Having watched their northern brothers achieve success unlike they themselves had been unable to do at their previous World Cup appearance and at either of their Olympic games participations, the KFA set about trying to improve the standard of football played both domestically and internationally. Despite a 1967 success in the Merdeka Cup, an annual tournament held in Malaysia, Korea flattered to deceive at international level in the late-1960s. A disappointing showing in the 1966 Asian Games was followed up by failure to qualify for both the Asian Cup and the Olympics in 1968, despite having taken the bold step of appointing East German Eckhard Krautzun to the coaching staff.

In 1969 the Korean national team took part in the 2nd Thai King's Cup competition and emerged victorious, defeating Indonesia 1-0 in the final through a Jong Kang-ji goal. Korea were to win five of the next six King's Cup tournaments before relegating its importance behind that of World Cup qualification and Asian Cup success. The King's Cup win in 1970 was doubled up with eventual triumph at the Asian Games, drawing 0-0 in the tournament final with Burma and sharing the gold medal.

Domestically, things were starting to expand. National Banks were especially keen on creating football teams, and around the turn of the decade Korea Commercial Bank, Korea Housing & Commercial Bank, Korea Trust Bank, Korea Exchange Bank, Korea Development Bank, Chohung Bank, Hanil Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea and others created and ran football teams in the Amateur Football Championship. Korea Housing & Commercial Bank made an instant impression in the Championship, finishing runners-up in both 1970 and 1971. Korea Commercial Bank won the 18th President's Cup in 1970, and several more of the newly-created clubs would soon follow up with victories. Established European clubs were starting to visit Korea on preseason tours, with Scottish side Dundee United amongst others playing games in Seoul. The profile and awareness of Korean football abroad was starting to rise, helped in no small part by the success of the North Koreans in 1966 and South Korea's emergence as one of Asia's strongest international sides.

With the growth in strength of the domestic and international scenes, the KFA arranged its first international tournament, and in 1971 held the 1st President Park's Cup championship. Seven other Asian sides participated in the tournament and Korea, after victories over Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia, lined up in the two-legged final against Burma. Two goalless draws later the decision was made to award both teams as co-champions.

Korea still remained unsuccessful in their attempts to qualify for the Olympic football tournament, and in 1972 lost in the final of the Asian Cup against Iran. The same year, Korea finished runners-up in the Asian Youth Championships and also lost out to Burma in the 2nd President's National Cup to complete a disappointing year.

Yet more disappointment ensued in 1973 as the Koreans failed to make the 1974 World Cup. Remaining undefeated in their Asian qualifiers, the Koreans advanced to a two-legged play-off against Australia, a team the North Koreans had shrugged off so easily to qualify for 1966. A 0-0 draw in Sydney and a 2-2 draw in Seoul led to a neutral play-off match in Hong Kong, which Australia won 1-0 to book their place in the West German tournament. There was further disappointment that year as Burma again eliminated Korea from the 3rd President's Cup and went on to win their third title in a row, though Korea rounded off 1973 with a Thai King's Cup triumph. Korea got the chance to exact revenge on Burma in 1974, when a 3-0 victory gave Korea the 4th Presidents Cup trophy, and they followed it up in 1975 with another win over the Burmese. Burma were again dispatched on the way to a Merdeka Cup victory that same year.