Park said his side were capable of beating Uruguay in Saturday's opening second round match in Port Elizabeth and their semi-final appearance as hosts in 2002 - their only previous advance from the group stages - was no fluke.
"We don't have a clear conviction on how far we can go but we made it to the semi-finals in 2002 and that wasn't just because we were hosts," he said. "We will go out tomorrow to prove that."
The European experience the South Korean players had gained was the decisive factor in the team's improvement, Park said.
"Our confidence is all from that experience," he added.
"They say they hope I'll play well here," he said. "And they tell me not get hurt."
"We admit we've let lots of goals in but we can make up for that by scoring two for every one we concede," said South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo.
"All of our players are in the top 16 because of hard work and effort," he said. "We won't rest on our laurels, we want to make it to the top eight.
"The possibilities are open to everyone, the ball is always round. Italy, France can always be eliminated and small teams can always do well."
