Baseball in South Korea
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Baseball is believed to have been introduced to Korea in 1905 by American missionaries during the Korean Empire, after which it gradually attained prominence.[1][2] It is one of the most popular sports in the country. There are 10 pro teams in the Korea Baseball Organization. Baseball season runs from March to October.
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Occupation Period
On December 1921, a team of American Major League players stopped in Seoul during a tour of Asia, and a Korean team was assembled to play against them. The Koreans were defeated, 23-3.[3] Various Korean cities also participated in the Japanese Intercity Baseball Tournament, from its inception in 1927 until 1942.[4] In 1940 and 1942 Seoul won the tournament, defeating (respectively) the teams of Dalian and Osaka.
Postwar Period
The 1980s marked the beginning of the era of professional baseball in Korea. In 1982 the MBC Chungyong, Lotte Giants, Samsung Lions, OB Bears, Haitai Tigers, and Sammi Superstars were launched, as was the highest-level league that they composed, the Korea Baseball Championship.[5] This league continues to be Korea's major league, although as of 2015 it has expanded to 10 teams.
The sport reached a new level of popularity when pitcher Chan Ho Park made his debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994.[6] Park achieved a great deal of success in his Major League Baseball career, and paved the way for the American success of fellow Korean players such as Hee Seop Choi, Byung Hyun Kim, Jung Bong, Shin-Soo Choo, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Jung-ho Kang.
It is also played widely on the local high school and collegiate level, as well as in a farm league (the Korea Baseball Futures League).
Baseball's governing body in Korea is the Korean Baseball Organization, a member of the International Baseball Federation and the organization responsible for the nation's participation in such international competitions such as the Olympics, World Baseball Classic and the Asian Games. The KBO also manages Korea's highly successful national team. In the mid-2000s South Korea rose as a dominant power in the international baseball scene, twice placing second in the World Baseball Classic, and winning the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and the gold medal against Cuba at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Korea consistently places in the top 3 in the IBAF world rankings.[7]
See also
Baseball organisations in Korea
Professional leagues
- High school baseball in South Korea
- South Korea national baseball team
- South Korea women's national baseball team
