# China–South Korea football rivalry

The China–South Korea football rivalry is a sports rivalry between the men's national association football teams of each country. The rivalry is commonly referred to as Konghanzheng (Chinese: 恐韩症; pinyin: kǒng hán zhèng; lit. 'Fear of Korea Symptom'; Korean: 공한증, romanized: gonghanjeung) or Korea-fearing symptom due to how common it is for the China national team to lose to the South Korea national team. Over the 38 official matches they have played against each other, China has only won twice.

## Overview

The term "Konghanzheng" literally means "the symptom of fearing Korea". This term was originally used by the Chinese mass media and was later adopted by the Korean media as well. While this term may be seen as an effort to diminish the achievements of the Korean side, the Chinese media has historically taken a positive attitude acknowledging the Korean team's preeminence among East Asian sides.
In Korea, this term is often used as a general term for national victory, as when Korean baseball fans express a desire to create Koreaphobia among the Japanese. This concept is also paired with the Korean Wave (Hallyu) in Korean discourse regarding their relationship with China and other Asian countries.
Lin Xiaohua, the vice chairman of Chinese Football Association said before the match on 10 February 2010, "Koreaphobia comes from the differences in ability, now that becomes much narrower. Therefore, if the mentality is enhanced, our team can overcome Koreanphobia". He also said that the association will invite psychotherapists for the China national football team to cope with the psychological pressure and defeatism for the future. Immediately after his announcement, China defeated South Korea for the first time in their history.
On 23 March 2017, China defeated South Korea for the first time in an official FIFA competitive match by a score of 1–0 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament.

## Head-to-head record

| Venue | China wins | South Korea wins | Draws | China goals | South Korea goals |
| At China home | 1 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 20 |
| At South Korea home | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 14 |
| Neutral venue | 1 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 22 |
| Total | 2 | 23 | 13 | 26 | 56 |

