No.160 / Oct 17, 2022
Do you know about baseball? In the United States (U.S.), baseball has a history spanning over 100 years. A number of rules have been coming up since about 100 years ago and there are some rules that have never changed. The game of baseball requires 11 players on each team. Regular innings are played up to nine innings, and the team with more points wins. The two teams alternate offense and defense in each inning, and each team will switch between offense and defense if they are out three times on each opportunity to attack; they never switch between offense and defense until they are out three times. In other words, unlike other sports, baseball has no time limit.
Believing that just watching the games is boring, Koreans have created unique ways of cheering for their team. This involves cheering squads. Cheering squads use their team’s regional characteristics and devise their own ways of cheering to excite the team’s fans. At this point, you may wonder what kind of regional characteristics and cheering methods exist. In the case of coastal city teams like the SSG Landers (Incheon) and the Lotte Giants (Busan), they sing songs with lyrics that refer to docks or use seagulls as part of cheering songs. In particular, the Lotte Giants have a cheering culture that all other fans envy. They use plastic bags as hats. Specifically, Lotte Giants fans tie the handles of plastic bags together to fashion hats that they wear on their heads while cheering. Recently, many teams have created their own cheering tools, including the small balloon bats, which is popular today. Balloon bats are a tool that helps fans to cheer loudly using their hands. Balloon bats also allow fans to be comfortable, as the fatigue of cheering builds up quickly. Unfortunately, however, balloon bats will not be available from next season due to environmental problems. They were a very helpful tool when cheering and it is a decision that makes many fans feel sad because it disappears. Many baseball fans are looking forward to seeing other good cheering tools instead.
Are you interested in Korean baseball? If so, you are in luck! There is one last baseball-related topic to introduce. There is a Korean movie titled Flying Giants that depicts the cheering culture associated with the Lotte Giants as well as club events during the season. To introduce one more thing, there is also a movie titled Perfect Game that reinterprets a match between two players, called the legend of Korean baseball. The film is an adaptation of a match between Korean baseball legends Sun Dong-yeol and Choi Dong-won. It shows the enthusiastic cheering culture that prevailed at that time and the Korean baseball players’ fighting spirit.
Korean baseball fans are proud that baseball is the most famous sport in Korea. Fans hope foreigners will experience Korean baseball at least once. As the league level gradually improves, many outstanding players are emerging. Suwon, where Ajou University is located, has a baseball team and baseball stadium. How about watching some games if you have an interest and want to cheer them on? It could be an opportunity for you to become a Korean baseball fan!
By Seo Myeong-jae, AG Cub Reporter
smj001209s@ajou.ac.kr
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