The Asian nation play their final World Cup warm-up match against Ghana in Florida on Monday, and coach Hong has compared the Africans' style to Group H opponents Russia.
Hong revealed he will be paying close attention to how his team prevent Ghana attacking on the break and also how they react should such a situation unfold.
"We need to make sure we don't concede Ghana opportunities to mount counter-attacks," he said. "Russia is strong at counter-attacks, and I will keep a close watch on how we can handle such situations in (Monday's) match.
"If we can beat Ghana, our players will receive a huge confidence boost going into Brazil."
Hong, 45, went on to identify the knockout phase of the competition as his target, while he also hopes they have already been written off by the other teams taking part in Brazil.
He continued: "I know I never talked about our goal, but to be honest it is to pass the group stage. Once we progress, nobody can predict what will happen. First, we have to think about passing group stage.
"I do not know what our athletes are trying to accomplish. We may soon find out. I also like to think that the other teams are not paying attention to us."
South Korea get their tournament under way on June 17 against Fabio Capello's Russians, and also meet Algeria and Belgium in the first round.