## Matches

| No. | Date | Competition | South Korea | Result | China | Venue |
| 1 | 17 December 1978 | 1978 Asian Games | Cha Bum-kun 47' | 1–0 | | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 2 | 29 December 1978 | 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification | Huh Jung-moo 13' | 1–0 | | Manila, Philippines |
| 3 | 1 March 1982 | 1982 Nehru Cup | Lee Tae-ho 44' | 1–1 | Shen Xiangfu 80' | Calcutta, India |
| 4 | 3 November 1983 | 1984 Summer Olympics qualification | Kim Jong-kun 32', 50' Kim Jong-boo 34' | 3–3 | Jia Xiuquan 51' Liu Haiguang 79', 85' | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 5 | 8 November 1983 | 1984 Summer Olympics qualification | | 0–0 | | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 6 | 28 September 1986 | 1986 Asian Games | Park Chang-sun 19' (pen.) Kim Joo-sung 47' Lee Tae-ho 74' Cho Min-kook 76' | 4–2 | Li Hui 25' (pen.), 79' (pen.) | Seoul, South Korea |
| 7 | 14 December 1988 | 1988 AFC Asian Cup | Lee Tae-ho 93', 103' | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Mai Chao 100' | Doha, Qatar |
| 8 | 20 October 1989 | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification | Kim Joo-sung 66' | 1–0 | | Singapore |
| 9 | 31 July 1990 | 1990 Dynasty Cup | Lee Sang-yoon 26' | 1–0 | | Beijing, China |
| 10 | 3 August 1990 | 1990 Dynasty Cup | Hong Myung-bo 22' (pen.) | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) | Mai Chao 61' | Beijing, China |
| 11 | 27 September 1990 | 1990 Asian Games | Seo Jung-won 57', 75' | 2–0 | | Beijing, China |
| 12 | 26 August 1992 | 1992 Dynasty Cup | Park Hyun-yong 19' Jung Jae-kwon 73' | 2–0 | | Beijing, China |
| 13 | 19 February 1995 | 1995 Dynasty Cup | | 0–0 | | Hong Kong |
| 14 | 25 September 1996 | Friendly | Seo Jung-won 15' Lee Ki-hyung 30' Ha Seok-ju 64' | 3–1 | Hao Haidong 10' | Seoul, South Korea |
| 15 | 26 November 1996 | Friendly | Roh Sang-rae 7' (pen.) Lee Young-jin 56' Shin Hong-gi 71' | 3–2 | Hao Haidong 51' Li Bing 84' (pen.) | Guangzhou, China |
| 16 | 23 April 1997 | Friendly | Park Kun-ha 45', 57' | 2–0 | | Beijing, China |
| 17 | 30 August 1997 | Friendly | | 0–0 | | Seoul, South Korea |
| 18 | 4 March 1998 | 1998 Dynasty Cup | Choi Sung-yong 38' Lee Sang-Yoon 42' | 2–1 | Li Bing 15' | Yokohama, Japan |
| 19 | 4 June 1998 | Friendly | Lee Sang-yoon 16' | 1–1 | Ma Mingyu 51' | Seoul, South Korea |
| 20 | 22 November 1998 | Friendly | | 0–0 | | Shanghai, China |
| 21 | 28 July 2000 | Friendly | Lee Young-pyo 52' | 1–0 | | Beijing, China |
| 22 | 13 October 2000 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup | Lee Young-pyo 30' Noh Jung-yoon 58' | 2–2 | Su Maozhen 36' Fan Zhiyi 66' | Tripoli, Lebanon |
| 23 | 29 October 2000 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup | Lee Dong-gook 76' | 1–0 | | Beirut, Lebanon |
| 24 | 27 April 2002 | Friendly | | 0–0 | | Incheon, South Korea |
| 25 | 7 December 2003 | 2003 EAFF Championship | Yoo Sang-chul 45+1' | 1–0 | | Saitama, Japan |
| 26 | 31 July 2005 | 2005 EAFF Championship | Kim Jin-kyu 73' | 1–1 | Sun Xiang 52' | Daejon, South Korea |
| 27 | 17 February 2008 | 2008 EAFF Championship | Park Chu-young 43', 75' Kwak Tae-hwi 90+2' | 3–2 | Zhou Haibin 47' Liu Jian 61' | Chongqing, China |
| 28 | 10 February 2010 | 2010 EAFF Championship | | 0–3 | Yu Hai 5' Gao Lin 27' Deng Zhuoxiang 60' | Tokyo, Japan |
| 29 | 24 July 2013 | 2013 EAFF Championship | | 0–0 | | Hwaseong, South Korea |
| 30 | 2 August 2015 | 2015 EAFF Championship | Kim Seung-dae 45' Lee Jong-ho 58' | 2–0 | | Wuhan, China |
| 31 | 1 September 2016 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | Zheng Zhi 20' (o.g.) Lee Chung-yong 62' Koo Ja-cheol 66' | 3–2 | Yu Hai 73' Hao Junmin 76' | Seoul, South Korea |
| 32 | 23 March 2017 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | | 0–1 | Yu Dabao 35' | Changsha, China |
| 33 | 9 December 2017 | 2017 EAFF Championship | Kim Shin-wook 12' Lee Jae-sung 19' | 2–2 | Wei Shihao 9' Yu Dabao 76' | Tokyo, Japan |
| 34 | 16 January 2019 | 2019 AFC Asian Cup | Hwang Ui-jo 14' (pen.) Kim Min-jae 51' | 2–0 | | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| 35 | 15 December 2019 | 2019 EAFF Championship | Kim Min-jae 13' | 1–0 | | Busan, South Korea |
| 36 | 20 July 2022 | 2022 EAFF Championship | Zhu Chenjie 39' (o.g.) Kwon Chang-hoon 54' Cho Gue-sung 80' | 3–0 | | Toyota, Japan |
| 37 | 21 November 2023 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Son Heung-min 11' (pen.), 45' Jung Seung-hyun 87' | 3–0 | | Shenzhen, China |
| 38 | 11 June 2024 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Lee Kang-in 61' | 1–0 | | Seoul, South Korea |
| 39 | July 2025 | 2025 EAFF Championship | | TBD | | South Korea |