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 or Korea-fearing disease due to how common it is for the Chinanational team to lose to the South Korea national team. Over the 35 official matches they have played against each other, China has only won twice.
Overview
The term 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. Outside of football, it has also been used to denote the frequent defeats suffered by Chinese go players at the hands of Koreans such as Lee Chang-ho. As of 2010, the Korea Republic football team has recorded 16 wins, 11 draws and 1 loss in its 28 international "A" matches with China. The very first game between the two sides was held in the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok on 17 December 1978. The Koreans won that game 1–0 with a goal by Cha Bum Kun. In the Olympic Games, the South Korean team has amassed 7 wins and 1 draw against the Chinese side. This term also held true to the Youth teams of the respective countries, until China beat the Korean side 1–0 in the 2000 Asian Youth Championships. 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 often paired with the Korean Wave 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 PRC national football team to cope with the psychological pressure and defeatismfor the future. However, South Korea defeated China PR in the 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup with two goals and they resumed Koreaphobia. On 23 March 2017, China PR 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. On 16 January 2019, South Korea defeated China 2–0 in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and topped the group with 9 points.
