England had taken the lead after 25 minutes as captain Michael Owen bundled the ball over the line after a Paul Scholes shot was parried. The Korean's rarely troubled as England eased through the first half.
England made seven half-time substitutes and the Korean's capitalised as Southgate, who was given the captains armband, organised his troops. Poor marking at a corner allowed Ji-Sung Park to head the equaliser.
Southgate almost won the game for England after an hour but his header, from a corner, looped agonisingly over the bar.
England will look at the individual performances rather than the team performance and will learn lessons from the hot, humid conditions.