While South Korea’s World Cup record isn’t spattered with championships or even many second-round appearances, it’s still miles ahead of its neighbor to the north in terms of time played in the World Cup.

North Korea will play in its first World Cup since 1966. It’s also only the second time it will compete in the World Cup (most of the years, the team didn’t even enter). However, the North’s 1966 appearance surprising accomplishment remains prominent in World Cup history.

Let’s put it in perspective.

The last time North Korea qualified for the World Cup, the big media news was that the games would actually be televised in color for the first time. It was just 13 years after the end of the Korean War, and North Korea were the underdog darlings in 1966. The team qualified after beating Australia in a playoff.

This time around, the North’s unexpected qualification last month after it played a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia in Ridyah, hit the Internet within seconds, with its World Cup spot surprising much of the soccer world. Still, “North Korea in the News” rightly focuses on the short-range missiles the North recently fired.

It’s easy to forget how, nearly 44 years ago, North Korea shocked powerhouse Italy 1-0 on July 19, 1966, at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough in England, ending the Azzurri chances of making the quarterfinals. North Korea made it to the quarterfinals, the furthest they’ve ever gotten in the tourney.

Pak Doo Ik made a name for himself by scoring the lone goal. According to FIFA.com, “It was no doubt the most famous goal ever scored in the history of Asian football: the goal by which North Korea dumped Italy out of the 1966 World Cup.”

The team then lost to Portugal 5-3, despite being up 3-0 at one point in the game. Despite the loss, it’s hard to not recognize its accomplishment: Being the first Asian team in the World Cup to make it to the quarterfinals.

It was Asia’s only team in the World Cup that year after several Asian and African countries — including South Korea — withdrew, angry because it was decided only one team from those two continents would be given a spot in the final.

How’d the team do??

Besides Korea’s unexpected fantastic fourth-place finish in front of the home-country crowd in 2002, it’s had a string of first-round exits, starting in 1986 in Mexico.

Year Round Host country Games played
1986 Round 1 Mexico 2
1990 Round 1 Italy 3
1994 Round 1 United States 3
1998 Round 1 France 3
2002 4th place South Korea/Japan 7
2006 Round 1 Germany 3

Korea first played in the World Cup in the 1954 competition held in Switzerland just one year after the completion of the Korean War. Like the majority of Korea’s appearances, they were knocked out in the first round (including playing in a game where they were decimated 9-0 by Hungary).

It was a 32-year drought until the team qualified again, including its non-qualification in the 1966 World Cup in England (South Korea withdrew because the qualifying tournament was moved to Cambodia from Japan). That was the last time North Korea qualified for the World Cup.

A quick history of North Korea’s World Cup appearances coming soon…

South Korea already qualified for the 2010 World Cup on June 6, but the draw dashed Iran’s hopes of making it to the tournament.

South Korea’s Ji-Sung Park, a rising star for Manchester United in the English Premier League, scored a late goal, evening the game with just nine minutes left to play in regulation.

The more interesting news this week, following the World Cup Qualifying finale, was the emergence of North Korea as the second and final team in Asia’s Group B standings to make it to next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

The team now joins South Korea, Japan and Australia as Asia’s four automatic qualifiers for 2010, which starts June 11 next year. South Africa and the Netherlands have also qualified for next year’s 32-team tournament.

The North, which played to a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia, qualified for the first time since its 1966 England World Cup appearance. The team upset Italy that year.

It was just 13 years following the end of the Korean War when both the North and the South played in the World Cup. This time around, tensions are also bound to be high.

South Korea beat North Korea in Seoul 1-0 on April 1, and Kim Jong-hun, North Korea’s head coach, then accused South Korea of poisoning his team’s food after some players got sick before the match.

Both at 54 minutes in and just minutes before the end of the second half, Korea nearly scored, missing the goal just inches both times. The closest chance came from Park Chu Young, whose shot grazed the cross bar.

The game lost some of its luster as Korea qualified for the World Cup June 6, beating the United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Dubai.

For Saudi Arabia, however, a win would’ve aided them significantly as the team currently stands in third place in the Asian Group B cup standings. Now, they’ll battle second-ranked North Korea June 17 in Riyadh, with the winner automatically qualifying for the World Cup finals, set to kickoff one year from today.

Nearly 33,000 crazed Korean fans showed up, wearing their bright Red Devil horns, Korean team scarves and numerous Ji Sung Park jerseys.

The final World Cup Qualifying match for the Red Devils is Wednesday, when Korea hosts Iran in Seoul.

That’s not the case, however, for the Red Devils as the team qualified for its seventh-straight World Cup on June 6, beating the United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Dubai.

Now, the upcoming games can help build Korea prepare for 2010 and build its reputation as a team to beat in Asia, with Japan also qualifying for the World Cup last week.

“I’m really happy that we made it to the World Cup finals. We played well and we are all satisfied with a performance that saw us win and ensure a place in South Africa in 2010,” said Korea Coach Huh Jung-moo, according to a story on the Home of Asian Football Web site.

The June 10 match with Saudi Arabia comes nearly a year to the day when the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.

The Koreans can already look ahead, with stars like Ji Sung Park and Park Chu Young, who scored the first goal in Saturday’s win versus the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has 10 points in the Asian Group B standings, still needs to qualify, despite two qualification wins over both the United Arab Emirates and Iran earlier this year.

