Opener

SA: Hello and welcome to Hwa-ting sports! I am Mr.S.

PM: And I’m Paul.

SA: And we are the hosts of Hwa-ting Sports podcast. We focus on sports played in South Korea, their history and other things of interest. You can find this podcast on Spotify and other spots, and episodes on our website, when we make one.

PM: What’s our credentials you ask? We’re long-time residents who’ve lived here for decades and we’ve been to sooo many sporting events! But the sports podcast market is a bit empty (cricket sounds) so you’ve got us and only us! With that, 1, 2, 3 Hwa-ting!

SA: And now we will (Whistle sound) WHAT??

PM: You forgot to say the disclaimer.

SA: Oh right of course. We speak a little slow since we’ve been teachers for 15 years. So you can click the speed up button if your player has that ability. And now we will (Whistle sound) WHAT NOW??

PM: You forgot to read the poll result.

SA: Oh we didn’t have a poll on Spotify last time. Though we might this week. And with that taken care of, we can finally (Whistle sound) WHAT OH COME ON!

PM: Sorry! I got into a habit, just like the referees. I’ll put ‘er away.

SA: Yes, you can tell we’re about to talk about ref-ball, er the K-League, Korea’s pro soccer league.

PM: Football. It’s football. I’m Canadian and I’m comfortable saying football. Having said that, soccer is used more often in conversation with Koreans. I guess they don’t want to offend Americans - or confuse them. Plus, you’ve been here a while, you must be used to the metric system by now so why not just say football.

SA: I’m gonna give you a card if you blow the whistle ONE MORE TIME- but here’s the thing; you see both terms in Korean Media and even on the K-League website. Hell, I’ve seen soccer and football both used in the same article.

PM: But why does it matter?

SA: Because surprisingly there is an American Football league in Korea. They’re still around…I think. So for the sake of my sanity, we’re going to call it football and the other sport American football.

PM: And now we can talk about the K-League. Which is…confusing in and of itself!


League structure

SA: There are 7 tiers of football managed by the Korean Football Association, but 5 thru 7 are amateur teams and don’t have anything to do with the pros. K3 and K4 are the semi-pro and while they are not amateur, they cannot be promoted to the pros. However they play the pros in the Korea FA Cup. Recently Jinju Citizen of K4 beat a K2 team and got to play Daejeon in the next round. This would be like York City beating Stoke City and going on to play Wolverhampton. 

PM: Basically FA cup tournaments are a chance for tiny clubs to live out their very own Mystery, Alaska dream scenario. “We’re in this game!”

SA: The pro leagues are K1 and K2 and those leagues are managed by the K-League. K-league 2 started in 2013, and since then 2 teams are at risk of being relegated with 1 automatic relegation and promotion and 1 promotion playoff depending on the results from both leagues. Basically the loser of the relegation round plays the winner of the K2 playoff round in a 2 game playoff. Many medium-sized cities have at least a semi-pro team so you’re not hurting for football in this country. In 2027 they plan to shake things up again, allowing all teams the chance to go up and down leagues. So yeah, if things go totally to hell for a team, they could go from playing in a World Cup stadium in year 1 to playing on a middle school dirt field by year 7.

PM: Presumably they have all this worked out, right? If, say, Seoul E-Land, one of the K-League’s weakest clubs, gets relegated, what happens to the players they still have under contract? Or if the K3 league’s Pocheon Citizen gets promoted? “We’ve got good news and we’ve got even better news, boys. The good news is we’re now playing with the pros. The even better news is I still don’t have to pay you. Now go out there and win one for me and maybe I’ll spring for something better than Pizza School after the game!”


Some teams

PM: Speaking of teams, I’ll tell you about Bucheon’s. So I first lived in Bucheon whose football club, as we already discussed in our episode about teams relocating, had just moved to Jeju where they play to this day. I remember walking past the stadium one day and it looked so sad and neglected — and it wasn’t even that old of a venue either. Though the city was a part of my past by this point, I was pleased when Bucheon FC 1995 was established in 2013. No, obviously it didn’t start up back in ‘95, the name probably has something to do with the previous Bucheon team. At any rate, I like the use of the year in its name: it makes me think of how, say, a bakery back home will display a sign that reads ‘proudly serving the community since 1958’ and how this practice contrasts from Korea where a business will boast of being open since 2009 or something. ‘Sung’s Flowers, a tradition of service since 2017’. By comparison, 1995 seems like a venerable institution, passed down over generations. That alone makes me want to root for Bucheon ‘95.

