By Ridge Mahoney in Seoul Different but similar. In that incongruous manner can be described the South Korean team that hosts the U.S. Monday at 3:30 p.m. local time (2:30 am USA/ET) as play resumes in Group D. The South Koreans haven't fired their coach, shaken up their soccer federation or overhauled their roster since splitting a pair of the games with the USA last winter. In style, they are similar now to what they were then. But the first World Cup held in Asia has presented them with a homefield advantage as well as an historic victory. Buoyed by its first ever win in the World Cup, a 2-0 defeat of Poland, South Korea faces a U.S. team flying just as high after stunning Portugal, 3-2. South Korea has added players to its lineup since beating the United States, 1-0, in Seogwipo in a friendly and falling in Los Angeles, 2-1, during the CONCACAF Gold Cup. More importantly, Coach Guus Hiddink has imbued confidence and a sense of system to the traditional qualities of work rate and pressure. In those aspects they are different. ''They just press the hell out of you,'' said U.S. forward Landon Donovan, who scored in the Gold Cup match. ''They're relentless, they never give up. Hopefully we can play through it and get behind them a little bit.'' South Korea ran its unbeaten record to seven games by tying England 1-1, and a subsequent 3-2 loss to France in its final warm-up match May 26 didn't dampen enthusiasm. Hundreds of thousands of Korean fans poured into the streets to celebrate the win over Poland. Extra security personnel will be on duty in the cities Monday to control crowds, which some officials fear may turn violent if South Korea loses the game. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will close at midday. An official statement attributed the action to allowing embassy personnel to watch the game, but large crowds did gather near the embassy during the celebrations although no incidents were reported. American coaches, players and officials downplayed the chances of anti-American demonstrations as a backlash to the decision by short-track speed-skating judges to disqualify a Korean athlete in favor of U.S. skater Apolo Ohno during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. ''We really, really laugh at that,'' said U.S. midfielder Claudio Reyna, who was unaware of the incident until he arrived in Korea since the Olympics received little coverage in England, where he plays for Sunderland. ''As players from America we always expect a political twist to any opponent we play. We're used to it and to compare it to what happened in the Winter Olympics, which I didn't even know, is really laughable. ''It's a game and we're just players and we're just representing the view in soccer.'' The Korean formation will flow between 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 depending on how far Song chugs up the field. Veteran defender Hong Myung Bo — sidelined last summer with a stress fracture — has regained his fitness to bring some calm to a team prone to hyperactivity. He did not play in either game against the United States. Hong, who is playing in his fourth World Cup, anchors a back line that includes stay-at-home defenders Kim Tae Young and Choi Jin Cheul along with an overlapping right back, Song Chong Gug. He will sneak forward on occasion, as he did to launch a long shot in a recent friendly with England that keeper Nigel Martyn tipped over the bar. ''He's a pretty good distributor and he has a sense of organization and direction back there,'' said U.S. assistant coach Dave Sarachan of Hong. ''He does prefer to be free rather than as a man-marker. They play more zonally so there will be times he'll man-mark but if he had his druthers he'd pick his spots, float and clean up anybody else's mess.'' Song blasted a 30-yard shot into the U.S. net during the Gold Cup. Hiddink has used him as a central defender as well as in midfield and his versatile talents are difficult to counteract. A reliable anchor, Kim Nam-Il, and hard-running, attack-minded Yoo Sang Chul work the central midfield. Yoo scored the clincher against Poland by bursting through midfield for his 16th international goal. Hiddink's long search for a left-sided midfielder has led him to Lee Eul Yong. He served up a sweet, low cross Hwang Sun Hong drove home for the first goal against Poland and gives balance for Song's roaming role on the right. Hwang (50 goals in 98 internationals) may not start because of a thigh injury. Yet the Koreans have Park Ji Sung and Lee Chun Soo flanking young poacher Seol Ki Hyeon in their three-forward alignment. Park is a furious worker with decent skills who rarely scores (three goals in 34 internationals) but is a constant torment. He got the goal against England. Seol, 23, who plays his club ball in Belgium for Anderlecht, has blossomed since the Gold Cup and netted his eighth international goal against France. South Korea rallied from a 1-0 deficit and held a 2-1 lead over the French early in the second half. In reserve is forward Ahn Jung Hwan, the darling of Korean females with his flowing locks and feline looks but not the favorite of Hiddink. Ahn moved to Italian club Perugia to great fanfare last year and thus has missed much of the team's preparation. But he did score twice May 16 when South Korea hammered Scotland, 4-1, in Busan. He came on as a sub against Poland to squeals of delight and, more importantly, nearly scored. ''We will have to work very hard and play very well against a physical American team,'' said Hiddink, whose playing career as a midfielder included a stint with the Washington Diplomats of the North American Soccer League. Hiddink coached his native Netherlands to third place in the 1998 World Cup and his club resume includes stints at Sampdoria and Real Madrid. ''He's a very good coach,'' said Arena. ''He's brought that team along nicely and they're scoring goals, something they weren't doing much during the Gold Cup.'' He has used Lee Woon Jae and Kim Byung Jil in goal; Lee played against Poland to earn his 33rd cap and opinion is divided as to which keeper gets the nod Monday. Temperatures in the southern city of Daegu are expected to be in the high 80s with thick humidity and a blazing sun present for the mid-afternoon kickoff along with more than 60,000 fans decked in red and the rabid expectations of a nation. ''They'll have the crowd and that will help them keep going when they start to fatigue,'' said defender Tony Sanneh.''We're just going to have to be real disciplined and keep them in front of us. Hopefully we can wear them out. They like to run and be active but we hope we can hold the ball for periods of time and use our experience in that aspect.''