article posted: 2009-04-15
source: KBS World
credit: aeinsshi

see photos here

This is a scene from the 2009 Professional Baseball Season opener between the Doosan Bears and the KIA Tigers at Seoul’s Jamsil Baseball Stadium held last Saturday, April 4. Baseball fever has gripped the nation since last month’s World Baseball Classic, and now the enthusiasm is carrying over to the domestic professional baseball season.

Last Saturday, all of Jamsil Stadium’s 30-thousand seats were filled. The first match-up in the capital city wasn’t the only baseball game that sold out this opening season. Tickets for opening games in the four other stadiums in major metropolitan cities nationwide were also sold out, marking a first for domestic professional baseball history.

As of April 13th, a total of 32 games were played and some 309,000 people crowded the nation’s baseball stadiums. This figure is up 30 percent year-on-year. The droves of fans have given a big emotional boost to the team managers and players. Here are Kim In-sik, the manager of Hanhwa team and KIA player Yun Seok-min.

Kim In-sik: Of course we are happy. The baseball fervor will continue if everyone, including the players, keeps working harder.
Yun Seok-min: Since we did well at the WBC, we also have higher expectations than before and we want to play a game that our fans can enjoy.


As if to repay the baseball fans’ support and cheering, some 75 homeruns were recorded in only nine days since the opening of the 2009 season, adding excitement to the matches. The number of homeruns scored so far this year is 77 percent higher than the rate of 1.32 per game during the same period last year. It’s an exciting record for both the cheering fans and the players.

The history of Korean professional baseball began in 1982. Eight professional teams – the SK Wyverns, Doosan Bears, Hanhwa Eagles, Samsung Lions, Heroes, Lotte Giants, LG Twins and KIA Tigers – will compete in 133 games this season, which runs until October. Despite the nation’s short baseball history, the Korean league is on the top of the world right now after winning the gold medal at the Beijing Summer Olympics and taking second place at the WBC last month. Baseball has been established in Korea as an enjoyable cultural activity for players and fans alike. Professor Kim Do-hwan from Gyeonghui University’s Sports Marketing Department explains.

In the past, baseball games were centered around the players. But these days, people are following baseball players’ fashion…in other words, people are now enjoying the baseball culture. A baseball café has even opened and a club culture is forming.

The recently opened baseball café is located on the first floor of the baseball stadium in Busan. The store is packed with baseball-related items such as players’ uniforms, balls and mugs with players’ signatures, game photos and more. In addition, the Lotte Giants opened the “Giants’ Baseball Museum,” showcasing 28 years of baseball history. The museum is divided into five sections exhibiting a total of 500 baseball-related items including photos, trophies, uniforms and more.

These days, baseball games are adopting more entertaining events to amuse spectators. It’s a basic rule for the fans to learn a new cheer every time they go to the ballpark. Fans are wowed by impressive shows by cheerleaders that rival performances by professional music theater actors. These women are also brimming with excitement at the recent influx of baseball fans.

One of the key events at the ball game is the so-called “cleaning time” event. The highlight is something known as “kiss time.” A lucky couple caught by stadium cameras is showcased on the park’s scoreboard. Fans all around the stadium root for the couple to kiss, while other couples in the audience watch with envy.

There’s never a dull moment for fans who come out for Korea’s professional baseball games. The three-hour contests are filled with fun events between each of the nine innings. Here is Huh Gu-yeon, the baseball commentator of MBC.

In the past, the repertoires of the events at the ball games were monotonous and simple. But these days it’s different. Each baseball team has cheerleaders and their performances have reached new levels. In fact, the American baseball teams benchmark the excellent performances of domestic cheerleaders. The domestic cheering culture is great. Seeing spectators singing at the stadium is a unique sight that can only be found in Korea. That’s a distinct feature of baseball culture in Korea – come to the park and have fun while watching the game.

Outside the baseball stadium, players’ T-shirts are selling like hot cakes. Fans feel closer to the baseball team by wearing shirts printed with the players’ faces and signatures. The baseball stadium is studded with interesting events for fans. These elements enable the fans to enjoy the baseball experience itself, regardless of the result of the game.

- Watching a baseball game is a great way to spend quality time with the family – we can cheer for the team we like and the children can learn the baseball culture as well. It’s so exciting and delightful to cheer for the team with my son.
- When you come to the baseball stadium, all the spectators become one, cheering for the same goal. The venue is taking root as a place comprised of diverse cultural elements – it could be a date spot for couples or a venue for a family outing.
- During the “cleaning time”, special events take place and singers perform. These days, many gifts are thrown to the crowd, which is exciting for fans. That’s how baseball games are offering fun comparable to stage plays and musicals. Hopefully they’ll have more exciting games and draw enough fans to surpass the 6 million mark this year. Be careful and please play a great game!


Star baseball players have also contributed to establishing the sport as a national pastime. The interest in the sport is rising as more Korean players are playing an active part at the Major Leagues in the United States. The achievements of the Korean national team on the world stage, such as its outstanding performances at the Asian Games, Summer Olympics and WBC, are also increasing the public’s interest in the sport. Here is Professor Kim again.

In order to develop a sport into a culture, we need a role model. Park Chan-ho is a good example. And pitcher Bong Jung-geun who showcased great pitches against Japan even earned the nickname “Doctor Bong Jung-geun.” So LG produced Bong’s T-shirts and they are selling well. Whatever the sport may be, it has to have a role model. These stars created a new trend through the Web and contributed in making baseball a national sport. Baseball has become a cultural icon.

The professional baseball fever is also sparking interest in baseball club activities. Every Saturday afternoon, some 20 office workers in red and white baseball uniforms and red caps play ball at a school playground in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District. They say the public’s interest in the sport has definitely risen lately as even female colleagues are showing interest in the games.

It’s been three years since the baseball club called “Wild Throw” was formed. The number of members has increased to 40 as of late. With their favorite sport in the limelight, the members of the club couldn’t be happier. Currently there are about 7,000 baseball clubs in Korea. The groups get together every weekend and on holidays to play games at school playgrounds. Each member has his own goal for this year, and they are fully enjoying the sport’s attractive features.

Although the history of domestic professional baseball is brief, with less than three decades, Koreans’ affection for the game is comparable to that of fans in the United States, who have enjoyed the sport for centuries. And local fans hope the burgeoning baseball fever will mean even more people will begin to enjoy the sport.

Domestic professional baseball attracted more than 5 million spectators last year, and this year the new goal is to draw more than 5.6 million people. However, in order to maintain the popularity of the sport and the baseball culture to take root in Korea, there is an urgent problem that must be addressed. Here is Huh again.

Although there are about 7-thousand baseball clubs nationwide, there aren’t enough fields for the groups to play games during weekends. They really have difficulty securing venues to play games. These issues should be resolved soon. Many schools have artificial turf grounds for the students to play soccer. But schools should design their playgrounds differently so that people can enjoy various sports including soccer, baseball and basketball. We should provide venues for the people so that they can freely enjoy sports as part of their living.

Considering the baseball fever captivating the public these days, the sport’s heyday will continue into this fall when the 2009 season with 133 games wrap up. Now’s the time to consider establishing a baseball cultural complex to reflect on domestic baseball history and share information about the players, and to create more opportunities for all kinds of people to experience the sport.