SA: Annyeong Haseyo everyone! Welcome to Hwa-Ting Sports! Your Korean sports podcast!
PM: We talk about Korean sports, except for those times when North American and international sports intersect with Korea’s sports.
SA: This is season 2 of our podcast so you should know us by now! If not, I’m Mr. S.
PM: and I’m Paul!
SA: We are expats who follow the Korean sports scene and provide listeners with tips and 100% accurate never-wrong punditry. You can listen to this podcast on Spotify and other podcast networks. You can learn more about the show on our Facebook page and website. Links in the description. Anything else, Mr. P?
PM: No, that’s everything. And with that, 1-2-3 *together* HWAI-TING!
Intro
SA: Where are they…hmmm…
PM: What the hell are you looking for?
SA: Information on women’s sports leagues.
PM: That shouldn’t require a magnifying lens to find. There’s the women’s volleyball and handball leagues. We talked about them two months ago. There’s the women’s basketball league- we talked about them last month. At least… I think we did.
SA: I’m not talking about those obvious ones! I’m talking about the hard-to-find ones that we’ve always wanted to see! Ones like football, ice hockey and baseball. Wait I see it! EUREKA!
PM: Gimme that thing! Let me see… By gawd there IS a women’s baseball league in Korea!
SA: I know! It disappeared before COVID and now it’s back…somehow.
PM: All I’m saying is it shouldn’t require the internet equivalent of a magnifying lens to find women’s sports leagues in Korea. But apparently it does.
SA: And that is another reason why we created this podcast. To find the leagues that have fallen through the cracks and exposing them to the light. Like a sleuth finding clues to the murder in the abandoned lodging at the very end of town.
PM: Without a grumpy old detective waving his fish and chips at you to get you to leave because the pea soup smog’s getting thicker!
SA: It should be elementary my dear Watson, but it isn’t. And we’re going to talk about why.
Support or lack thereof.
SA: Hey Mr. P. Have you seen an ad for the Women’s K-league on TV this year?
PM: Can’t say I have. Other than you telling me about it, I didn’t even know there was a women’s K-league.
SA: Well, there you go. I know you’ve probably seen at least 1 ad for the volleyball league.
PM: Yeah - and no disrespect to the players here - but in truth I probably tuned it out. But that’s me being immune to the tricks of advertising. (sings) “I feel like chicken tonight…” Sorry. “It’s Patrick, he took out life insurance…” Dammit!
SA: And when have you ever seen any ads for women’s sports on TV?
PM: Do ads featuring female athletes shilling products count?
SA: No, I said ‘ads for women’s sports’.
PM: Then no. To be fair, in Korea they cram the ads all the way at the end of the show, right when I get up to take the dog out for a walk. For baseball and other sports with timeouts, they run ads at break time when I’m getting up to get chips. And most of the time it’s ads for cars or car tires or car insurance or…well you get the point.
SA: The ads I remember seeing were from the late 2000s that were hilariously bad. Do you remember the nazi skin cream ad? It was so bad the ADL complained and it got taken off the air. What was the other one? Oh yeah, the funeral home in Yeosu that loved to show off its Cadillac Hearse. *Deep voice* We’ll take you out in stylllle.
PM: So maybe TV ads aren’t the best place to get eyeballs. What about online?
SA: Naver TV usually just gets the feed from the cable channel broadcasting the game, so I'd see the same things as you. But there are times, like with football that they didn’t run ads. Coupang play usually just plays highlights of the game and other games of the week. Other than when I’m watching a women’s sporting event like volleyball will I see an ad for the same sport.
PM: I’m starting to see a pattern here. More like a catch-22. You have to watch the sport to learn more about the sport, and if you’re not watching the sport, you won’t hear about it, unless something happens on the field and the news covers it.
SA: I don’t think KBS news would cover the Women’s K-league unless a tornado formed on the field during a game. However, the news does a decent job of covering the national teams.
PM: I wonder how much of that is because of newsworthy events like the An Seyoung speech against the BKA and how much of the other cursory coverage is because of government mandates? I get it that you can’t spend 10 minutes talking about the same Tottenham game just because Son played in it. But there are more sports stories than what’s happening in Europe.
SA: Well Korea does produce a lot of great female Olympians like the archers and golfers and Kim Yuna. But they’re not always competing in a big event. Even the small events could use a little love.
PM: Should the government require the networks to broadcast women’s sports more often?
