The national soccer team has opened the East Asian Football Federation Championship with a resounding thumping of Hong Kong.

The Taegeuk Warriors scored four goals in the first half in cruising to a 5-0 win at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo Sunday.

Kim Jung-woo opened the scoring in the tenth minute with a header at close range. Koo Ja-cheol made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute by tipping the ball into the net off a free kick.

Hong Kong's Korean coach Kim Pan-gon could only watch as his team struggled to keep Korea out of the net. The rout was on after Lee Dong-gook scored on a header in the 32nd minute, and Lee Sang-ryeol added his first for Korea four minutes later.

Noh Byung-joon closed out the scoring in the second half by volleying in a missed shot deep in injury time.

Korea plays China Wednesday and Japan February 13th.