The rivalry is commonly referred to as Konghanzheng (Chinese: 恐韩症; pinyin: kǒng hán zhèng; lit.

'Fear of Korea Symptom'; Korean: 공한증, romanized: gonghanjeung) or Korea-fearing symptom due to how common it is for the China national team to lose to the South Korea national team.

[5] 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.

He also said that the association will invite psychotherapists for the China national football team to cope with the psychological pressure and defeatism for the future.

[6][7] Immediately after his announcement, China defeated South Korea for the first time in their history.