Young ladies remodel Korean baseball into a way of life expertise

 
Baseball’s hottest pattern in Korea isn’t on the sphere — it’s within the stands. 
 
Women of their 20s are turning ballparks into weekend locations, packing seats in coordinated jerseys, flashing picture playing cards like VIP passes and singing group anthems loud sufficient to rival the stadium audio system. With model pop-ups, poolside views and mascot merch drops, the sport has turn into a full-blown way of life occasion the place model, fandom and sport collide. 
 
 
Female fandom in Korean baseball is nothing new. Interest within the sport surged after the nationwide group gained its first Olympic gold medal on the 2008 Beijing Games, steadily increasing the ladies’s viewers. 
 
More lately, sports activities selection exhibits like JTBC’s “A Clean Sweep” (2022-) have introduced in new followers. But at this time’s 20-something feminine followers will not be merely a matter of numbers. They strategy baseball by means of emotion and private style, deciphering it in their very own approach and consuming it as content material.
 
 
‘I can’t think about a weekend with out baseball’
 
Women made up greater than 48 p.c of spectators within the 2024 season, with these of their 20s accounting for about 30 p.c, in response to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Their presence is evident on social media, ticketing platforms and YouTube channels.
 

 
Visiting southern Seoul’s Jamsil Baseball Stadium throughout a late-July warmth wave, 24-year-old workplace employee Seok Da-yoon stated, “At first I came because a friend brought me, but now I can’t imagine a weekend without baseball.” 
 
She started attending video games for the enjoyable of singing alongside to group anthems, sporting jerseys and having fun with a beer, but it surely has since turn into a deep, constant a part of her life.
 
These younger ladies are constructing their very own aesthetic and id contained in the world of baseball. Fans create short-form movies of their favourite gamers, save game-day moments like collectible picture playing cards, or gather mascot keyrings and picture card binders. Some flip jerseys into handmade eco-bags. 
 

 
Brands catch on
 
Brands have been fast to note the pattern, creating extra methods for followers to precise their tastes. 
 
A KBO survey final yr discovered that ladies of their 20s spent a mean of 237,000 gained ($171) yearly on group merchandise — barely greater than the general spectator common of 235,000 gained.
 
That spending energy has translated into gross sales. In July, CJ OnStyle launched a line of Odense x KBO Figure Tumblers that includes group mascots, which bought out. 
 
7-Eleven’s 2025 KBO Collection Cards topped 3.8 million packs bought, sparking a shopping for frenzy. 
 
“Collecting and trading photo cards has become a form of play culture, and it’s now part of 7-Eleven’s signature marketing,” an organization official stated.
 
Brands more and more see the ballpark as greater than an promoting backdrop. Samsung Electronics, AXA Insurance, Roborock, Hankook Tire and Starbucks Korea actively arrange interactive cubicles and devoted cheering zones to combine their manufacturers into the fan expertise. 
 
The outcomes have been robust. Hyundai Department Store, for instance, reported that the baseball membership pop-up shops it hosted over 84 days since final yr generated 55 p.c larger each day gross sales than typical style pop-ups.
 

 
Teams are additionally shifting their methods. LG Twins stated it’s planning collaborations with widespread mental properties that resonate with younger feminine followers, together with Hello Kitty, Choigosim, Bloomingtale, and boy band Tomorrow X Together’s Ppulbatu characters modeled after the group’s members.
 
KIA Tigers’ Teenieping, Doosan Bears’ Manggeureojin Gom and Hanwha Eagles’ Kumdori mascots are serving to golf equipment broaden their enchantment to character-focused fan bases. 
 
“We see it as a key challenge to give fans opportunities to express their tastes at the ballpark, record them on social media and experience the brand,” the LG Twins stated.  
 

 
Ballpark amenities are evolving as nicely. Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon presents an infinity pool for watching video games whereas swimming. KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi, and Samsung Lions Park in Daegu permit followers to barbecue throughout video games. Jamsil Stadium hosts a summer time water competition the place spectators get soaked between innings.
 
“Baseball is shifting from simple viewing to content that blends emotion and taste,” said Lee Eun-hee, a consumer studies professor at Inha University. “With cheering, merchandise, and a culture of sharing, the ballpark is becoming a routine and a playground.”
 
Practical modifications have adopted, corresponding to increasing ladies’s restrooms and providing extra various meals choices. For many, the mix of cute merchandise, meals decisions, picture alternatives and cheering makes for an reasonably priced leisure bundle in an period of excessive costs.
 

 
From pastime to id
 
Young ladies’s ardour for baseball goes past passing developments. Many are actively studying the principles, learning statistics and constructing experience.
 
Female creators who analyze video games and produce data-based content material are rising on YouTube.
 
“At first I worried I’d be seen as a fashion fan or someone who didn’t know baseball, so I studied the rules and watched more games,”  said Park Eun-young, 26, a fan of the Kiwoom Heroes since 2023.
 
“Before I knew it, baseball had become part of my life,” Park said.
 

 
Why baseball over other sports? For many, it’s the sport’s relatively slow pace, near-daily schedule and raucous team anthems.
 
Each team’s unique cheering culture draws new fans and keeps them coming back. Weekend games become fixed routines, team anthems slip into morning commutes and YouTube algorithms fill with baseball videos.
 
“In the past, all our marketing had to be directly connected to the game, but now we focus on becoming part of fans’ daily lives,” Hanwha Eagles’ marketing team said. “We design experiences so the team blends naturally into their routines.”
  

 
Baseball also offers emotional space. One day a team loses, the next it wins. A player who struggled early in the season might become the hero in the postseason. Fans immerse themselves in these shifting storylines, sharing emotions and a sense of belonging.
 
“The energy baseball gives me is beyond imagination,” stated Lee Se-young, 25, a Lotte Giants supporter from Ulsan.
 
“In a life the place I’m all the time working for myself, the expertise of really cheering for another person truly makes my life extra gratifying. When the sport begins within the night, I throw my complete voice into it as if I had been a part of the group.” 
 
For many ladies of their 20s, baseball is greater than a sport. It is a routine that fills their days, a option to specific themselves, and a lens by means of which they form their feelings and id. They will not be simply watching the sport — they’re dwelling it.

This article was initially written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the assistance of generative AI instruments. It was then edited by a local English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE JI-YOUNG [[email protected]]