Now that we are getting ready for the start of the new MLB season and looking back to my travel last year, I was lucky to experience Korean big leagues during their opening weekend while visiting Seoul, Korea. The KBO is a younger league when compared to MLB it was founded in 1982, just 43 years ago in comparison the National League that was established in 1876 or 149 years ago.
Like many boricuas, I played baseball at a very young age (5-6 years old) my first league was in Sagrado Corazon (Cupey) and continued playing until I graduated from high school all these years generated tons of great memories that I still relive today. Playing baseball was about fun and friends, it was getting cable tv at home in the early 80’s where I truly became a fan, remember just watching games with my dad and manually switching from channel 5 (WGN-Cubs) to channel 8 (TBS-Braves) and watch the games. Eventually we also got WPIX and became a Mets fan in 1986 (Won World Series), today still waiting for them to win again (Topic for another post).
Coming back to my opening day experience in Korea, baseball is one of the most followed sports and is the one with the highest live attendance for games. The KBO has 10 teams and stadiums that can seat more than 20,000 fans, each team play 144 games in a season playing 6 days a week with Monday off. The game that I saw featured the Kia Tigers vs the Doosan Bears, both teams started in 1982 the year the league started. The Kia Tigers are the most successful team in the league with 12 championships (2024 Champs), currently owned by the Kia corporation; the Bears are the local Seoul team with four championships under their belt, owned by Doosan the oldest running company in Korea (Founded 1896).
Once I got to the stadium, using their subway it was clear that the game would be a sell out with lots of people everywhere and huge lines to buy tickets. It was good that I arrived early, since language was going to be an issue, and it was a bit of a challenge to get my ticket to get in the game. After getting the ticket, decided to walk around the park and began to enjoy how they live the baseball culture. Walking towards the entrance I noticed fans at the game were on average much younger than the US, also you see more women in the stadium that in a ballpark in the US. Search for insight and found that women are embracing baseball a lot in Korea.
Inside the stadium the feeling and vibes were very similar than a game in the US, lots of food and drinks in some cases US staples but also you could find Korean delicacies like fried shrimps or noodles (Kimchi and Pork Belly, great combo!!!) also available merchandise of all sorts like personalized jerseys, caps, t-shirts. One machine that I found interesting was a vending machine that would print and sell custom baseball players trading cards, there was a long line during all the game with people making selections of their favorite player, since it was opening day, I assume that was the reason for the long line.
When the game starts it is like watching a boxing match, the energy you see from both teams is incredible and I am talking both inside and outside the field. When a team goes to the offensive all their fans start rooting and chanting at the same time, to support the fans you see some entertainers that bring the crowd energy to another level. It was very impressive to see how this energy moves from one team to another as the game progress, you could see the fans were really into the game supporting their teams and also following the game. The energy during the game was incredible and how the fans enjoyed the game, made the experience better it was a victory for the Kia Tigers that day but for me it was a personal win to have the opportunity and enjoy baseball in the other side of the world.
My Korean baseball experience was very satisfying from getting to the ballpark to taking the train back and would recommend to any baseball fan to have it. People in Korea not only know the game, but they also truly enjoy it and makes it a great activity for friends and family. I truly think this sport will continue to grow in the future, with a strong young fan base and a product that can resemble a MLB experience. This week starts the 2025 MLB season and will be traveling to Houston to see my NY Mets in the opening weekend #LGM.
Thanks to my Korean friends for helping me having this experience and for you as a reader for taking time to look at this post, please share it with your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time…
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