KT WIZ
Copy intro from previous episode
Opening joke
SA: We’ve got another exciting show today with Mr. J joining us again!
JT: *cheering sounds* Thank you thank you! Always glad to be here! I am your KBO guy because I have a sub par knowledge of Korean Baseball and because of this sweltering heat I have got Korean Body Odor K-B/O *joke sting*
SA: TMI Mr. J aint nobody got time for that
JT: I am going to make sure my next contract with Hwa-ting Sports podcast has mandatory world cup hydration breaks.
SA: Don’t take too many hydration breaks, you might have to WHIZ…
JT: Speaking of WIZ, I am on the show, so we’re talking baseball today right?
SA: Of course! Today’s team is the youngest, the KT Wiz, spelled W-I-Z.
JT: As averse to the spelling W-H-I-Z elsewhere online. Though when they first started, other team fans used to call them the Wiff because they struck out so much *joke sting*.
SA: *laughing* Oh and I almost died in their stadium! That’s another story we gotta tell in today’s episode!
JT: You can’t go anywhere in baseball without something wild happening! *joke sting*
SA: A wizard did it! *crickets sound* Man c’mon that was funnier in my head.
KT Wiz history and why a team in Suwon and not Jeonju (Fall of Unicorns and Booyeong’s botched bid) [also talk about how the city’s love of football slowed the process and didn’t keep the Unicorns]
SA: We’re gonna start the story of the KT Wiz in a different direction.
JT: Since when has anything in KBO history gone in a straight line? Kinda like my morning whiz and yes there will be plenty of pee jokes today.
SA: *laughing* It’s kinda like teaching a pre-K class and you ask the students to draw a straight line on their paper and they start drawing circles, pyramids and lines on other kids papers!
JT: Total chaos bunch of pissers! But at least they didn’t have a dictatorship to deal with.
SA: Not exactly. The story of the Wiz coming to Suwon is related to the rise and fall of the Hyundai Unicorns.
JT: We’re not gonna go into too much about the Unicorns because the Wiz are not their successor, which is an interesting tale in and of itself.
SA: Before the Wiz got established, the Unicorns played for a time in Suwon. This was due to selling the rights to play in Incheon and Seoul to SK in 1999, which got the Wyverns. But Hyundai wanted to move the Unicorns to Mokdong, so they holed up in Suwon until they could get approval.
JT: Which never came and the team went bust, right?
SA: Yeah there was some political backbiting going on with the KBO and the 2 Seoul teams. Later, KT tried to buy the team but things got cocked up between it and other bidders, including Nonghyup whose chairman went to jail during the bidding period.
JT: How many deaths were involved? I know it’s not 0. We’ve been here long enough to know that *joke sting*
SA: *stretch voice* technically….one *end stretch* It’s more related to the Unicorns because the Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong-heon died and that’s one reason why the Unicorns didn’t survive. But yeah, it’s not as bad as Hanwha or KIA.
JT: Yeah I think their death toll was around 4 or something?
SA: Congrats, KT! You tie with NC for the fewest number of foundational deaths *cheering sound*!
JT: Cue the ticker tape parade, and take some statins or some shit before you drop dead *joke sting*.
SA: So we fast forward to 2011 and NCs bid gets approved, putting the league at 9. The Unicorns kinda sorta folded into the Woori Heroes, but the key problem was the asymmetry.
JT: Yeah it’s hard to have divisions and a good schedule when your teams aren’t divided evenly.
SA: There was also the fact that the Suwon Bluewings and Suwon FC were very good in the early years and Suwon was more of a football city. But KT still ran into opposition from the KBO leadership even into June 2012 according to reports in Newsis after a league meeting.
JT: The governments of 3 cities were all-in to host because of course, who wouldn’t want a pro team in their front yard?
SA: Eventually, even the players union got involved and threatened to skip the all-star game and go on strike if a 10th team wasn’t approved. Then the DUP leader Kim Hak-gil got involved and ordered the conglomerates of the KBO to stop interfering with the 10th team. Expansion became a political football during the 18th presidential election that same year.
JT: To our non-Korean listeners, imagine if a party leader in your country told the National Football League or EPL they have to accept a new team, or they’ll bring the hammer down. You know, anti-trust laws, corruption investigations, tax increases, the works. Then the presidential or prime minister candidates show up in your city and say, we gonna build a Superdome and put Man U or the Pirates here. And then they say the wrong city name *joke sting*
SA: Yep, but that pressure campaign worked and Suwon was chosen to be the next site. Jeonbuk tried to get a team in Jeonju but their bibimbop I mean bid wasn’t enough. Probably should’ve thrown an inside fastball. *joke sting*
JT: So in 2013 KT went about hiring their staff and signing players, then setting up stadium construction. A smooth process like always, right?
