Spain and Costa Rica. South Korea lost 2–0 to Brazil on 9 June 2015, but a 2–2 draw with Costa Rica on 13 June and a 2–1 victory against Spain on 17 June were enough to progress for the first time ever at a World Cup. They went on to lose 3–0 to France in the round of 16 on 21 June 2015.

Coming off an improved showing at the previous one, South Korea qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and were put in Group A with France, Norway and Nigeria. However, they could not repeat their prior success in 2015 and lost all three games and exited the tournament in the group stage, only scoring one goal in their entire run and even an own goal.

South Korea next qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. As in 2019, the team scored only one goal, but achieved a notable result by drawing their final match with Germany 1–1, which resulted in the Germans exiting the tournament at the group stage despite being second in the FIFA Ranking at the time.[6][7][8]

Team image

Nicknames

The South Korea women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Taegeuk Ladies" (태극 낭자, Taegeuk Nangja).

Kits and crest

The women's team usually use exactly the same kit as its male counterpart, along with the combinations available, as of 2023. However, there were many combinations that the men's team never used.

Kit used at the 2003 AFC Women's Championship in the match against North Korea.
Kit used at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup in the match against Brazil.

Japan

South Korea has a long-standing rivalry with Japan, though in contrast to the fairly dominant performance of the men's team, South Korea women's team has lost more than won against Japan. The two sides met for the first time in 1990, as South Korea suffered a 1–13 defeat to the hand of Japan. As of 2022, South Korea trailed behind with just 4 wins, 11 draws and 18 losses. There have been some reasons for South Korea's weaker performance against Japan: South Korea, unlike Japan, has developed women's football much later than Japan, and also, unlike Japan, South Korea does not have a professional women's league, with the highest domestic league of South Korea, the WK League, is only operated in part-time status, while Japan has already established a professional league, the WE League, in 2020.

Overseas players

Since 2014 the best Korean players have begun to look to play overseas, most notably in England. There are currently three Korean Women playing in the FAWSL: Cho So-hyun of Tottenham Hotspur, Lee Geum-min of Brighton & Hove Albion and Park Ye-eun also of Brighton & Hove Albion.

FIFA World Ranking

As of 11 April 2023, after the match against  Zambia.

  Best Ranking    Best Mover    Worst Ranking    Worst Mover  

South Korea's FIFA World Ranking History
Rank Year Games
Played
Won Drawn Lost Best Worst
Rank Move Rank Move
20 Decrease 3 (25 August 2023)[2]20235203
1520226411 18Steady18Steady
1820218323 18Increase019Decrease1

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2022

12 November Friendly New Zealand  0–1  South Korea Christchurch, New Zealand
14:30 UTC+13 Report
  • Lee Min-a 31'
Stadium: Orangetheory Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Casey Reibelt (Australia)
15 November Friendly New Zealand  1–1  South Korea Christchurch, New Zealand
18:00 UTC+13
Report Stadium: Orangetheory Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Kate Jacewicz (Australia)

2023

16 February 2023 Arnold Clark Cup England  4–0  South Korea Milton Keynes, England
19:45 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Stadium MK
Attendance: 21,013
Referee: Andreza de Siqueira (Brazil)
19 February 2023 Arnold Clark Cup Belgium  2–1  South Korea Coventry, England
18:15 UTC±0
Report Lee Geum-min 10' Stadium: Coventry Building Society Arena
Referee: Frida Nielsen (Denmark)
7 April Friendly South Korea  5–2  Zambia Suwon, South Korea
19:00 UTC+9
Report
Stadium: Suwon World Cup Stadium
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
11 April Friendly South Korea  5–0  Zambia Yongin, South Korea
Report Stadium: Yongin Mireu Stadium
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
8 July Friendly South Korea  2–1  Haiti Seoul, South Korea
17:00 UTC+9 Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium
25 July 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup GS Colombia  2–0  South Korea Sydney, Australia
12:00 UTC+10
Report (FIFA) Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 24,323
Referee: Rebecca Welch (England)
3 August 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup GS South Korea  1–1  Germany Brisbane, Australia
20:00 UTC+10 Report (FIFA)
Stadium: Lang Park
Attendance: 38,945
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
22 September 2022 Asian Games Group E South Korea  3–0  Myanmar Wenzhou, China
19:30 UTC+8
Report Stadium: Wenzhou Sports Center Stadium
Attendance: 3,234
Referee: Doumouh Al Bakkar (Lebanon)
25 September 2022 Asian Games Group E Philippines  1–5  South Korea Wenzhou, China
19:30 UTC+8
Report
Stadium: Wenzhou Sports Center Stadium
Attendance: 2,974
Referee: Asaka Koizumi (Japan)
28 September 2022 Asian Games Group E South Korea  5–0  Hong Kong Wenzhou, China
19:30 UTC+8
Report Stadium: Wenzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Attendance: 22,083
Referee: Lê Thị Lý (Vietnam)
30 September 2022 Asian Games Quarter-finals South Korea  1–4  North Korea Wenzhou, China
16:30 UTC+8
  • An Myong-song 11' (o.g.)
Report
Stadium: Wenzhou Sports Centre
Attendance: 6,171
Referee: Pansa Chaisanit (Thailand)
26 October 2024 AFC Olympic Games QF 2R South Korea  10–1  Thailand Xiamen, China
15:30 UTC+8
Report
  • Moondong 90+3'
Stadium: Xiamen Egret Stadium
Attendance: 2,269
Referee: Lê Thị Lý (Vietnam)
29 October 2024 AFC Olympic Games QF 2R North Korea  v  South Korea TBD, China
--:--  Stadium: TBD
1 November 2024 AFC Olympic Games QF 2R China  v  South Korea TBD, China
--:--  Stadium: TBD
Ref

