Who is the best player in South Korea national team history?

From the 2002 World Cup semi-final fairytale to a new generation of Premier League stars, South Korea has consistently punched above its weight on the global stage. Who is the greatest Taeguk Warrior?

1. 1
   Son Heung-min

   Tottenham Hotspur's captain and South Korea's greatest modern player, a prolific winger-forward who won the Premier League Golden Boot and is among the world's best at his position.
2. 2
   Park Ji-sung

   Indefatigable, three-lunged midfielder who became the first Asian player to win the Champions League with Manchester United, famed for his tireless pressing and decisive big-game goals.
3. 3
   Cha Bum-kun

   South Korea's first global superstar, a dynamic attacker who starred in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen in the 1970s-80s, still revered as the country's greatest ever.
4. 4
   Hong Myung-bo

   Technically elegant libero and four-time World Cup participant who was named Asia's best player and is the emblematic figure of South Korean football's 2002 golden generation.
5. 5
   Lee Woon-jae

   Commanding, reliable goalkeeper and long-serving captain who starred at the 2002 World Cup and maintained elite performance across 132 international appearances.
6. 6
   Lee Young-pyo

   Reliable, attack-minded left-back who was a key member of the 2002 World Cup squad and later starred in the Premier League at Tottenham and PSV Eindhoven.
7. 7
   Seol Ki-hyeon

   Industrious, technically sound forward who played at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Reading and scored South Korea's historic late equalizer against Portugal at the 2002 World Cup.
8. 8
   Hwang Ui-jo

   Powerful, clinical centre-forward who became South Korea's second-highest scorer, thriving at Nottingham Forest and other European clubs while carrying the national team's attacking burden.
9. 9
   Lee Chun-soo

   Exceptionally gifted, technically brilliant winger who was South Korea's most creative player of the mid-2000s, capable of defeating opponents with breathtaking skill on either flank.
10. 10
    Hwang Hee-chan

    Dynamic, hardworking forward who scored the winner against Portugal at the 2022 World Cup to seal South Korea's knockout qualification in one of the tournament's most dramatic moments.
11. 11
    Kim Min-jae

    Physically dominant, technically superb centre-back who moved from Napoli to Bayern Munich and is widely considered one of the best defenders in the world in the modern era.
12. 12
    Cho Gue-sung

    Clinical, powerful striker who became a viral star at the 2022 World Cup with his two headers against Ghana, rising to become one of South Korea's most effective modern forwards.
13. 13
    Lee Dong-gook

    South Korea's all-time leading scorer, a prolific centre-forward with an outstanding goalscoring record across multiple World Cups and Asian Cup tournaments.