Korea opened the World Baseball Classic with a convincing 9-0 romp over Taiwan Friday in the Tokyo Dome.

Lee Jin-young hit a grand slam in the first inning to give Korea a 6-0 lead. Before that, Kim Tae-kyun drove in a pair of runs to open the scoring.

Lee Dae-ho drove in another run in the bottom of the fifth on an infield single. Jeong Keun-woo hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth for the final score.

Starting pitcher Ryu Jin-hyun gave up a hit and had three strikeouts over three innings to earn the win.

Korea will play Japan Saturday evening for the right to advance to the second round of the 16-country tournament.

The top two teams in Pool A will make it to the second round in the United States. The final is slated for March 23 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.