SA: When I first came to Korea, I went to Dragons games because they were the closest. I didn’t start liking them until the end of the year when they won the FA Cup. I actually went all the way to Pohang to watch that game. Jeonnam’s a K2 team and that tends to be where they’re stuck at, but they are a competitive cup team. They last won the cup three years ago. 

PM: Another K League 2 club for me: Busan i’Park. Two or three years ago I read the book Who Ate All the Squid?: Football Adventures in South Korea by Devon Rowcliffe which follows the 2003 season of i’Park and their legendary Scottish manager the late Ian Porterfield. It’s a really good book which I highly recommend. You get a nice look at the state of football in this country in the aftermath of the 2002 World Cup. Anyway, after reading it, I began following i’Park somewhat. Just if I happen to catch them on TV which, admittedly, isn’t often. I really ought to go to one of their games one day. As an aside, you may be thinking that I am fond of Busan’s pro sports teams. After all, my Korean basketball team is Busan KCC Egis and I just spoke of having a soft spot for the i’Park football club but I draw the line at baseball’s Lotte Giants. ‘Give the ball to a kid!’ No, I don’t think we’ll be doing that!


SA: The next team is Gwangju FC. I started watching them when the city got their own team in 2010. They are the perennial yo-yo team, constantly bouncing between the two leagues. They are in the news a lot these days. Oye. I really picked a winner for a favorite team. 

PM: Hey! I was going to pick Gwangju FC! And I’m a lot less ashamed of them. Which is more than can be said for their hoopty ass tin can stadium. Imagine leaving their beautiful World Cup stadium for this pathetic barn. But apparently having a running track surrounding the pitch is just too much for some people.

SA: We gave them worst persons last month for getting a transfer ban for cooking books. And it’s not that bad! They’ve got chop steak… oh that’s right, you can’t eat that…Umm, it’s got…a good view of the parking lot so you can check the traffic before you leave early! A bonus! 

And finally, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. They still play at a world cup stadium. They were the winningest team of the past 10 or so years with 9 championships, 4 Cups, and an AFC cup title. This year, everything’s gone downhill and they’re at risk of relegation. Even the K-League United experts are baffled by how far the wheels have come off there.



Key moments



After the 02 World Cup

After the 2002 world cup in which South Korea was the host, the league had a surge the same year but quickly dropped off in subsequent years. Quite a few top players from the World Cup like Park Ji-sung never played in the K-league and instead went to Japan or Europe. But there was one midfielder that became famous for a different reason…(add bass) Ladies… That player is Kim Nam-il aka The Vacuum cleaner who played for the Jeonnam Dragons and Samsung Bluewings. Apparently he became a national heartthrob leading to Kim Nam-il syndrome, where the Dragons and Bluewings got huge crowds of female fans in attendance to watch him play. It…kinda worked for the Dragons- they improved after the World Cup, and then when he left they won the FA Cup twice.

PM: The 2002 World Cup will be the topic of a future episode but its impact of 2002 was massive. I always think of the time in the lead up to the 2006 World Cup, highlights of Korea’s games against Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain were being rerun constantly. I was in Bucheon Station one night waiting for my then girlfriend who was coming in from Seoul. Suddenly, these two older men started cheering wildly. They were watching a clip from four years earlier but it was as if it was live.


Unfortunately there was a match fixing scandal involving 50 players and other officials uncovered in 2011 which led to player suicides, a kidnapping, and a major drop in attendance. One of the players involved in the scandal teamed up with another baseball player to kidnap and ransom a woman but she got away and actually followed them in a taxi then called the police. Needless to say, coaches don’t teach good kidnapping skills. (joke sting). 

