Blue Heart Journey: Baseball in Korea

During the week of the conference in Seoul, the First Sergeant and Commanding Officer were kind enough to organize a few evening events for the Marines and their families to attend. I was not overly excited to see a professional baseball game on the itinerary. I had no issue going since Douglas loves baseball, and I wanted to spend as much time possible with my fellow Marine Corps spouses. Besides, I’m all about new experiences. This would certainly be one to remember.

Korea has nine professional baseball teams. Two of those teams are the Doosan Bears and the LG Twins who both play at Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul. On Tuesday, April 15 we watched the LG Twins play against the Nexen Heroes. I anticipated spending more time that evening chatting with fellow spouses than I did watching the game. I was shocked to find myself engaged in the game almost the entire game.

Going to a Korean baseball game is nothing like going to an American baseball game. There were so many additional events happening at the game, it was nearly impossible to become bored. Whenever a team was batting, all of the team’s fans boisterously cheered for each batter. Both team sections also had an energetic hype-man and a few cheerleaders to keep the crowd entertained. My usual wandering of the stadium to kill time at a game in the States was not necessary during this game. We got our food and quickly went back to watch the action and take part in the cheers. The only reason why I started checking my watch around the seventh inning is because it was so cold out that night. Granted, I have definitely been away from NYC too long because I now consider anything less than 50 degrees frigid! I’m positive the temperature was cooler than that though. It surely didn’t help that I had on a thin shirt, thin jacket, and thin scarf wrapped tightly around my neck. None of those layers equated to warmth. If I had not been standing up so often participating in the Twins' cheering antics, I might have found my toes frozen at the end of the night. The hot chocolate I ordered also helped. And it was some of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. Apparently, it was mainly due to the type of milk used. We were told that Korea has some of the best tasting milk. I’m sure it was a plus that the milk was steamed too.

Korean baseball has now spoiled me. Whenever Douglas and I attend baseball games in the US, I will likely always think about the Korean baseball scene. What an experience!

The sports complex for the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 still stands.

This lady sold him the clappers then assisted in helping him blow them up. Yep, we're not in America. No one is helping you blow up the item you just bought....next customer please!

Their fries were SO good!

This was some type of dessert. I'd like to say it was ice cream but I couldn't be certain.

Cheerleaders for the LG Twins fan section! The other team had four of them!

Costume change! Even they were getting cold. They broke out the sweaters and kept shaking!

These cheerleaders earned their money that night!

Check out our hype-man. We didn't know what the signs said but he demonstrated everything we were supposed to do! He was LOUD for a little Korean dude!