A win for Saudi Arabia, despite being third in the group standings, isn’t a far-off goal. Besides a 2-0 loss to Korea in November, Saudi Arabia’s prevailed victorious over Korea in past matches.

On April 18, as FC Seoul fans decked in black and red prepared for their team’s afternoon match with Daegu, it was impossible to ignore the majestic stadium where their team played.

World Cup Stadium in western Seoul, just north of the Han River, is the primary stadium in South Korea. The South Korean team made the semi-finals during its 2002 World Cup host year.

The stadium even stands out in Seoul, one of the largest metropolises in the world where high-rises pierce the sky, seemingly the main type of building in the city, and where 10 to 15 million of people live their lives each day.

With a Korean League game about to be played, fans munched on fried meat and perused the outdoor clothing markets before stepping into the stadium.

The crowds were undoubtedly smaller than the World Cup craziness seven years ago (the stadium holds more than 68,000 people, but average FC Seoul attendance is currently less than that). But the love of the game for FC Seoul, which started playing its matches at World Cup Stadium in 2004, was obvious.

These people love their soccer, and FC Seoul fans have reason to celebrate. Sure, their team ended the game in a 0-0 draw with Daegu.

But hey, for every home game they get to enter the country’s greatest stadium.

Cho’s absence from the rest of the three crucial World Cup Qualifying matches in June deals a round of back luck for the South Korean team, which currently stands atop the leader board in Group B, just one point ahead of North Korea.

Cho, who turns 26 this Friday, played for the Suwon Bluewings up until last month before leaving for Wigan Athletic of the English Premier League.

How much of an impact will his absence make?

Cho’s loss will certainly be noticeable as he’s played more of a role within the South Korean squad in the past couple of years, but on the other hand, he’s not a key player. He was with the team during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but didn’t play a game.

In 2008 and 2009, Cho’s started in three World Cup qualifying matches and was used as a substitute in two other games.

In the five games Cho played in 2008 and 2009, South Korea went undefeated.

For now, though, looks like the football tension between the North and South hasn’t eased since last week’s game, in which the Red Devils from the South beat their rivals 1-0 in the match’s final minutes.

North Korea’s head football coach, Kim Jong Hun, made the claim that South Korea poisoned his players’ food before the match.

North Korea’s football association issued the following statement about the game, according to bbcnews.com.

“It was beyond all doubt that the incident was a product of a deliberate act perpetrated by adulterated foodstuff as [the players] could not get up all of a sudden just before the match.”

FIFA rejected Kim’s plea to delay the game and move it to a neutral location after three of his athletes acquired food poisoning, according to the BBC.

The game took place in Seoul, just about 35 miles from the border with North Korea. The teams’ previous matchup in September 2008 occurred in Shanghai after FIFA suggested it be moved from Pyongyang, North Korea to China after the North refused to allow South Korea to sing its national anthem and wave its flag.

South Korea, meanwhile, has rejected the claim.

The Red Devils of the South beat their arch-rivals 1-0 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. With the victory, South Korea pulls ahead of the North in Asia’s Group B in World Cup qualifying.

The winning goal came with just three minutes left in the match, made by an athlete building his way up: substitute player Kim Chi-woo who was put in the game just minutes before his score. Kim, a 25-year old who plays for FC Seoul, played for South Korea in the 2004 Summer Olympics and scored a goal in last week’s friendly match versus Iraq.

South Korea’s head coach, Huh Jung-moo, said though the win was a great step, there’s still much more work to be done, according to a story on the Official Home of Asian Football Web site.

“I introduced Kim because I wanted a technically gifted player for when we broke through the DPR Korea defense,” Huh said in the the-afc.com story. “This was a big barrier for us to overcome in our campaign. … We are improving gradually but there is still a long way to go and many points to play for.”

The “long way” Huh refers to is the remaining schedule for the team. June proves to be a huge month, as they travel to Abu Dhabi to play the United Arab Emirates, a team which last week lost 2-0 to North Korea. Later, South Korea plays both Saudi Arabia and Iran at home in Seoul.

As for North Korea, the team is still in position to make it to South Africa next year, as the top two teams in Group B qualify for the World Cup.

The first game between these two teams was supposed to be played in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital. However, the host country wasn’t feeling so generous and refused South Korea’s request to sing their national anthem and show their flag. FIFA then said, “Hey, let’s move to a neutral location.”

Shanghai, China was suggested, and the two teams drew 1-1 in September 2008.

No flag waving for South Korea? No national anthem?

Hellloooooo relocation.

Why the hostility?

Relations are a little better this time, with the game being held in Seoul and no restrictions being placed on national anthems or flags. But it’s still a massive game.

Sure, the South and the North are the top two team in Asia’s Group B for World Cup qualifying, and it’s not just pride that’s at stake.

With the World Cup less than 15 months away, emotions are running high, particularly after North Korea snuck back into the lead of the group Saturday, beating the United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Pyongyang. The Red Devils played a friendly match versus Iraq at Suwon World Cup Stadium Saturday as well, winning 2-1.

South Korea can climb back to No. 1, should the team win on April 1 and rack up three points.

It’s not just a recent rivalry, either. South Korea climbed to the World Cup semi-finals in 2002, eclipsing the feat of the 1966 North Korean squad, which ran to the quarterfinals that year. North Korea hasn’t reached the tournament since.

It’s obvious the refusal to play the national anthem and displaying the flag aren’t necessarily about football, however, as the two countries haven’t signed a peace treaty following the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.