Korean Baseball: What a Blast!

It was about a hundred years ago that baseball was first introduced to Korea by an American missionary. It took another 76 years for Professional baseball (the KBO) to be introduced on the peninsula.

As it happened, it took another 29 years for me to attend my first KBO game. As an occasional visitor to Seoul, and a rabid baseball fan, I’ve always had the desire to take in a game. Unfortunately, I was never in-country during the season. Well…that all changed a few weeks ago when I attended a Doosan Bears – Samsung Lions game.

I was formally introduced to the Korean version of baseball on a cool Saturday evening at Jamsil Stadium. And what a introduction it was! I’ve probably been to over 100 MLB games throughout America and have watched thousands of MLB telecasts. I thought I’d seen everything the wonderful sport has to offer.

Boy..Was I wrong!

The Korean style of baseball is a totally new and vastly different kind of experience for an old American fan like me.

My first impression: These fans sure know how to enjoy themselves.

Although the seating is rather limited at Jamsil (around 30,000), the crowd noise is every bit as loud as any outdoor ballpark in the major leagues. The venue was sold out, and nearly everybody (except me) had those inflatable noise sticks.

The fans were segregated by their choice of team. Doosan on the first base side and Samsung on the Third. When their team was up to the plate, the teams cheerleaders would be dancing their hearts out, and the crowd would be singing and chanting songs, to which everyone knew the words (again…except me).

However, when their team took the field, the other team’s fans would begin their revelry with their own cheerleaders. It was quite a show.

As for the game itself, I was impressed with the level of play. There were several well-played defensive gems that were worthy of major league teams, and an occasional error or two that were more in keeping with AA teams.

Overall it was a very pleasant experience. I would recommend the event for any baseball fan living in or visiting Korea. And for 10,000 won (about 9 bucks), it turned out to be a very economical experience as well!