SA: I don’t know if I’d go that far, but the government should require or invest in a cheap ad buy for the various women’s leagues. The government has a lot more sway over broadcast networks here than in the states or even Canada, but they’re not publicly owned like North Korea’s or something like that. That way, the leagues can’t say they couldn’t afford to advertise anymore.
PM: The old adage “gotta spend money to make money” sure rings true here. But why aren’t the national sports federations picking up the slack here? A lot of the minor sports leagues here are run by non-profit groups. They don’t have a lot of public funding but certainly enough in sponsorships to promote the leagues.
SA: Yeah what’s the point in being the shoe provider for the handball league if no fans on TV see the athletes wearing my shoes? I’m not running a charity here.
PM: Unless you’re a private loan company, in which case you need a LOT of public favor to avoid being regulated into oblivion or torched by angry debtors.
SA: Yeah, 75% interest on your payday loans is not going to make you a lot of friends.
Talking about the leagues (Football baseball etc)
SA: Most people already know about the volleyball and handball leagues. But there are others.
PM: There is the women’s football league that usually plays on Thursdays and sometimes Mondays. What wonderful timing! What better time to get out-of-town fans than on a worknight?!
SA: Called the WK League, there are 8 teams including a military members team in Boeun, even though women are not in the draft. But hey, if the league’s happy, then I’m happy.
PM: I think the league’s happy because they went 4 and 17 this season.
SA: I know my favorite team the Gyeongju KHNP, is happy to play against them. I went to a game this year and they were up by 3 goals but gave up 2 near the end of the game. Was starting to get flashbacks to all those times teams were up 3-nil and still lost.
PM: Quite a few of them were your favorite teams, I might add.
SA: You MIGHT be getting on MYYYY nerves!
PM: What a way to talk to your favourite podcast co-host. (Laughter)
SA: Ohhhh…ANYWAY you can learn about the WKLeague by going to kwff dot or dot kr slash w k league. We’ll leave a link in the description because their own website doesn’t show up at the top of search results.
PM: Not even GAWD knows what would happen if you asked ChatGPT for the website.
SA: You’d probably get a vogue cover shoot or a Zanzibar shaving company knowing that thing.
Both: laughter
SA: But you’re better off using Google because the main website only shows past games and not the upcoming games. In fact, the team websites are more up-to-date, but that’s not always the case as I learned with the sports toto team. The link on the WK league website routed me to the team owner’s page of the gambling company but then I dug around in the gambling section to find the schedule.
PM: So the lesson is to always trust the google searches since they also have stadium info. I believe you mentioned earlier that this league has TV contracts and streaming.
SA: Yes they have been fairly consistent over the years about keeping these. These days I believe itop sports covers the league on TV and on their youtube channel. I’ll put the link in the description. Also, itop sports covers the K3 league and other events. This is a slight sidebar on our topic today but I think it should be covered.
PM: What’s that?
SA: I was looking up a WKleague game when I found the itop sports channel and lo-&-behold, they were showing a high school girls football championship game between Gwangyang and another city. I live next to Gwangyang so I was curious when I saw the city name in the description. So if you’re a teacher and you hear something about your school being in a national tournament, check the itop21 sports youtube channel and you can see your students in action.
PM; It seems like the small networks are the main coverers of women’s sports and other lesser followed things like athletics. Itop sports, Maxsports, all these little names that you gotta pay 45 thousand extra a month on your cable pack to get them. Back home it would be like watching ESPN the Ocho or something like that.
SA: I don’t want to say it’s better than nothing, because I feel like the broadcast networks and radio stations should be getting in on this. Yes I know, drama sells, but half those be reruns and crap like that.
PM: Since you know the league, you can tell us a player you like.
SA: The national team star Ji So Yeon used to play for Hyundai Angels in Incheon and helped them win the title a few times, but now she’s playing for Seattle in the NWSL. She used to play for Chelsea a decade ago before joining the K-League in order to train for the World Cup a few years ago. Her leaving has kinda sent the sports press on fire because it shows how underfunded and underdeveloped the league is. They don’t have relegation here so there’s no competitive spirit.
PM: And hence why the league is hardly followed. What’s another league that’s hardly followed?
SA: We started today’s podcast about the women’s baseball league. Decades ago I saw the league on MBC and really wanted to go to a game. I looked up the Gwangju team and..
PM: And?
SA: Thanks to the help of the Gwangju International center I was able to track down the team and their games. But they didn’t play on the day they said they would and I never heard from them again.
PM: Yeah, these baseball leagues seem to appear and disappear.
