On July 21st 2023, the Busan-based Lotte Giants were playing against Seoul’s Kiwoom Heroes at Sajik Baseball Stadium for the KBO League. We knew about this months in advance, and even tried to buy tickets online beforehand about a dozen times, but that proved to be an impossible task. The sites we found either wouldn’t work, or would ask me for Korean ID.
This morning I had woken up early, leaving the girls behind to sleep a bit more, and headed to the stadium to turn that around and buy us some tickets. Took me about an hour and some change from the hotel to the stadium and when I got there at 10am it was already scorching hot. Weather-wise this turned out to be one of the most unbearable days we would have in Korea.
The self-ticketing machines were not open yet though. I circled around the stadium a few times trying to find another human. Someone. Anyone. But no luck. Waited a few more minutes and knocked at an ajar counter nearby. And then knocked again and again. Nothing. Circled the stadium around a couple more times and finally saw a worker walking in. Shouted and apologized for my behavior in the same breath, running towards him, and asked when the machines would open — at 1:30pm he told me.
At this point I was just glad to have some kind of confirmation there would be a game happening that day. Pondered staying put waiting for machines to open or heading back to pick up the girls, and decided for the latter. We got a nice lunch at Lotte Mall and a couple of donuts, before getting the subway back to the stadium, all four of us this time.
Upon arriving back to the stadium area at around 3pm, the girls went into the Homeplus Asiad Mall nearby to escape the unbearable hot sun, and I quickly went back to the stadium, worried there would be no tickets left. Still no luck. The self-ticketing machines were still closed though the stadium felt more alive now.
The doors were open and there were crews of young people inside having a brief; these seemed to be volunteers to ensure the safety of the event. Incredible to think that the crews of armored (and armed) police that are a staple at European sports events are but a feverish dream in Korea and Japan, at least according to our experience. Once their meeting was done I asked a couple of the volunteers when the counters would open — 4:30pm I was now being told.
This ended up being the correct time, so after another go around to the mall and back, I finally got the tickets from one of these machines with the help of a very attentive and caring volunteer. He was somewhat surprised I wanted table seats since these are the most expensive you can get, but no more than any game of football where we’re from. You see, table seats are the perfect way to fully experience Korean baseball since you can bring whatever food and drinks you want to the stadium. Every single person does it and with a table you now have a place for all your nibbles.
After this it was smooth sailing. I joined the girls back at the mall which was already packed by this time. Hundreds of people flooded the supermarket grabbing chips, beers, kimbap, fried chicken, fried squid, and a lot more. We grabbed a few items as well and made our way into the stadium.
Crowds were gathering and the vibe was electric. The sun was slowly going down and the weather was finally easing a bit. Our food was on the table and the stage was set for what ended up being one of the best afternoons of the entire trip. The game itself was great: Lotte Giants won 2-0 and there were some incredible plays, intertwined with lots of cheering, personalized chants for each player, and even a K-POP intermission thing.
I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves but let me tell you one thing: Korean do sports right.
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