All-time results

  • The following table shows South Korea women's all-time international record, correct as of 11 Apr 2023.
Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA
Total2401044093527286

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 30 September 2023.[9]
Position Name
Manager England Colin Bell
Coach South Korea Park Youn-jeong
Goalkeeper coach South Korea Chung Yoo-suk
Fitness coach South Korea Jung Hyun-gyu

Manager history

Name Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Winning % Notes
South Korea An Jong-goan 2003 0 0 0 0 0%
South Korea Lee Sang-yup 2010 0 0 0 0 0%
South Korea Choi In-cheol[10] 2010–2011 0 0 0 0 0% 2010 Asian Games: 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third Place
South Korea Yoon Deok-yeo[10] 2012–2019 0 0 0 0 0%
South Korea Choi Jin-cheul[10] 2019 0 0 0 0 0%
England Colin Bell[11] 2019– 32 16 7 9 50% First foreign coach
2022 Asian Cup: 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Second Place
As of 11 April 2023, after the match against  Zambia.

Players

Current squad

The following 22 players were called up for the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic QF 2R matches against Thailand, North Korea and China on 26, 29 October and 1 November 2023, respectively.[12][13]

Caps and goals correct as of 26 October 2023 against  Thailand.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Choi Ye-seul (최예슬) (1997-03-12) 12 March 1997 1 0 South Korea Changnyeong WFC
18 1GK Kim Jung-mi (김정미) (1984-10-16) 16 October 1984 143 0 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA
21 1GK Kim Kyeong-hee (김경희) (2003-03-17) 17 March 2003 0 0 South Korea Suwon UDC

2 2DF Choo Hyo-joo (추효주) (2000-07-29) 29 July 2000 39 3 South Korea Suwon UDC
4 2DF Shim Seo-yeon (심서연) (1989-04-15) 15 April 1989 85 0 South Korea Suwon UDC
16 2DF Jang Sel-gi (장슬기) (1994-05-31) 31 May 1994 97 13 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA
17 2DF Lee Young-ju (이영주) (1992-04-22) 22 April 1992 57 2 Spain Madrid CFF
19 2DF Lee Eun-young (이은영) (2002-03-31) 31 March 2002 7 1 South Korea Korea University-Sejong
20 2DF Kim Hye-ri (김혜리) (captain) (1990-06-25) 25 June 1990 119 1 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA

3 3MF Kwon Da-eun (권다은) (2007-09-05) 5 September 2007 1 0 South Korea Ulsan Hyundai High School
8 3MF Lee Min-a (이민아) (1991-11-08) 8 November 1991 79 17 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA
9 3MF Lee Geum-min (이금민) (1994-04-07) 7 April 1994 84 27 England Brighton & Hove Albion
10 3MF Ji So-yun (지소연) (1991-02-21) 21 February 1991 152 69 South Korea Suwon UDC
14 3MF Jeon Eun-ha (전은하) (1993-01-28) 28 January 1993 19 1 South Korea Suwon UDC
15 3MF Chun Ga-ram (천가람) (2002-10-19) 19 October 2002 11 4 South Korea Hwacheon KSPO
22 3MF Bae Ye-bin (배예빈) (2004-12-07) 7 December 2004 3 0 South Korea Uiduk University

5 4FW Kim Se-yeon (김세연) (2005-03-22) 22 March 2005 1 0 South Korea Chungju Yeseong Girls' High School
6 4FW Kang Chae-rim (강채림) (1998-03-23) 23 March 1998 28 8 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA
7 4FW Son Hwa-yeon (손화연) (1997-03-15) 15 March 1997 54 11 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA
11 4FW Jung Seol-bin (정설빈) (1990-01-06) 6 January 1990 84 22 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA
12 4FW Moon Mi-ra (문미라) (1992-02-28) 28 February 1992 37 19 South Korea Suwon UDC
13 4FW Casey Phair (케이시 페어) (2007-06-29) 29 June 2007 4 3 Unattached