SA: The national softball team seems to survive so there’s that at least. As I was writing this podcast episode, I learned about the WBAK. The semi-pro baseball league is back!
PM: Or maybe it was just under the radar as usual?
SA: If they don’t advertise, how will we fans know they’re still around?
PM: I’m not opposed to going to a game, especially if they’re playing in Gwangju or someplace close by. But they can’t afford a banner ad somewhere in town? A Facebook or Instagram ad? Gimme something to work with here.
SA: Or at the very least, include a link to them on the KBO website. They got space there.
PM: So when’s the next game?
SA: At least their website is somewhat functional. Gotta give them credit for that! They play from April to November and the last game is…after this podcast goes on air.
PM: Well it is late November. Snow’s probably already on the ground in Gangwon. Where do they usually play?
SA: This year’s schedule seems a bit schizo. There were tournaments, including in Iksan, and there’s the amateur league like what I played in with the boys. There was even an international matchup in Hwaseong earlier this year too. It seems like they mostly play in Hwaseong and Iksan and Seoul. If you listeners are curious, I’ll leave the WBAK link in the description and you can check for yourself in March after spring training is over.
PM: Any press coverage, besides us of course?
SA: Their website has a JTBC TV news clip and a Sta TV clip about the league, so at least there’s a little bit of public interest going on. I have no idea if or when they’ll get professional enough to warrant a cable TV or internet streaming contract.
PM: And what about the other league?
SA: There’s a women’s ice hockey league as well.
PM: Now we’re talkin’! So, when do they play? I trust they’ve got some games coming up.
SA: Apparently in June and July! And Jeonju has a team!
PM: Oh, sweet Jeonju. That’s not too bad…wait… they only play in the summer?
SA: Apparently so.
PM: Why am I only hearing about this now?? The ice rink would be the perfect place to go to on those ridiculously hot summer days we had this year! They have to keep the building cool otherwise it’s just a room with a big puddle! Why doesn’t Gwangju have a team?!
SA: Does Gwangju even have a year-round ice skating rink?
PM: Yeah, I think there’s one beside the tennis courts in the World Cup complex.
SA: Huh. I learn something new every day.
PM: What did you find out about the league?
SA: As far as I can tell, there is one women’s tournament run by the national hockey association called The Dream League. There are 4 divisions with 4 teams each so that’s 16 teams. This year they played in early to mid june but I don’t believe that’s the only time they played. Be kinda weird if the teams only played 3 times a year, I guess.
PM: Perhaps if the women’s team had played better in the Olympics there might have been more interest in the sport. Though it would’ve been impossible given the circumstances.
SA: Probably but COVID really knocked things back for indoor events like ice hockey for a year and a half. So even if they had played well, the interest would’ve dropped anyway. But now it seems like the national associations are taking the sport more seriously. Too bad that the college league isn’t.
PM: The college league isn’t?
SA: I looked on the site and they’ve got a men’s ice hockey league but not one for women.
PM: I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. They don’t even have a women’s football league.
SA: I know. Where do they expect their women’s players to develop? They all can’t go to the USA or Europe for development.
PM: It’s a bit counterproductive since the women’s football team regularly makes it to the World Cup, where they get crushed. Maybe if they have some more robust competition, or at least more team play, they might improve. But knowing FIFA they’ll get stuck in a bracket with Canada, Spain, and Nigeria.
SA: Yeesh. Yeah, they’ll need a lot of training to be able to match up with the heavyweights of the world, that’s for sure. Anyway, there also is an amateur women’s league called Rockets that plays out of the Seoul area. They play in little ass skating rinks so I don’t think there are seats for fans but they have a youtube channel with full games. It seems pretty sturdy so I think they’ll be around for another season or two.
PM: What about badminton? That’s pretty popular here. Is there a league?
SA: Yes, but only an amateur league. It’s the same for men as well. I’ve heard of a new league called the Star Badminton League starting up akin to the WTA but not sure exactly how it works. I know it’s pay to play.
PM: I guess if you’re into racket sports it might be interesting, though it seems the bulk of the interest for badminton here comes from big events like Asian Games and Olympics. I suppose, like tennis or whatever, an athlete can get by with sponsorships, assuming the federation allows them. Any other women’s sports to know about?
SA: The rest are amateur and we’ll cover them when we talk about sports you can play, but for a little hint, there’s a Gaelic sports league, a Lacrosse league, and quite a few others.
One more famous female athlete
PM: So, Mr S, there’s a certain athlete of note we neglected to mention in our episode about Volleyball & Handball so we should right that wrong by discussing her now.
