South Korea's women's water polo team may have been suffering a second successive hammering at the World Championships but there were heartwarming scenes when they burst into tears on scoring in their 30-1 defeat by Russia.

Hosts South Korea were handed a record 64-0 defeat against Hungary in their opening group game in Gwangju, and were receiving another heavy beating by Russia on Tuesday.

But with the score at 27-0 in the last quarter, 18-year-old Kyung Da-seul finally found the net.

It prompted tearful celebrations from players as they celebrated as joyously as if they had won the title itself.

Final Frame: There were tears of joy after South Korea scored their first goal at the Water Polo World Championships. The host team is mostly made up on teenage swimmers and, while they lost the match, their lone goal was celebrated as if they had won. #TheLatest#7NEWSpic.twitter.com/vYMdUPHweS — 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) July 17, 2019

“Our coaches told us that we’re here to show people that we’re ready to battle hard,” Kyung said afterwards, AFP reported.

“They also said we grew so much after the first game – we shed many tears of joy.”

Next up for South Korea are Canada on Thursday, while 2017 bronze medalists Russia play fellow unbeaten side Hungary on the same day.