PM: It was also around this time…


Anyway these days the league has seen a surge in attendance Post-Covid, probably helped by many cities building smaller stadiums and leaving the World Cup stadiums empty. Paul hates the new Gwangju FC stadium which seats 7,000. I don’t mind it since I don’t need my binoculars to watch a game anymore. 

PM: Well, quite. I went to one game with you and I still haven’t been back.


On our last note, many new teams are owned by the city hall themselves. This makes them less likely to move but also means they’re at the mercy of city budgets and whatever secondary sponsors work with the teams.

PM: A number of these are the currently lower level clubs with ‘Citizen’ in their name. Paju Citizen. Pocheon Citizen. Siheung Citizen. They sound like newspapers, don’t they? It’s nice they’re owned by the cities but even better would be if the fans had shares in them too.



How to learn about the league (sports sites, streamers, blogs, etc)

Short segment since we’re going to cover this in detail next podcast. Today we’ll talk about K-League United, Taeguk Warriors, Steve Price, Coupang Play, K League TV, iTOP sports Youtube, cable channels, and the announcers. 

SA: For the next part, we’re going to talk about how to learn more about the league and watch the games. Yes, there is a website, and yes it works, and yes it is in English. Go to Kleague.com if you need to find basic information about teams, players, or to join the fantasy football league. 

PM: Looking at the site, I notice they don’t sell any sort of swag. Where can you buy a team shirt or a scarf?

SA: You have to go to the games themselves to find them. The home team has a shop for jerseys and other collectibles and sometimes they have players in front of the gates who’ll sign your shirt or ball or anything like that. Now remember- any clothing there will follow Korean sizes so assume it might be tight in the shoulders, compared to what you find at home. You can also check the team’s website as they’ll have everything there too. But the prices, oh, the prices. The Dragons want 95k for a home shirt. 95k!

PM: For 95k the shirt had better come with a girl modeling it. Do you come with the shirt? Oh you, tee-hee-hee. I should say, not all  teams have a gift shop per say. Gift table is maybe . So Mr S would you pay 95k

SA:  I don’t think I’d pay that much for a Curry shirt either.

SA: Anyway, if you’re looking for analysis, I recommend a few famous sites. K-League United dot com is a famous website and twitter feed started by expats. The creator is Ryan Walters and he and his reporters have appeared on Korean TV, the BBC, and sports podcasts all over the world. They cover almost all aspects of Korean Football including the national teams and the Asian Champions League. They also have a sidebar with the weeks’ games, current table and top scorers. You can also listen to the podcast KLUPOD on their site as well.

SA: Another site worth checking out is Taeguk Warriors, that’s T-A-E-G-U-K. They specifically cover the national team, but many players are in the K-League anyway so if you don’t see your favorite player on the starting 11, check here to see if they got called up.

PM: Just a small thing: the national team is the Taeguk Warriors, the fans are the redundantly named ‘Red Devils’. This is something I only learned fairly recently.  I always thought that when people talked about being proud of the Red Devils, I assumed they meant the players, rather than the people who cheered. Where I come from the act of cheering is not considered an achievement. So, where can you watch games?

SA: Most of the time the games are on SkySports or JTBC  but sometimes other channels get a game. If you want to watch the semi pro teams or the Women's K-League check YouTube, specifically iTOP sports. If you're like me and don't have cable, you can get coupang play with your coupang account.

PM: TVN Sports is also a good network. What if you’re not in Korea and still wanna see games?

SA: You’re in luck! K-league dot com has a streaming page for watching games when outside Korea. That way you can tune in even if you’re on a beach in Panama…at 6AM. 


How to buy tickets:

PM: Let’s talk about tickets. Do games even sell out?

SA: We’re going to put an asterisk around the word “capacity”. We already talked about teams playing in the World Cup stadiums. But they don’t open up all the seats since they know there’s no way 50 thousand fans are gonna come to a Busan vs Gyeongnam game at Asiad Stadium. 

PM: Unless it’s a playoff game they’re lucky to get 15 thousand fans. My wife and I once got asked to leave the upper section of Gwangju’s World Cup Stadium even though it wasn’t blocked off. I will say, the one real disadvantage of playing in those big capacity venues is even a respectable sized crowd seems sparse. There’s no way Gwangju’s selling out 40,000 seats unless by some miracle they’re given an international friendly and even then it’s no guarantee.

