Baseball

I've now completed my quest to see all the baseball stadiums in Korea.  All 7 were completed over Chuseok, the Korean equivalent to Thanksgiving.  With my trusty partner Beth we traveled to Seoul on Sunday to catch the Nexen Heroes lose to our hometeam, the Lions.  Then, down to Daejon to see the newest stadium in the league, Hanbat stadium.  These were the last two on the list.

Mokdong Stadium

The stadium is comparable to the Texas Ranger's stadium in that it feels very far away from the city.  Nothing else is really around it.  We were pleasantly surprised to find hotdogs being served here, an unfortunate omission at most stadiums.  

We bought our seats ahead of time, before I even knew what teams were playing.  Later I learned that the Lions (from our city, Daegu) were playing, so I suited up in my Lions shirt.  When we got to our seats, we were smack dab behind the opposing team's fans.  We opted to go to the Lions cheering section, which was way more fun.

Cheerleaders are a huge part of every game.  They cheer the entire time the team is up to bat.

This Lion is a real show stealer.

Beer sales prove to be different at each stadium.  Most just have cans at a convenient store inside the stadium while others have a guy walking around with a keg on his back.  This one poured the draft beer into reusable plastic bottles, and gave you cups with it.

Hanbat Stadium

I didn't know what to expect at Hanbat.  This team is over 20 games behind first place, and we were there for the last regular season game.  I thought the place would be depressing.  I was so wrong.  The crowd was awesome, and the field was really nice.  Daegu will get a new stadium next year, and I hope it's like this one.

They have the only high definition jumbotron in the whole league. 

They had hot dogs, Pizza Hut, and other goodies here.  The most popular food was the dokbokki, there was a huge line for it.  Beth was salivating just thinking about it, and after she saw this big red pot she wanted some (but she resisted the temptation).

The crowd participation is just amazing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  The Korean baseball experience is so fun.  Taking a train to get around the country, and paying about $6 on average for tickets is awesome.  The games are really engaging and the fans are neurotic.  I hope to do another baseball trip in the summer, any takers?