SOUTH KOREA - Stadium and Arena Development News

[rodem]

[repin]

[CorliCorso]

I've read elsewhere that construction has been halted on Sungui Arena Park because local traders object to the shopping centre that's part of the development

[inno4321]

Originally Posted by CorliCorso

I've read elsewhere that construction has been halted on Sungui Arena Park because local traders object to the shopping centre that's part of the development

Correct. Now halted.

[Commandant]

Ballpark in Gwangju:


Ballpark in Ulsan:



Ballpark in Pohang:



Dome in Seoul:


Dome in Ansan:


Dome in Daegu:



Ballpark in Busan:

[JYDA]

How popular is baseball in Korea?

[Commandant]

Originally Posted by JYDA

How popular is baseball in Korea?

According to journalist Tan Jinhe:

Baseball is enjoying a boom in Korea after the national team won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, silver at the World Baseball Classic the following year, and gold at the Asian Games in November.

[MS20]

Originally Posted by JYDA

How popular is baseball in Korea?

South Korea, and to a greater extent Japan, have been baseballing countries for a while as a result of US cultural influence during occupation. That said, soccer has come from nowhere in the last 2 decades to a point where baseball's hegemony is beginning to fade. South Korea is a little different because soccer has been prominent there for some time, even prior to the split; you only need to look north of the border to see North Korea's preference for soccer.

What you will also tend to find is that soccer in both of these countries is split down generational lines. So while those older generations who grew up on baseball may never embrace soccer over baseball (here I'm mainly referring to Japan), the younger generation will almost certainly ensure that soccer eventually usurps baseball as the dominant sport. Again, it doesn't need to, as they can coexist as they do now quite easily, but trends and inherent accessibility of soccer usually end badly for any competitors. Of course it helps that, unlike the US for instance, it has no competition of a football variety.

But to answer your original question: its quite popular, and should remain popular in the same way that baseball is popular in the US.

[Commandant]

Originally Posted by MS20

South Korea, and to a greater extent Japan, have been baseballing countries for a while as a result of US cultural influence during occupation. That said, soccer has come from nowhere in the last 2 decades to a point where baseball's hegemony is beginning to fade. South Korea is a little different because soccer has been prominent there for some time, even prior to the split; you only need to look north of the border to see North Korea's preference for soccer.

What you will also tend to find is that soccer in both of these countries is split down generational lines. So while those older generations who grew up on baseball may never embrace soccer over baseball (here I'm mainly referring to Japan), the younger generation will almost certainly ensure that soccer eventually usurps baseball as the dominant sport. Again, it doesn't need to, as they can coexist as they do now quite easily, but trends and inherent accessibility of soccer usually end badly for any competitors. Of course it helps that, unlike the US for instance, it has no competition of a football variety.

But to answer your original question: its quite popular, and should remain popular in the same way that baseball is popular in the US.

Actually, it is the complete opposite. Professional soccer and baseball ran neck and neck in terms of popularity. The Korean Professional Baseball League, founded in 1982, had a slight advantage though; most of their franchises were based in Korea’s largest metropolitan cities (the Korean Super League, founded in 1983, was playing in smaller cities). Things began to change in 1996 when South Korea and Japan were rewarded the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In anticipation, the domestic league changed their name (to the K League in 1998) and began to add teams (in the larger cities that built stadiums for the World Cup). The K League grew to 16 teams (playing in shiny new stadiums) and had a much farther reach than Korean Professional Baseball (2 teams in Seoul, 8 teams altogether, their last expansion was in 1990). The fourth-place finish by the South’s national soccer team added further to the sports popularity, causing them to surpass baseball, but it hasn’t risen since then (although this article is a little dated it is a good read about soccer in East Asia http://www.time.com/time/europe/2006...asiaswoes.html). Here is a quote from this article:

The K-League exemplifies the problem. Its teams are owned by Korean conglomerates, like Hyundai and Samsung, and their packed schedules and dull, defense-driven play reflect corporate culture more than sporting flair. "The players work for the owners of the clubs and don't care about the fans," says Shin Dong Min, an adviser to the Korean national team's fan club. And with so many clubs in the red because of poor attendance, the K-League is reluctant to loan out star players to prepare for the World Cup. Korea's national team trained together for five months before the 2002 World Cup. "This time, we didn't get cooperation from the K-League," says their coach Pim Verbeek. "Instead of five months, we got four weeks."

But like the Tan Jinhe quote in my previous post, baseball is enjoying a “boom.” The KPBL recently added a ninth team and plans to add a tenth team in the near future, there are proposals for new stadia, and the National Team is one of the top five teams in the world (and they beat archrival Japan several times in International Competitions). Baseball can rise higher than soccer if the pro league can capitalize on this recent boom in popularity.

[ukiyo]

Originally Posted by MS20

South Korea, and to a greater extent Japan, have been baseballing countries for a while as a result of US cultural influence during occupation. That said, soccer has come from nowhere in the last 2 decades to a point where baseball's hegemony is beginning to fade. South Korea is a little different because soccer has been prominent there for some time, even prior to the split; you only need to look north of the border to see North Korea's preference for soccer.

Baseball's popularity in Japan/Korea/Taiwan predates US occupation. Baseball was introduced in Japan during the 1800s and became one of the top "national" sports during the early 1900s. The Japanese empire then popularized baseball during it's occupation of Korea and Taiwan. As far as I know soccer (football) is much more popular in South Korea than it is in Japan though ever since the last world cup and asian cup Soccer has boomed in Japan I think soon it will rival baseball.

[rodem]

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Originally Posted by rodem

[repin]

Originally Posted by repin