SA: Sometimes the Gyeongin Derby gets close to a sell-out. That’s when teams in the Seoul area play each other, like Incheon vs FC Seoul. At any rate, tickets are fairly easy to come by. The first step is going to the K-League website and create an account, which you will need a Korean phone account to do. After you create your account, go to schedule and click on the league you want to see. Then scroll down to the match you want to see and click on tickets. Now here’s the part that will annoy you.

PM: Oh I think I know where this is going.

SA: The home team handles tickets and there is no defined ticket processor. Some teams use Interpark, some use Ticketlink, those are the two big ones in Korea like SeatGeek and Ticketmaster. And you might even encounter a situation like Daejeon Hana where you book tickets on the hanabank 1Q app. Don’t even ask me to walk you through that one. By the time you hear this, they’ll probably change procedures again.

PM: What if you’re a tourist and you want to book a ticket in advance? 

SA: HAHAHA you’re in for a world of hurt. Two problems; 1- you need a phone tied to a Korean bank account to use the booking services. 2- tickets sales open roughly 1 week early so it’s difficult to plan your trip around a game. You can get around this by going to the stadium early on gameday and hopefully you get the section you want. Or you can get a Korean acquaintance to book the tickets for you. I suggest the latter because it might be their first K-league game as well.

PM: Compared to other pro sports in this country getting tickets at the door isn’t too difficult. That said, I have to say it was nice getting that 24 game season pass for Gwangju FC for two years in a row. Well, it was a pass that entitled me to 24 tickets. I could’ve taken myself and 23 friends to one game if I’d wanted to or I could’ve attended 24 games on my own or any combination. Nice and convenient though it did stress me out trying to get maximum value out of it. But if you’re willing to invest in a full season, one of these passes is well worth it. Also, they’ll throw in a gift like a stainless travel mug or a plastic travel mug or…Okay, the freebies aren’t anything to write home about. And Mr S, you must’ve liked it when I had that pass too. You never had to pay for a ticket!

SA: Those were some fun games we went to, especially when we had beer & makgoli! Anyway we’ll go into more detail next week when we cover going to events in general.



Funny news:

PM: You got some funny news as well.

SA: You can’t help but laugh at some of these stories! First up, last year in Texas there was a Kpop concert at Arlington stadium and Stayc that’s S-T-A-Y-C wore Rangers jerseys.

PM: So? That’s not strange.

SA: They were Rangers Football Club of Glasgow Scotland. 

PM: Wowww

SA: Anyway you can’t blame the singers. That’s on the promotional staff. But Rangers fans had a good laugh about it. 

PM: That reminds me of the nineties girl group Eternal who came over from Britain to try to crack America. At one promo event they were wearing New York Rangers jerseys. I remember this because Kelle and Louise looked really good in them but they always looked good. Anyway, I wonder if they were thinking “Well, at least this isn’t Rangers FC”. Shudders.

SA: Next up we have some news from Ulsan. The football team there got a midfielder back from Saudi Arabia.  Jung Woo-young is actually from the Ulsan area and to celebrate his return, the team released an AI generated photo of him riding a giant salmon through the desert like a sandworm from the Dune movies. In the ad the tagline was quote “He rode a salmon across the Middle Eastern desert to get to Ulsan!”

PM: Let me see this picture. (PAUSE) Wow… And you say this is to celebrate his return? So why does he look so morose in the photo? I guess his Plan A of going to the MLS didn’t work out, am I right?


Ending:

PM: Thank you for tuning in today. 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, if the site you’ve got has a rating system. 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 August 23rd, and we’re talking about how to actually follow the sports we talk about and get to stadiums. 

PM: Rookies and non-residents rejoice! 

SA: Music notes like the opening song thanks to DumiAFava. Cover art thanks to our live in cycling expert James! Until then, sports fans! Have a happy and relaxing summer vacation!

PM: Guests of the Hwa-ting Sports Podcast stay at Naju’s Trump Motel. The rooms may look like prison cells but it ain’t no dump, so come join us down at the Trump! Take care.