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the South Korea squad in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ryu Ji-soo (류지수) (1997-09-03) 3 September 1997 0 0 South Korea Seoul WFC v.  Thailand, 26 October 2023INJ
GK Yoon Young-geul (윤영글) (1987-10-28) 28 October 1987 29 0 Unattached 2023 FIFA Women's World CupRET

DF Lim Seon-joo (임선주) (1990-11-27) 27 November 1990 105 6 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA 2022 Asian Games
DF Kim Hye-yeong (김혜영) (1995-02-26) 26 February 1995 11 1 South Korea Gyeongju KHNP WFC 2022 Asian Games
DF Hong Hye-ji (홍혜지) (1996-08-25) 25 August 1996 40 1 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA 2022 Asian GamesINJ
DF Kim Jin-hui (김진희) (1998-10-07) 7 October 1998 0 0 South Korea Gyeongju KHNP WFC v.  Zambia, 11 April 2023
DF Lee Soo-in (이수인) (2002-04-30) 30 April 2002 0 0 South Korea Korea University-Sejong Training Camp, December 2022

MF Kwon Hah-nul (권하늘) (1988-03-07) 7 March 1988 107 15 South Korea Mungyeong Sangmu 2022 Asian Games
MF Kim Yun-ji (김윤지) (1989-06-01) 1 June 1989 8 0 South Korea Suwon UDC 2022 Asian GamesINJ
MF Cho So-hyun (조소현) (1988-06-24) 24 June 1988 148 26 England Birmingham City 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
MF Park Ye-eun (박예은) (1996-10-17) 17 October 1996 17 4 Scotland Heart of Midlothian v.  Zambia, 11 April 2023
MF Park Hye-jeong (박혜정) (2000-03-30) 30 March 2000 1 0 South Korea Sejong Sportstoto v.  Zambia, 11 April 2023
MF Jang Chang (장창) (1996-06-21) 21 June 1996 23 0 South Korea Incheon Hyundai SRA v.  Zambia, 7 April 2023INJ
MF Park Ye-na (박예나) (1999-05-14) 14 May 1999 0 0 South Korea Mungyeong Sangmu Training Camp, December 2022

FW Choe Yu-ri (최유리) (1994-09-16) 16 September 1994 57 9 England Birmingham City v.  Thailand, 26 October 2023INJ
FW Park Eun-sun (박은선) (1986-12-25) 25 December 1986 48 20 South Korea Seoul WFC v.  Thailand, 26 October 2023INJ
FW Mun Eun-ju (문은주) (2000-09-01) 1 September 2000 3 2 South Korea Hwacheon KSPO 2022 Asian Games
FW Go Yoo-na (고유나) (2002-11-16) 16 November 2002 0 0 South Korea Hwacheon KSPO 2023 FIFA Women's World CupPRE
FW Won Ju-eun (원주은) (2007-03-09) 9 March 2007 0 0 South Korea Ulsan Hyundai High School v.  Haiti, 8 July 2023
FW Jang Yu-bin (장유빈) (2002-02-10) 10 February 2002 6 0 South Korea Seoul WFC Training Camp, June 2023
FW Seo Ji-youn (서지연) (1995-05-20) 20 May 1995 4 1 South Korea Gyeongju KHNP WFC v.  Zambia, 11 April 2023
FW Lee Jung-min (이정민) (2000-11-11) 11 November 2000 2 0 South Korea Mungyeong Sangmu 2023 Arnold Clark Cup, February 2023
FW Ko Min-jung (고민정) (2001-05-14) 14 May 2001 1 1 South Korea Changnyeong WFC 2023 Arnold Clark Cup, February 2023
FW Jeon Yu-gyeong (전유경) (2004-01-20) 20 January 2004 0 0 South Korea Uiduk University Training Camp, December 2022

INJ Withdrew due to injury
RET Retired from the national team
PRE Preliminary squad

Previous squads

Records

*Active players in bold, statistics as of 11 April 2023.[1]

