PAJU (Yonhap News) ― South Korean men’s soccer players reported to the national training camp ahead of a continental tournament to be held here later this month, vowing to win back the fan base frustrated by the country’s subpar performances of late.

Sixteen of the 23 players named to the squad for the East Asian Cup entered the National Football Center here in Paju, north of Seoul, to begin preparations for the July 20-28 tournament.

The round-robin event will pit South Korea against Australia, China and Japan.

The seven missing players are based in Japan’s J League. They will play their league matches Wednesday night and are scheduled to join the national team on Thursday. The 16 who reported on Wednesday are based in South Korea and China.

South Korea opens the tournament against Australia on Saturday and faces China next Wednesday and Japan on July 28. The games will be held in Seoul and Hwaseong, south of the capital.

The tournament will be the first international event for head coach Hong Myung-bo, who previously coached the country to the Olympic bronze medal in London last year.

Hong replaced Choi Kang-hee last month after South Korea qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil for its eighth consecutive appearance in the tournament.

South Korea squeezed into the World Cup and lost its finale to Iran at home. The anticlimactic finish and the team’s lethargic play in the final stretch angered fans, and Hong has been stressing that the East Asian Cup will be the opportunity to regain the fans’ trust in South Korean football.

Hong will have to do that without services of star players based in Europe.

The East Asian Cup matches are not FIFA protected, which means clubs aren’t obliged to release their international players for the occasion. European seasons begin in August, and South Korean stars such as Bayer Leverkusen striker Son Heung-min and Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yueng, have not been called up for the East Asian Cup.

Hong has built a team of mostly untested players from South Korea, Japan and China. Only five have played in at least 10 international matches, and six have made the senior national team for the first time.

The lanky striker Kim Shin-wook is one of the more experienced ones. He was often the featured striker during the final World Cup qualification round and enters the East Asian Cup in good form. He has scored in each of his past two games for Ulsan in the domestic K League Classic and is second in scoring with 12 goals.

“I understand coach Hong likes to establish strong defense and launch quick counterattacks, and that’s the kind of football I’ve been playing,” Kim said.

“I’d like to score as a striker, but I will put the team before anything else. The coach stresses team play, and I will play any role he asks me to play.”

Known as a charismatic disciplinarian, Hong instituted a strict dress code for the players, requiring them to report in a suit and tie. The head coach was the first to arrive at the NFC at 10 a.m., two hours ahead of schedule.

Hong also asked the players to walk in from the NFC’s main gate to the dormitory, covering about 300 meters.

Previously, national team players dressed casually, often in T-shirts bearing logos of the sport apparel companies that they endorsed, and parked their vehicles right in front of the dorm.

“I am sure the players will realize the magnitude of playing for the country as they walk the ground here,” Hong said.

“I also had a chance to reflect on myself. Training these players is important, but I will also focus on bonding with them as their head coach.”

Among the players, Jeju United striker Seo Dong-hyeon was the first to report.

The 28-year-old is back on the national team for the first time in eight years and said he arrived early to show that he is motivated for this tournament.

“I am looking forward to competing against good players for playing time,” Seo said. “Doing my best is the only thing on my mind now.”