SA: If you’re referring to Megawati, we already talked about her. Can’t you retain any information?
PM: Hey, I’m about the future. In any case, I’m aware we already talked about Mega. No, the player we didn’t discuss is Kim Yeon Keong, a fantastic athlete who is respected by teammates and opponents alike and hasn’t caused controversy either on or off the court. In other words, she doesn’t get headlines the way her less than savoury contemporaries seem to enjoy.
SA: Could this be why we failed to mention her before now?
PM: It could very well be. She hasn’t been a bully or a diva so she hasn’t made the papers beyond her volleyball exploits.
SA: She’s still a pretty big deal though.
PM: Absolutely. We saw her and her Incheon 흥국생명 Pink Spiders play in Gwangju a while back and she was the reason that barn was damn near sold out.
SA: You mean they weren’t there to see the 3-28 AI Peppers?
PM: Well, that’s why we were there. That game was surprisingly close with the Peps giving a good account of themselves in spite of the defeat. The next day I had a winter session class with some of the staff at my university and I told them about seeing Yeon Keong and they were, as the British say, dead chuffed. Even the pair of students who didn’t give a crap about sports were impressed.
SA: She’s been in her fair share of commercials too I believe.
PM: Yes indeed. Probably more than any female athlete this side of Kim Yuna though I wouldn’t be surprised if table tennis star Shin Yubin overtakes her in that regard someday, especially if she’s able to win a gold medal in the future. That’s the one thing that has eluded Yeon Keong.
SA: No gold medals of note?
PM: Just the one from the Asia Games back in 2014. She’s really popular which makes you wonder what her situation would be like if she happened to be playing alongside a golden generation.
SA: Maybe she’s the Kevin Durant of women’s volleyball?
PM: Honestly, I think she’s more the Yao Ming. Contain her and you’ve probably got a good chance of winning. The Korean women’s national team used to be respectable but never anything more with finishes of 4th, 5th and 4th in the 3 Olympics she has taken part in.
SA: And they didn’t even qualify in 2024.
PM: Right. The way things are going I don’t think it’s a huge exaggeration to suggest she’s not unlike Yao Ming or Anze Kopitar or George Weah: the phenomenal player stuck in a sporting backwater.
SA: Backwater?!? You know we’re supposed to be promoting Korean sports here!
PM: Right you are! Ignore what I just said or feel free to turn to another Korean sports podcast.
SA: We’re the only Korean sports podcast.
PM: That’s right! We’re the only game in town. A license to spout more nonsense!
SA: Cheers to that!
Worst Person in the sports World; update edition;
PM: Oh, it’s that music again. But I haven’t heard anything bad lately.
SA: That is sort of true, but there were a few updates on stories we covered here. Progress has been made in a few cases, and an old problem in the K-League is back in the news.
PM: What’s the first big update?
SA: Do you remember Rodrigo Bentancur, Son Heung Min’s teammate at Tottenham who got in trouble for saying all Koreans look the same on Uruguayan TV?
PM: Sure, the big dumbass.
SA: Well, FIFA is set to rule soon on his case, and the Joongang Daily says that punishment could range from a few matches to a full season.
PM: A few matches or a full season of what? A suspension or the punishment of being banished to a Korean team so he has to play with and against a bunch of people who all look the same to him.
SA: Good idea! The punishment fits the crime!
PM: I know!
SA: It’s hard for me to complain against FIFA on this one. A rare thing for me because I always complain about FIFA. But I come from a state where a team fired a broadcast announcer because he botched the word Negro League when visiting the museum in Kansas City. So I don’t have a leg to stand on either way.
PM: So you don’t think he should be punished?
SA: I think he should be punished in line with what FIFA has told players about racial harassment policy. Since he said it about a teammate, his team is also punished because he’s not in the lineup. I know edgy jokes are popular in some places, but with that edge, you get cut. But I can’t scream too hard in either direction because my homeland has a different standard.
PM: I know the freedom of speech absolutists will object but he should’ve known better, the big dunce. I stand up for plenty of morons doing moronic things, I don’t feel like standing up for this bozo.. OK, and the next FIFA story?
SA: We get another FIFA update! FIFA is siding with the KFA regarding the hiring of Hong Myung Bo the men’s team coach! FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino came to Korea recently and reminded the KFA that they are to act autonomously from the government. Therefore in the eyes of FIFA, the head coach hiring is not a problem, even if it was sketchy and the legislature and sports ministry thinks otherwise. That means FIFA will punish the team if the government forces KFA to fire the coach because of the unfair hiring practices.
