South Korea

The Story

The 2002 World Cup in South Korea was one of the strangest, loudest, most-disputed tournaments in the sport's history — and at the center of it was a Korean team that beat Portugal, beat Italy, beat Spain, and made the semifinals against Germany. The captain of that side was a defender named Hong Myung-bo. Twenty-four years later, Hong is the manager of the national team, and the country is asking, gently, whether lightning can strike twice.

Probably not. But Korea arrives in 2026 with one of the most credible Asian squads of the modern era. Son Heung-min — captain, all-time top scorer, now playing his club football for LAFC after a decade at Tottenham — is on his fourth and almost certainly final World Cup. Around him: Lee Kang-in at PSG, Kim Min-jae at Bayern Munich, Hwang Hee-chan at Wolves. This is a squad that, on paper, can hang with anyone in the group stage.

The Group E draw is brutal — Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana — and Korea will need every bit of the running and pressing that has defined them since 2002. They're the team most likely to surprise on a humid Sunday afternoon in Atlanta or Houston. They're also the team that hasn't won a knockout match in 24 years. Son knows. Hong knows. The Red Devils, all in red, will be there.

3 Players to Know

Son Heung-min

Captain. Top scorer in Korean history. Played 10 years at Tottenham and won every Premier League respect there is to win. Then in August 2025 he made the move to LAFC for an MLS-record fee, scored nine goals in his first ten league games, and won the 2025 MLS Goal of the Year on a free kick that bent like he was personally mad at the wall. He's 33, this is his fourth World Cup, and if Korea is going to win a knockout match for the first time since 2002, he'll be the one to score it.

Lee Kang-in

PSG's Korean playmaker, 25 years old, the one who picks up the ball in the half-spaces and makes the next pass look obvious in retrospect. Came up at Valencia, won the U-20 World Cup Golden Ball in 2019. He's been the heir-apparent to Son for half a decade and 2026 is the tournament where he stops being the future and becomes the present.

Kim Min-jae

Bayern Munich's center-back, nicknamed 'The Monster' in Italy because that's what Napoli fans called him during their Scudetto-winning year. Six-foot-three, fast, reads the game like a coach. The defensive anchor of this team and probably the best Asian defender of his generation. If Korea grinds out a 1-0, the clean sheet is on his back.

The Food

Signature Dish

Korean BBQ is the obvious answer — galbi (marinated short rib over charcoal), samgyeopsal (thick-cut pork belly), the table grills, the lettuce wraps, the small army of banchan that arrives unannounced. But the underrated 2026 dish is *bibimbap*: rice, seasoned vegetables, an egg, gochujang, mixed at the table until it's the right color. And *kimchi-jjigae* — kimchi stew with pork and tofu, hangover food and home food at the same time. Order soju with any of it. Pour for someone else, never yourself.

Where to Eat in DFW

Carrollton's Old Denton Road corridor is the largest Koreatown between LA and Atlanta, and the move on a match day is Bros Korean BBQ — Dallas's first all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ, dry-aged cuts, banchan that keeps coming, and a crowd that will absolutely be wearing red. For a quieter sit-down: Tto Tto Wa Bistro for fried chicken and proper kimchi-jjigae. Both are in the Carrollton K-town cluster — go early, the line on a weekend can hit 90 minutes.

Fan Culture

The Red Devils — *Bulgeun Angma* — are the official supporters' group, born for the 2002 home World Cup and still going. The dress code is non-negotiable: red shirt, red bandana, red horns optional but encouraged. The chant you'll hear is *"Dae~han~min~guk!"* followed by five claps in a rhythm so specific it's practically genetic memory in Seoul. They are the most organized supporters in Asia and possibly the most disciplined in the tournament — coordinated card displays, choreographed jumps, the drum line on time. If you sit near them, watch the captain of their section, not the field. They are the reason the field is loud.