By Peter Rutherford

LEVERKUSEN, June 14 (Reuters) South Korea today woke up at the top of Group G after walking a thin line between World Cup success and failure against Togo in Frankfurt.

A goal down at halftime yesterday and looking a pale shadow of the team that rocked Portugal, Italy and Spain on the way to the semi-finals four years ago, Korea were heading for an embarrassing defeat against the crisis team from Africa.

But coach Dick Advocaat took a gamble, his decision to bring on 2002 hero Ahn Jung-hwan and go with four forwards paying handsome dividends.

Korea's cause was helped when Togo captain Jean Paul Yaovi Abalo Dosseh was sent off early in the second half for a foul on Park Ji-sung.

Lee Chun-soo stepped up and curled the resulting free kick into the corner of the net before Ahn, who knocked Italy out in 2002 with a golden goal, completed the fightback with a stunning strike with less than 20 minutes left.

KOREAN WAY France's 0-0 draw with Switzerland in Stuttgart left Korea top of the group after the first round of games, exactly where they were four years ago.

The Koreans, who in the last World Cup became the first Asian side to reach the semis, meet France in Leipzig on Sunday and Switzerland in Hanover five days later.

''We had a very bad first half (against Togo) but I was still a bit surprised at halftime when Advocaat changed everything,'' said defender Lee Young-pyo after training on Wednesday.

''We have to play the Korean way to beat France, we have to pressurise them the way we did to teams in 2002. If we play to the same level as in 2002 we can beat France.'' The players were allowed to meet up with their wives, girlfriends and close relatives at the team hotel after training as a reward for the win.

Ahn, Park, Choi Jin-cheul and Song Chong-gug took no part in training due to slight muscle aches and strains but the move was purely precautionary, said the Korean FA.

REUTERS PM RS1911