Clear-cut chances were rare for either side at the Education City Stadium and although Uruguay created more scoring chances, neither team was able to register shots on target.
Uruguay captain Diego Godin was denied the woodwork, while South Korean forward Hwang Ui-jo burst onto the scene with a goal at his mercy before the two teams meet group rivals Portugal and Ghana later in the day. Missed opportunities found.
Uruguay’s first sight of goal came through Federico Valverde in the 19th minute, who connected with Jose Maria Jimenez’s pass and took a touch before firing a half-volley towards goal, but his ambitious effort went just over the bar. The South Americans were beginning to gain their footing when South Korea, who had so far been patient, disrupted their rhythm and scored on a counter-attack from a Uruguayan corner just before the half-hour mark.
Son Heung-min picked up the ball on the left flank and cut inside, past two Uruguayan defenders, before curling a right-footed effort towards goal, but left-back Mathias Oliveira was able to clear it away.
South Korea should have taken the lead in the 34th minute when Moon-Hwan Kim fired the ball into the penalty area and into the path of Hwang in front of goal, but the forward lost his composure and sent it over the crossbar.
Uruguay came close to scoring in the first half just before the break when centre-back Godin rose to head a header from Valverde’s corner but it bounced off the left post.
Jimenez pulled off a crucial tackle to deny Son five minutes after the restart following South Korea’s quick move, while Jung Woo-young held off a powerful attack from midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur at the other end.
Uruguay saw more of the ball but had few chances to break through the South Korean defense until the closing stages, when Valverde struck a volley in the final minute of regulation time that hit the top of the post.
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