PM: Doesn’t seem very fair for the players, now does it?
SA: I guess that is the point when it comes to FIFA. I don’t know whether or not a government agency should have a hand in hiring, but some oversight should be considered, especially with all the tax money going to the team.
PM: And the other update?
SA: This also involves football but not the KFA per se. Lee Jae Myeong, the leader of the DP, the largest liberal party here in Korea, was convicted of election fraud stemming from statements he made about a development plan in Seongnam when he was governor of Gyeonggi Province.
PM: How does this relate to sports?
SA: He is also on trial for some bribery scandal involving Seongnam FC. According to press reports, he received sponsorship money from Naver and Doosan to the tune of 18 billion won for the team in exchange for construction permits in Seongnam. Because he was convicted in the first trial, it’s not a total guarantee that he’ll be convicted in the bribery case but it becomes easier for future juries to decide his fate, whatever that may be.
PM: This case has been going on for a while huh?
SA: At least since early last year. Probably because of the other trials getting in the way, and the parliament elections as well. Also, one of Lee’s aides committed suicide after being investigated in the case, and in his note, begged him to leave politics. So there’s a LOT going on in Seongnam.
PM: It’s like one of those Aaron Sorkin shows, minus the cheesy dialog. Or maybe House of Cards minus the sex offender. But anyway, what about the team?
SA: During the alleged bribery days, they were good-ish, even making the playoffs once. But after the bribes stopped, they collapsed from K1 to K2, made it back to K1 for a few years, and now they’re at the bottom of K2. Obviously, they needed the money.
PM: I suppose this is one big problem with the whole city-owned team scheme. It’s a convenient way to get bribes. Other than something like a videotape, who’s gonna know that a company bribed city hall through a team sponsorship?
SA: I guess you could evidence in the paperwork the city files in regards to things a company or investment corp wants. I’m not sure how the feds here found their evidence.
PM: Anyway, any more updates?
SA: Yes, we got one more, though I’m proactively marking this group as the worst persons in the world. It was reported in the Korean Herald that amazing shooter Kim Ye-Ji stepped away from shooting to spend more time with her infant. But the truth of the matter is that she’s been receiving a lot of harassing messages and hatred on social media. Her agency told CBSNoCutNews that she’s quite sensitive on the inside and the constant pleas for money and negative comments made her take a break. Again, it’s these internet weirdos pushing their anger on high achieving women like her and An San the archer.
PM: They need to relax or they’re going to scare girls away from playing for the national teams! They have this attitude like “you’ve done too well. Go into the kitchen and make me some kimchi jeon!”
SA: And most of these saps couldn’t even cook a takeout meal! Hell they can’t even handle Hello Fresh. Instructions for Texas Toast, step 1; put the butter on first. They dumb asses would make burnt toast! And that is why the netizen mob is! TODAY’S! WORST PERSON! IN THE SPORTS WORLD!
Ending
SA: Thanks for tuning in today! We hoped you learned something new about Korean sports!
PM: I certainly did! Please share this podcast with your friends & family, anyone you think would be interested in irreverent takes on Korean Sports.
SA: Especially give this to rookies. They need alllll the help they can get.
PM: Don’t forget to rate our podcast 5 stars of course. But don’t do it if you don’t like us.
SA: You can email the show at hwatingsportspodcast at gmail.com or leave a comment on our various podcast sites. Hate mail will be read aloud on special episodes and ruthlessly mocked.
PM: Fan mail will be mocked but in a more wholesome way.
SA: Our next episode will be in early December and we’ll be talking about sports bars!
PM: Pour another one for me because my team just gave up another 3 pointer!
SA: Music notes like the opening song thanks to DumiAFava. Cover art thanks to our live in cycling expert James! Until next time, Korean sports fans!
PM: Guests of the Hwa-ting sports podcast dine at Kelsey’s American-Style Chinese Restaurant. Bored of what passes for Chinese here in Korea? Then look no further than Kelsey’s! There’s no Jajangmyeon, Tangsuyuk or Jambong here! Instead, they serve authentic dishes such as San Francisco Chop Suey, General Tso’s New York Chicken and Calgary-style Ginger-Fried Beef. Swing by Kelsey’s to warm your soul and cleanse your colon!
Notes:
https://www.youtube.com/@Rockets_TV
https://thedreamleague.org/about/
https://www.lacrosse.or.kr/ko/stat_page/local_tournament/16/