"There's an air of gloom around the national team that's been there for a couple of years." That's not a fan venting on a forum — that's sportswriter John Duerden, who has spent years covering Asian football up close. And he's not wrong.
South Korea beat Czechia 2-1 in their Group A opener at the 2026 World Cup, coming back from a goal down to claim three points. By any measure, a winning start. Back in Seoul, the reaction was closer to a shrug.
Soccer commentator Seo Ho-jeong put it bluntly: the atmosphere is "bordering on indifference." Korean football, he says, is going through a "dark age" — and a single comeback win hasn't changed the mood.
The Hong Myung-bo problem
A lot of that gloom has a name: Hong Myung-bo. The legendary captain of South Korea's 2002 semi-final run — and the coach who was pelted with sweets by angry fans at Incheon Airport after the 2014 group stage exit — is back in charge. His appointment in 2024 was immediately clouded by reports the Korea Football Association bypassed proper procedure to hire him, prompting parliamentary scrutiny. Hong himself testified: "I accepted the job because I was told I was the top candidate."
It hasn't gotten cleaner since. Pre-tournament losses to Ivory Coast and Austria, combined with inconsistent form throughout his tenure, have left fans and media asking whether he actually knows his best eleven — or how he wants to play. Popular YouTuber Shin Moon-seon called the World Cup preparation "the worst ever" and described the KFA as a "withered flower with rotten roots." That's the temperature of the discourse heading into a tournament South Korea are ranked well enough to navigate.
On paper, Group A — Mexico, South Africa, Czechia — isn't a death sentence. The Taegeuk Warriors should progress. The 25th-ranked side has the quality. Son Heung-min, now at Los Angeles FC after his Tottenham years and widely considered one of the greatest Asian players the game has produced, could be playing in his final World Cup. That storyline alone should generate momentum.
It hasn't.
Japan's shadow looms large
The uncomfortable comparison is always there. While South Korea has cycled through coaches without ever establishing a consistent identity, Japan have quietly built something durable — a style, a pipeline, a philosophy. "Korea have been bouncing along from coach to coach not really establishing a proper national identity," Duerden said. "Contrast that with Japan's steady progress."
The two sides are unlikely to meet before the quarter-finals. Few seriously expect South Korea to reach that stage.
- Best-ever finish: 4th place, 2002 World Cup (co-hosted with Japan)
- Never past the round of 16 since 2002
- Failed to escape the group stage in 2014 and 2018 — both under coaches who didn't last long after
If South Korea crash out early, the fallout won't stop at Hong. Seo Ho-jeong believes the KFA chair and the entire management structure would face the consequences — and potentially the kind of structural overhaul that critics have demanded for years. "If that happens," he said, "significant changes will await."
One win into a World Cup, South Korea's odds of advancement look reasonable. The belief required to back them deep into the tournament? That's harder to find — in the stands, in the press, and apparently in Korea itself.