SA: Well…
JT: Right….
SA: Hahahaha NO *joke sting* The KT Chairman Lee Seok-chae stepped down just before the founding ceremony in November because of corruption investigations related to the Mugunhwa satellite sales to Hong Kong.
JT: Satellite sales scandal? This sounds more like the plot of a James Bond movie. Was there a giant laser involved?
SA: Something involving a sports team and James Bond would make a great movie. *Laughing* OK here’s the plot; MI6 is tracking a suspicious Russian oligarch that owns a Champions League team and so they buy, oh I don’t know… Hull City and they get Bond to run it so he can follow the Russian guy around.
JT: Then he spends half the movie fighting in the luxury box and the kiss cam records him choking someone.
SA: *laughing* Oh it would be comedy gold!
JT: It would revive the franchise. Hollywood, we claim the first idea rights, so you’d better give us residuals!
SA: So anyway, the Wiz played decently in the Future’s League then entered the big league in 2015, managed by Cho Bum-hyun the triple crown catcher for MBC and Golden Grand Slam winner. He won as a player, a battery coach, a manager for Kia, and as manager of the 2010 team for the Asian Games. You’d figure they would go far with him.
JT: Yeah, that Kia magic disappeared quickly and he was fired after 2 seasons with the team. He never learned from the same problems with Kia; bad bullpen management, overworking arms, and being a step behind in game management. There were also issues with favoritism and sidestepping issues with drunk driving players, but what did you want him to do? Tuck the players into bed himself?
SA: Yeah they gotta know better and call their designated drivers.
JT: So anyway, Coach Cho brought in Park Kyeong soo, Chang Seong-Woo, and Park Ki-Hyuk. Unfortunately, they also brought in Kim Sang-hyun who underperformed and got sent to the 2nd team in Iksan, where…do I have to read this out loud? (pause) He was caught gooning at a passing college student in his father-in-law’s car, door open and pants down. At the police station he reportedly said he couldn’t resist the impulse. What the hell.
SA: So he denied those statements in a 2020 interview and said he had the windows down because he was smoking and flapped his clothes to create a breeze. He paid the fine at the police station because he claims he didn’t have any connections to the region and the cops said they would keep it quiet. But the reporters got wind of it and he was quote voluntarily retired from the team, and paid a fine from the KBO.
JT: But he wasn’t the only player in hot water that first season. Catcher Jang Sung-woo’s ex-girlfriend wanted him to marry her but he refused so she leaked his trash-talking messages on Instagram as well as a photo of him in bed. In those messages he called the team owner stingy, insulted his teammates and coaches, called a famous manager senile, and alleged a sexual relationship between a Lotte Giants cheerleader and several players. In the end, he had to pay a 7 million won fine and do 56 hours of community service.
SA: Usually teams kick players off for incidents like this, but was that the case for Jang?
JT: Nope, he’s still on the team, though he is approaching his 20th season. KT must’ve really been unlucky with catchers.
SA: So that first season was a bit rough, the second season was also rough, and even though they replaced the coach with Kim Jin-wook they remained in last place. 2018 they showed a glimmer of improvement and got as high as (dramatic pause) ninth place.
JT: Whoo-hoo! Impressive.
SA: But Coach Kim and the GM put the dishes on the table by bringing in Mel Rojas Jr. and Kang Baek-ho, their first Rookie of the Year winner. When Coach Lee took over in 2019, he had players that weren’t completely ass to work with and they got to 6th place his first year, then they made the playoffs in 2020. 3rd basemen Hwang Jae-gyun won a gold glove and had career highs, starting pitcher William Cuevas performed well, and So Hyeong-Jun won rookie of the year. Their loss to Doosan in the playoffs whet their appetite for the postseason and the table was set. 2021 the team clicked well.
JT: Yeah they won the regular season championship and went against Doosan, which ran up the ladder from the wild card to the series. They didn’t have Rojas, who went to Japan at this point. But they had Gerald Hoying from the Blue Jays and Eagles to make up some of the difference. They were more of a pitching powerhouse at this point anyway and Doosan was exhausted by the time they got to the series.
SA: A quick note on Hoying’s time here; apparently the tax laws changed during his time with the Eagles and they didn’t tell him when he was on the team, so the Daejeon tax office tagged him as delinquent and seized his KT Wiz salary and championship bonus. He basically was penniless in Korea because he had to pay the back taxes. He tried to appeal when he started with the Wiz but the paperwork was slow due to COVID, and he missed the appeal deadline.
JT: Gotta watch out for those double taxation rules! Also this was the year they didn’t play the championship in either home stadium. Because of COVID all the games were at Gocheok, with no food or drinks for fans. Fun times, lemme tell ya!