Honours

Continental

Runners-up: 2022

Regional

Champions: 2005
Runners-up: 2015, 2019
Runners-up: 2017

Competitive record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Hosts / Year Result GP W D* L GF GA GD
China 1991Did not qualify
Sweden 1995
United States 1999
United States 2003Group stage3003111−10
China 2007Did not qualify
Germany 2011
Canada 2015Round of 16411248−4
France 2019Group stage300318−7
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023Group stage301214–3
2027To be determined
Total4/9131210731−24
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
FIFA Women's World Cup history
YearRoundDateOpponentResultStadium
United States 2003 Group stage 21 September  Brazil L 0–3 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
24 September  France L 0–1
27 September  Norway L 1–7 Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Canada 2015
Group stage 9 June  Brazil L 0–2 Olympic Stadium, Montreal
13 June  Costa Rica D 2–2
17 June  Spain W 2–1 Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa
Round of 16 21 June  France L 0–3 Olympic Stadium, Montreal
France 2019 Group stage 7 June  France L 0–4 Parc des Princes, Paris
12 June  Nigeria L 0–2 Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
17 June  Norway L 1–2 Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
Australia New Zealand 2023 Group stage 25 July  Colombia L 0–2 Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
30 July  Morocco L 0–1 Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
3 August  Germany D 1–1 Lang Park, Brisbane

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record
Hosts / Year Result GP W D* L GS GA GD
United States 1996did not qualify
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012
Brazil 2016
Japan 2020
France 2024to be determined
Total0/7

AFC Women's Asian Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup record
Hosts / Year Result GP W D* L GS GA GD
Hong Kong 1975 did not participate
Taiwan 1977
India 1979
Hong Kong 1981
1983
Hong Kong 1986
Hong Kong 1989
Japan 1991Group stage3003022−22
Malaysia 1993310249−5
Malaysia 1995Fourth place5212115+6
China 1997Group stage2101111+10
Philippines 19994301305+25
Chinese Taipei 2001Fourth place64021610+6
2003Third place6411225+17
Australia 2006Group stage4202146+8
Vietnam 2008320153+2
China 2010311163+3
Vietnam 2014Fourth place5212184+14
Jordan 20185th place422090+9
India 2022Runners-up6411114+7
Total13/19542871915777+80

Asian Games

Asian Games record
HostResultMWDLGFGAGD
China 19905th place5104230−28
Japan 1994Fourth place300309−9
1998Group stage311184+4
South Korea 2002Fourth place520368−2
Qatar 2006Fourth place5203710−3
China 2010Third place5311144+10
South Korea 2014Third place6501332+31
Indonesia 2018Third place6501323+29
China 2022Quarter-finals4301145+9
Japan 2026TBD-------
Total9/9422221711676+40

EAFF E-1 Football Championship

EAFF E-1 Football Championship record
HostResultMWDLGFGAGD
South Korea 2005Champions321030+3
China 2008Fourth place6303159+6
Japan 2010Third place7502474+43
South Korea 2013Third place310245–1
China 2015Runners-up6501293+26
Japan 2017Fourth place6303437+36
South Korea 2019Runners-up311131+2
Japan 2022Third place311163+3
Total8/8372131315032+118

Other tournaments

Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA GD
2006 Peace Queen CupGroup stage300326−4
2008 Peace Queen CupFourth place320154+1
2010 Peace Queen CupChampions312021+1
2011 Cyprus Cup6th place421165+1
2012 Cyprus Cup5th place422053+2
2013 Cyprus Cup10th place421151+4
2014 Cyprus CupThird place413073+4
2015 Cyprus Cup11th place401336−3
2017 Cyprus CupRunners-up421141+3
2018 Algarve Cup[14]7th place311145−1
2023 Arnold Clark Cup4th place300328−6

See also

National teams
Men's
Women's

References

  1. "각종기록" (in Korean). Korea Football Association (KFA). Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  3. Fan Hong; J.A. Mangan (23 November 2004). Soccer, Women, Sexual Liberation: Kicking off a New Era. Routledge. pp. 71–81. ISBN 978-1-135-77058-7.
  4. "Asian Games 1990 (Women's Tournament)". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. Manzenreiter, Wolfram; Horne, John (14 August 2008). "Playing the Post‐Fordist Game in/to the Far East: The Footballisation of China, Japan and South Korea". Soccer & Society. 8 (4): 561–577. doi:10.1080/14660970701440899. ISSN 1466-0970.
  6. Kane, Desmond (3 August 2023). "Women's World Cup 2023: Seismic shock as Germany crash out in group stages after South Korea draw". Eurosport. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  7. Wrack, Suzanne (3 August 2023). "Germany crash out of World Cup in huge upset after draw with South Korea". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. Bosher, Luke (3 August 2023). "Germany crash out in one of the biggest upsets in Women's World Cup history". The Athletic. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  9. "Coach". www.kfa.or.kr. Korea Football Association (KFA). 30 September 2023.
  10. "Veteran coach returns for 2nd stint at women's nat'l football helm". Korea Times. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  11. "Englishman Colin Bell named head coach of S. Korean nat'l women's football team". Yonhap News Agency. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  12. 명단 발표 [List announcement] (in Korean). Korea Football Association. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  13. 선수 명단 [Squad List] (in Korean). Korea Football Association. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  14. "Women's game thriving in the Algarve". FIFA. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
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