DAEGU, South Korea -- You have to admit the French are fair. After thrashing Japan 5-0 in Paris two months ago, they opened the Confederations Cup with a similar scoreline over Japan's fellow-World Cup host South Korea on Tuesday.

President Kim Dae Jung declared the tournament open, saying to the people of Daegu and South Korea, "I hope you will all pool your strengths to ensure the success of the World Cup in 2002."

Korean soccer chief Dr. Chung Mong Joon and FIFA head Sepp Blatter also were on hand to start this rehearsal event for the 2002 World Cup. But they couldn't do anything about the weather. After two beautiful, warm days in South Korea, the skies turned gray and rained on the Koreans' parade. However, the magnificent new stadium and the pitch passed their opening tests and nearly 62,000 fans were on hand to watch the home side take on the world champions.

And it didn't take long for the Koreans to find out how difficult it is to play a side that is almost overdosing on confidence at the moment.

"As I said before the match, we were trying to see what the level of European football could show the strongest team in Asia," South Korea's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink said afterward. "I knew the game would be very tough and you just have to face facts: Korea has to learn the toughness of this competition." The competition got very tough very quickly. Eight minutes into the game, a Robert Pires corner posed problems for Korean goalkeeper Lee Woon Jae, who was under pressure from Christophe Dugarry, and the ball bounced high in the air. Steve Marlet took advantage with a brilliant scissor-kick to put the French in front.

Ten minutes later, the French got another brilliant goal. Pires' free-kick cannoned off the wall and bounced out to the incoming Patrick Vieira, who slammed a cracking shot past Lee with the outside of his foot from 25 meters. Like Japan before them, the Koreans were staring down the barrel of a loaded gun and could do little to rectify matters. The Koreans found it difficult to gauge the pace of the game and, as Hiddink pointed out, "They were giving them too much respect; they were standing 3 or 4 yards off the French players." It could have been 3-0 after just 20 minutes when captain Hong Myung Bo brought down Nicolas Anelka in the box, but Lee saved Dugarry's sloppy penalty.

But the French virtually killed things off 10 minutes before the break after some neat approach work on the right between the dangerous Anelka and Eric Carriere. Carriere slung in a hard, low cross as Anelka and Marlet steamed in unmarked. The ball hit Marlet as the two Frenchmen slid into the goal, but came off Anelka last to earn the Paris St.-Germain player the goal.

"With a 3-0 lead, it was rather easy for them," Hiddink admitted. "And our morale went down a little bit."

The second half had more or less the same result, but the Koreans had a bit more fire in their bellies -- some halftime kimchi, perhaps -- and with the addition of classy Kashiwa Reysol forward Hwang Sun Hong to aid the clumsy Seol Ki Hyeon up front, things looked brighter for the home side.

Hwang's Reysol teammate Yoo Sang Chul also got stuck in more in the second half and with Ko Jong Su and Song Chong Gug buzzing around, things looked brighter for the Koreans.

Ko and Hwang had a couple of pokes at goal, but it was the unlikely figure of Seol who had the best chance for the Koreans when he juked neatly past a defender in the box and unleashed a left-foot shot that French goalkeeper Ulrich Rame could only parry away.

But the French were on cruise control and Bixente Lizarazu combined with Pires to set up a neat 18-meter finish off the right post by substitute Youri Djorkaeff. Another substitute, Arsenal's Sylvain Wiltord, finished off the scoring in the last minute by rounding the 'keeper and sliding the ball home.

"The French team hasn't changed since 1996," manager Roger Lemerre said afterward. "We play with confidence, without changing too much, we get results and we really don't have any problems with the football we play." The French stay in Daegu for their next game against Australia on Friday, while South Korea faces Mexico.