Baseball Korean Style

Written by Kyle about Korea, Republic of. Feelin' excited

LG Giants vs. Dusan Bears Baseball Game in Seoul, Korea

Hot dogs? Nope. Dried octopus? Yes.
Beer? Yes. Beer vendor in the stands? Nope.
Excited fans? Yes. Coordinated cheers? Of course. Cheerleaders? You know it!

In short, that about sums up Korean baseball. The game has the same rules as I can see: 4 balls, 3 strikes, 3 outs, 9 innings, and guys running around the bases in counter-clockwise direction. The only thing that is truly different is the atmosphere. (that, and everything is in Korean, of course)

The most striking difference is how the fans interact with the game. While there is spontaneous cheering, most of the excitement comes from the coordinated cheers that are led by each teams' cheer coordinators: a guy, sometimes with cheerleader support, standing on a stage, directing the crowd. It's not like the cheers are things you've never heard, either. Most of the songs are put to popular songs like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Macho Man". Granted, I don't understand what exactly they are saying, but I can sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and fake it well enough.

All in all, the game was just like its American counterpart: enjoyable and a good place to bring your family. Although next time, we will get there early as there are more tickets sold than seats, which means you end up standing behind the seats or sitting in the aisles. We opted for the former as the latter involves sitting in the middle of a stairway and not moving while others try not to trip on you.

But, for all it's differences, the game made me feel like I was in Chicago again in a small way. People still cheer for a homerun and for their players to do well, it's just in a different way.

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April 14, 2009 Evan: "Beer vendor in the stands? Nope."

That's true of all the California ballparks I've been to as well. Seems un-American.

April 14, 2009 Kyle: California should be its own country anyway.

April 14, 2009 Andrew: Is that where the Barracudas will be playing on our South Korean tour?

April 14, 2009 Kyle: You know it!

April 15, 2009 Gary: That looks like a ton of fun; if the SK Wyverns come to town, go cheer for Mansoo Lee (their bench coach). he is often referred to as the Babe Ruth of Korea. He was also the bullpen catcher for the Chicago White Sox for 6 years...

April 16, 2009 Kyle: Interesting...I've never cheered for a bench coach before, but I imagine if I do, the locals will think I am super knowledgeable about Korean baseball and love me for it.

April 17, 2009 Bessie: haa haaaa, your random baseball knowledge cracks me up Gary - but it's about the White Sox, so I'm not too surprised. :)

April 15, 2009 Linda: Looks like Cub park fans could learn a few things from Korea....their cheering seems a bit more organized! Maybe actual cheerleaders should be suggested for Wrigley Field...dressed in Cubbie blue, of course. What a fun recreational activity...seeing the "American" sport of baseball through an Asian lens.

April 16, 2009 Kristine: Love Bessie singing along to Macho Man! :)

April 17, 2009 Bessie: I'm embarrassed to say I was also singing Mary had a Little Lamp - luckily not on the video. I blame the kindergarteners!

April 16, 2009 DADDIO: Beautiful stadium. Stay happy!

April 16, 2009 mumsie: How cool that you arrived at this time of year, taking in a ballgame and all! Love the scoreboard! A-a-a-a-a-a-a-nd Bessie's enthusiastic singing!! LOL