Baseball in Korea

By Cord Scott

Photos By Leslie Preddy

It is spring and that leads to many things, one of which is baseball.  While called “America’s pastime” baseball has also been popular around the world, particularly after United States forces brought the game to Korea during the Korean War. If you haven’t experienced a Korean baseball game, you should. But before we discuss the game and its atmosphere in Korea, it is important to look at the teams.

The current Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) consists of ten teams. It was formed in 1982 and has some team names that may sound familiar to Americans, but only due to team names from other sports. The season is 144 games long, as opposed to the Major League season of 162 games in the United States. Unlike American teams, Korean teams are named not for the city they play in, but for the corporation that sponsors them.

Like the American leagues, several teams share a town. The largest city, Seoul, has the most teams, with four: the Doosan Bears (Doosan makes heavy machinery for construction), the Kiwoon Heroes (Kiwoon is a securities firm), the Kia Tigers, and the LG Twins (LG makes a variety of appliances). Other teams include the KT Wiz from Suwon, with their mascots Vic and Dory (say it fast, and it's 'victory'); the SSG Landers from Incheon; the NC Dinos from Changwon; the Samsung Lions from Daegu; the Lotte Giants from Busan; and the Hanwha Eagles from Daejeon. As with the Japanese or American leagues, there are foreign players on every team. In this case, the foreigners are usually Americans or from the Western Hemisphere. 

While the rules are the same, the atmosphere most certainly is different. The best way to describe watching a Korean baseball game is that it’s a baseball game, with an American football crowd. There are bands, cheerleaders, and t-shirt cannons. Theme music is played when a batter is up. The season runs at the same general time as the season in the United States, from April to October.

The Korean Baseball Hall of Fame is a bit more difficult to get to, however, as it is located on Jeju Island. Jeju also serves as one of the locations for winter league/spring training sites. This allows the teams to try out players and positions in relative warmth. The other location used by some Korean teams is the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. To that end, there are occasionally intermural games between the Japanese and Korean leagues.

The Korean Baseball Hall of Fame is a bit more difficult to get to, however, as it is located on Jeju Island. Jeju also serves as one of the locations for winter league/spring training sites. This allows the teams to try out players and positions in relative warmth. The other location used by some Korean teams is the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. To that end, there are occasionally intermural games between the Japanese and Korean leagues.

Where Can You Find Information

If you're interested in attending a game, you can purchase tickets through the KBO website, ticket services such as Klook, and various other sites. You can also check out your installation's MWR travel or outdoor recreation programs for routinely scheduled trips. At Osan, their Information, Tickets, & Travel program often goes to baseball games for as low as $40. These trips will provide tickets, transportation to and from the game, and a translator to support your group as well.