It wasn't the best of years for South Korean football, though winning gold at October's Asian Games put a smile on the face of fans in 2014. The national team failed big time at the World Cup and the K-League has some serious issues.
Still, there is room for optimism and these are just five ways in which the New Year could be a memorable one.
1. End Asian Cup drought
There's no doubt that South Korea not winning the continental title in over half a century is just not good enough. At times, the desire to bring the trophy back to Seoul has not been as strong as it should have been.
The Olympics are usually higher on the priority list -- a factor in the AFC moving its tournament out of the shadow cast by that summer sports fest. This time, at least, there is a genuine desire to go all the way in Australia.
Ki Seung-yeung, a player who some in the national team set-up believe should be the captain, has been especially vocal about getting some Teaguk Warrior hands back on that prize. And given what happened at the 2014 World Cup, qualifying for the 2017 Confederations Cup would go down very well indeed.
The Korea FA has promised that new coach Uli Stielike will not be judged on what happens in January as the German has been in the Seoul hot seat for such a short time. That may or may not be true (and is certainly easier said than done) but what happens in Australia will set the scene and the mood for the short and probably medium term in South Korean football.
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It doesn't have to be the title -- though that is the target -- but anything less than the last four would be disappointing.
2. Find a striker
Sometimes the simple questions are the most difficult to answer. Why can't Korea produce a top-class number nine?
The last candidate was Park Chu-young yet this 'football genius' lost his place in the team -- and the national affections -- after joining Arsenal in 2011. It's a long story but the result is that this ex-captain of the Taeguk Warriors, now 29 and in Saudi Arabia, won't be going to Australia.
With Kim Shin-wook and Lee Dong-gook injured, the situation in attack is not looking healthy at all. It is not so much that there is a lack of depth up-front but more that there is a lack of anything. If Korea win the Asian Cup, it will be an achievement reminiscent of the France team who lifted the 1998 World Cup despite the lack of a recognised goalscorer.
Whatever happens in 2015, if Korea could find a top-class, consistent poacher then there would be lot of happy people this time next year.
Of course, there is Son Heung-min but this is a player best suited to coming from deep. If 'Sonaldo' had a free-scoring number nine to line up with, then the 2002 World Cup semifinalists would be a threat indeed.
3. End the divide in Korea
After three years living under the K-League's split system, the natives are getting restless, or perhaps to put it more accurately, bored. More and more are moving toward the conclusion, that the Scottish-style splitting of the league table into two halves is not working.
The original reasoning sounded interesting in theory. After all the teams had played each other twice or three times, then the top six and bottom six would be placed into two separate mini-leagues to battle it out for the title or to avoid relegation. This was seen as the best way to operate a 12-team league. Not only that, it was meant to maximise excitement, engage media and fans, and decrease meaningless games -- important after the match-fixing scandal of 2011.
But the expected drama and interest as the split approached never really materialized People just weren't that interested as to who managed to take sixth and join the big boys or slide into seventh to get sent downstairs. That was just the start. The lower group ended up being virtually ignored and became a de facto second-class competition. It can't really go on like this.
4. Engage Southeast Asia
Just like millions of the country's citizens who head to the region on holiday, South Korean football in general has been caught napping under the Southeast Asian sun. In the meantime, the J.League has been working hard to expand its appeal in this passionate football region of over 600 million that lies between India and China.
There have been agreements made between the J.League and various federations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. Individual J.League clubs have entered into partnerships, both of the formal and informal kind, with counterparts in certain countries and broadcasting deals. There are hopes that a Southeast Asian player could one day star in the J.League. Despite attempts, none have yet succeeded.
This opens the door for a K-League that has a superior record of signing Asian players (and Thai legend Piyapong Pue-on is one in Korea too). The republic, whose businesses are extremely active in the region and could be useful partners, informal or otherwise, could become a happy hunting ground for the best of Thailand, Malaysia and other ASEAN nations. There have been informal and sporadic attempts behind the scenes that are starting to bear a little fruit but a more organised and systematic approach is needed
5. Get more foreign coaches
It wasn't that long ago when there were usually three or four foreign bosses in charge of K-League teams. There were Scots, Swiss, Serbians, Brazilians and others. Some were good, some were not, some succeeded, some did not while some lasted and others did not. Yet, all added something different to the championship. All brought different ideas, experiences and knowhow for their players and opposition players to deal with.
In the past couple of years, however, it has changed. Having one tactician from overseas has been the limit, and sometimes there haven't been any at all. This would not be quite so serious if they had been replaced by a new wave of exciting and young local talent desperate to burst onto the scene. This has not really happened.
Recent signs that the K-League is becoming more introspective are worrying. It is a something that should not be allowed to gain momentum. Asia's oldest league has been at its strongest when it has been internationally-minded.