Professional Baseball Korea Style

Take me out to the Ball Game, Take me out the crowd!



Buy me some peanuts and—dried squid?

A Chicagoian abroad must experience a Korean baseball game. I had heard about the reputation of Korean baseball fans; energetic, loyal, and with cheering so organized and extensive, it would to make any cheerleader cry with pride. As a Chicago White Sox fan, much from the influence of my twin brother, I knew I would enjoy a game in Korea.

I saw the LG Twins vs. the Hanwha Eagles, at Jamsil Stadium, right in the center of Seoul. I expected the ball park to be larger than the MLB Teams in America, but to my surprise it was smaller. The crowd looked a bit dressed up to me for going to a ball game. I am used the whole team-jersey-and-jeans look at American games. It was 8,000 Won for a seat on the upper deck between 3rd base and home plate, yes, that’s 6 dollars for a professional game of baseball. The food was just as cheap, with KCF and Burger King at every corner. Not a hot dog or polish sausage in sight, I spent a while looking, believe me. What’s a baseball game without a polish sausage smothered in sautéed onions on a sweet bun topped with yellow mustard? Oh wait, that’s a Sox game. Korean games had Gimbap, whiteish-looking cotton candy and chicken-on-a- stick. And don’t forget dried squid.

What did stay the same were the baseball rules, same number of innings and time-outs and such. There were no warm-ups between innings and fans did not keep score cards. What the fans did that was the most exciting part of the game was the relentless and super-organized cheering. This was the part that baffled me- the whole stadium was divided by team. The Eagle’s fans all sat on the left side of the stadium, banging their red inflatable thunder sticks while the LG Twins fans all sat on the right side of the stadium with their orange thunder sticks. You could practically draw a line behind home plate up to the top row of seats and have the fans be perfectly divided in two. It was like a high school football game. Opposing fans did not mix.

With was never a dull moment with the cheering going on. The team that was at bat was the team that was cheering. The fans with their team in the outfield was silent. Each side has their own chants and accompanying series of banging the inflatable thunder sticks together. The crowd followed a cheerleader, or a guy dressed as a player with a whistle and while gloves on top of the dugout. If and when Americans cheer, it’s when the opposing team was at bat in order to distract the batter; whereas in Korean it’s the other way around. They cheer on the batter in a crisp and loud series of chants that don’t stop until the 3rd out and the teams switch positions. Some of the well-known players had their own personal chants like “Park Ji Soo! Park Ji Soo! (bang! bang! bang!)” when the batter came on the field. At the 9th inning all the fans where on their feet the whole time until the game was over- which ended up being a slaughtering from the LG Twins at 14-3. (The Hanwha Eagles have had it rough for a few years. They are like Korea’s Cubs. Did I just say that?!) At the conclusion of the game, the teams came out and bowed to each other in true Korean fashion, and the next part that I liked, they lined up in front of their fans, took off their hats and bowed to the to them, receiving bows from the fans in return. It was a touching bit of loyalty.

I am ready to see some more Korean baseball! Bring on the Doosan Bears, my kids favorite team, and the SK Wyverns, Korea’s winningest team in history. The perfect polish sausage will have to wait for a return to Sox games. Till then, pass me the dried squid. . . and the damn thunder sticks. . .

On a side note:

I walk around Seoul amazed at how many Koreans wear White Sox appeal. Out of any American professional team, Koreans wear the most White Sox gear. You do see the occasional Yankees hat or Red Sox shirt, but the White Sox have it beat, mostly because of the famous Korean player, Lee Min Soo, the “Babe Ruth of Korea” with 16 seasons and 252 home runs with Korea’s SK Wyverns, coached the Sox as a bullpen catcher for six years. Any Korean sent to an American MLB team is a big deal in Korea.