[Sounds from last regular KBO season match between the LG Twins and Doosan Bears]

Anchor: More than 12 million people turned out for professional baseball games this season, marking an all-time high for Korean baseball attendance and a second straight annual record. To mark the milestone, KBS World talks to some of the league's most devoted fans about what keeps them coming back to stadiums again and again.
David Lee has more.

Report: Korean baseball broke its single-season attendance record for the second straight year in 2025, making a good case that the ball game has cemented itself as the national sport of South Korea.

The Korea Baseball Organization(KBO) drew approximately 12-point-three million fans in its regular season, surpassing the 12 million mark for the first time in its history and smashing its previous attendance record that was set in 2024.

That's not the only record the KBO set this year. For the first time in history, nine of the league's ten clubs—including the Samsung Lions, who surpassed 1.6 million spectators—broke their respective single-season attendance records.

Alongside longtime fans, rising enthusiasm among women and foreign tourists boosted the sport's popularity this year.

Seventeen-year-old Kang Da-yoon traveled two hours from her home in Cheonan to Seoul multiple times each week to watch baseball this season.

While camping outside Jamsil Baseball Stadium before the last regular season match between the LG Twins and Doosan Bears, Kang said she doesn't just come for the baseball; she comes for the atmosphere.

[Sound bite: Kang Da-yoon, 17 - baseball fan from Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province (Korean-English)]
“You know, when we all cheer for the same team with high energy, it’s so exhilarating, and it’s so fun participating with everyone else ...
“Every team has its own set of cheer songs, and you sort of just get to memorize all the words once you start cheering with everyone.”

Even a historic hot summer didn't stop 25-year-old longtime fan Jung Joon-young from attending 30 KBO games this season.

[Sound bite: Jung Joon-young, 25 - baseball fan from Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province (Korean-English)]
“In the summer, I put on sunscreen and cheered, and it felt like I was just sweating profusely all day ...
"Today, it’s so difficult to get a ticket to the games. In the past, you could easily get tickets when you came to the stadium. But now, it’s very hard to get one, even if you arrive early."

One of the more noticeable changes is the increased presence of foreign spectators.

Foreign tour groups of around 30 people and university exchange students are a common sight at today's KBO games.

But something even more apparent is the proportion of fans who are female—especially young women in their 20s and 30s, and even in their teens.

Clubs like the LG Twins are making extra efforts to cater to these new demographics and build a fandom culture around their teams.

Around Jamsil Stadium, jerseys and keychains produced in collaboration with fashion brands, as well as K-pop-esque photo cards featuring the day's players, are on sale.

Kim Kwang-hwan, the LG Twins' head of communications, said the team has also been increasingly focused on original reels and short-form video to court a social media-savvy audience and that players spend considerable amounts of time engaging with their fans.

[Sound bite: Kim Kwang-hwan - LG communications director (Korean-English)]
“Sometimes, when many players arrive, 50 or even 100 fans line up and wait to see them. The players will spend nearly an hour signing autographs before heading off. Compared to the past, our players are so much more proactive and accommodating toward these fan requests. I think that creates a very positive cycle, leading to a really good atmosphere.”

With the postseason now underway, all eyes are on just how many more records Korean baseball can break this year.

David Lee, reporting for KBS World Radio News.