What are the most loved sports in South Korea? Great international performance of national squads made these sports popular in Korea.
Development of Korean sports
Sports have evolved over time in South Korea as Western
influences took shape on the peninsula. Traditional sports such as Taekwondo,
Korean wrestling, kite flying and many others slowly started to lose popularity
as more and more locals were exposed to football, baseball, basketball,
volleyball and many other Western sports.
While South Korea started to gain prominence in sports
through the widespread dispersion of Taekwondo, it was through the Olympics that
South Korea became renowned as a sporting powerhouse. Kim Yuna repeatedly broke
world records in figure skating, an event in which Western athletes once
dominated. In the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, South Korea ranked 7th
overall through commendable performances.
Other than in figure skating, South Korea has also seen
spectacular performances by athletes such as Choo Shin-soo, an outfielder for
the Texas Rangers (a US Major League Baseball team), and Son Heung-min, a
famous forward and winger for the Tottenham Hotspur in the British Premier
League.
Korea was able to evolve so rapidly because of the number
of sports lovers in the country who began to develop their passion and finesse for
these sports from very young ages. Parents would purchase sporting equipment
and spend weekends practicing with their children in hopes of honing their
skills for the future.
National sports infrastructure is also widely developed
to provide professional sporting facilities for the training of athletes
selected for international events. There are even dedicated fan clubs that are
present for every game and perform cheering sessions that are sights to behold.
Korea has also undertaken extensive professional sports
research. In order to help athletes achieve the best possible results during
competitions, many specialists in different fields study the dynamics of
various sports as well as the supporting psychology and physiology. The Korea
Institute of Sport Science (KISS) has been incorporating science as well as
technology into training since its inception.
Gyeonggi-do is quite an athletic province with great infrastructure surrounding the metropolitan(Seoul). Continue reading to learn which sports are famous in
Korea and to discover some interesting Gyeonggi-do sports clubs.
South Korea’s Popular Sports
Football is
the most popular sport for the average modern South Korean, with baseball
coming in second. South Korea’s very own national football team was the first
Asian Football Confederation member to make it into the FIFA World Cup
Semi-finals in 2002. Many South Korean football lovers gather during weekends
and on holidays to enjoy the sport. They also join various clubs and take part
in many domestic competitions.
The official Korean football league, known as K League,
was founded in 1983. There are 2 different leagues with a total of 12 teams in
League 1 2020 and 10 teams in League 2 2020. Football is relatively huge in
Korea, with families gathering at home and watching games together on
television. It is also a form of shared enjoyment as it spans the world with many
watching football matches in bars and the like. The football season starts in
March and ends in November.
The Suwon Samsung Bluewings are the most famous football club in Gyeonggi-do. It is quite
obvious that Samsung (famous for its Galaxy S mobile device series) is
sponsoring this club. The club is in rivalry with FC Seoul and they have a
derby match called 'Super Match'. |
| 'Super Match' is the fierce derby in Korea ⓒ SHIN YOAN (Flickr) |
Baseball (recently quite famous for their bet flips) also
sees South Korea competing internationally on many fronts. South Koreans
regularly attend and watch baseball games and they have very committed and
dedicated fan clubs with their own cheers and dance moves. Children watch
baseball with their parents and families from a very young age and see some
athletes as personal heroes. Those who show potential are provided with
training and they continue to hone their skills in high school and university before
being scouted into the leagues.
The Korea Baseball Organization Championship League
(KBO League) has 10 different teams with many of the players finding their way
into Major League Baseball, including the above mentioned Texas Rangers player Choo
Shin-soo. The KBO League was founded in 1981 and sees matches taking place in
many different stadiums throughout the nation during the baseball season. One
of the must-dos when traveling to Korea has to be attending a baseball game.
The atmosphere during a baseball game is known to be spectacular as many
Koreans have a tradition of eating chicken with beer as well as taking part in
the mass cheering. Like football, the baseball season starts in March and runs through
to November during the warmer periods as it is played outdoors.
KT Wiz in Suwon is the newest team in the KBO League. Founded
in 2014, they started in the secondary Future League before coming up to the
KBO League in 2015. The first few years in the KBO League were a tough time for
the team as they ranked at the bottom of the league for 3 consecutive years. However,
in 2019, they showed vast improvement and finished the league in 6th position.
 |
| KT Wiz stadium can hold up to 20,800 audiences ⓒ TFurban (Flickr) |
Basketball
is another sport that is extremely popular on the peninsula. From a young age,
many Koreans join clubs in schools and play their way up. The basketball
leagues in universities are taken very seriously as they lead to more
opportunities to play professionally. Athletes are scouted by top universities during
their high school years and offered scholarships. On top of that, there are
many other basketball clubs in universities that take part in smaller domestic
competitions outside of the national league.
The Korean Basketball League (KBL) was founded in 1996
and has a total of 10 teams nationwide. Although basketball is currently not as
popular as football or baseball in Korea, its appeal is slowly growing as the
years pass. The basketball season begins in October and ends in April of the
following year.
Goyang Orions and Anyang KGC are the basketball clubs
located in Gyeonggi Province. Of the two teams, Anyang KGC is the most beloved
sports club in Anyang City. Their aggressive style drives their fans crazy
every time they play.
Volleyball
is one of the newer sports to have caught on in Korea. More and more South
Koreans have begun watching volleyball matches as well as working toward
playing professionally. Volleyball is usually played for leisure at the beach by
many Koreans who travel to beaches all along the peninsula.
The Korean Volleyball League (V-League), founded in
2005, has a total of 7 men’s teams and 6 women’s teams. The volleyball season
begins in October and runs through to March of the following year.
Suwon is home to KEPCO Vixtorm and Hyundai E&C
Hillstate in the men's and women's categories, respectively. They share Suwon
Gymnasium as a home ground, where lots of fans come to see them play.
Sports have grown extensively throughout the entire
nation(including with the popularity of e-sports) and will continue to do so as Korea continues to invest heavily in national
athletes. A nation of sports lovers who are constantly watching, supporting and
participating in sports, Korea’s passion will only serve to further propel the
development and evolution of sports for future generations.
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