SA: More not-so fun in KT’s best year. There was a perfect storm of COVID restriction, anger over the commissioner’s somewhat blatant favorable treatment of the Bears, the Dinos players breaking quarantine protocols, the Bears stealing pitching signs…allegedly, the poor traffic conditions around Gocheok stadium, the Wiz having the smallest fanbase, and the national team’s poor performance at the Tokyo Olympics, that led to Games 2 through 4 not selling out.
JT: Game 2 was a 6 to 1 whooping by KT so they didn’t miss much, but fans of double-plays were happy. Da Bears set a record for those.
SA: They should’ve sent the Chargers’ pain meme *joke sting* Yeah, things went so badly that the broadcast networks demanded compensation because not enough people were watching games. That season, even volleyball occasionally performed better and a baseball game also got put on tape delay like in the old days. The police investigated and several KBO officials were indicted for embezzlement.
JT: Saw on the news last month that one of the officials was acquitted but the other is still appealing.
SA: Who says the KBO isn’t also a crime drama? *joke sting*
JT: Law & Order, Special Baseball Unit. Now coming to NBC *joke sting*.
SA: Anyway, 2021 was the high point for the Wiz. They’ve been descending since then, with a 2022 playoff exit against Kiwoon, then a series loss to the Twins in which all their hitters slumped, and a surprising escape past the Bears to get to the playoffs in 2024.
JT: Whom you gave the Nap award to for being the first 4th place team to lose.
SA: They didn’t make the wild card last year, but only by a hair when NC won on the last day of the season.
JT: The botched suicide squeeze heard round the world! *joke sting*
Side joke
SA: And as we talk about teams, we have to talk about their average fans. What do you think makes up the average KT fan, Mr. J?
JT: Beats me. When I first got here, I didn’t even know they had a fan base.
SA: OK so based off what I’ve heard, they can fit into 3 archetypes. One would be the foreign fan, usually an American military guy like a soldier or airman.
JT: Complete with 3 beers in their hands. *joke sting* this is because it’s the closest stadium to the Pyeongtaek military bases and Suwon can be reached pretty easily from other parts of the country.
SA: Number two would be a younger, maybe 30-ish tech bro guy from the Gyeonggi government or semiconductor plants. He’s gonna be very into baseball or just here because he got free tickets somehow.
JT: Or maybe he’s more of a LG or SSG fan.
SA: And fan #3 is a 20 something woman who kinda likes baseball but is there mostly because her boyfriend is there or her friends asked her to come so they can dance together on TV!
JT: Sometimes wearing the KT uniform and sometimes not but still cheering for the Wiz!
SA: At any rate, they seem to have a pretty positive fan base and their recent success certainly helps. So I contacted Wiz fan Andrew, who attended games since 2020.
Fan Interview:
When and why did you choose to root for the Wiz?
What do you remember most about their championship season?
Who is your favorite player?
What do you think of the stadium's food?
Which player should get their number retired?
Did you ever attend the water festivals they held there before 2022?
Which rivalry is the most important; the LG or SSG one?
Famous players
Do you wanna cover Kang Baek-ho? If so, I’ll cover Mel Rojas (AKA Jo Won-dong's sexy guy) and Hwang Jae-gyun.I guess I m doiung rojas
SA: Hwang Jae-Gyun and Kang Baek-ho.
JT: Rojas
SA: Let’s start with our list of KT’s famous players. I’ll get the ball-
JT: Hopefully the ones not slapping the salami-
SA: Hahaha yeah, rolling with Hwang Jae-Gyun! Coincidentally, he started as a Unicorn in 2006!
JT: Technically speaking, he’s a hometown hero despite not being born there.
SA: That’s right Mr. J! After the Heroes formed from the Unicorns, he went with them for 3 seasons, became a stalwart 3rd baseman for the Giants, tried to play baseball in San Francisco, then joined the Wiz.
JT: Why didn’t he return to the Giants? The Lotte Giants, I mean.
SA: OK so there’s some controversial backstory to Hwang’s free agency. Apparently he expressed interest in returning but the team told his agent he wasn’t on their top list. There was also a rumor that they saw him as selfish while they were magnanimous and claimed to pay his American living expenses. While that was happening, KT’s GM went to Hwang’s father for drinks and convinced him of the Wiz’s interest. So let’s have fun with this, Mr. J.
JT: In what way?
SA: Let’s say your son is 20 years old and has contract offers from the Blue Jays, LG Twins, Kiwoon Heroes, and Charros de Jalisco. Their GMs wanna meet you to convince your son to sign with their team. What liquor do you want them to bring to the meeting?
JT: Blue Jays bring me your finest Alexander Keith’s ale or maybe I will bring it for you, LG a fancy bottle of makali, Kiwoom spike any drink you bring to me- thats your only chance, and charros de jalisco hopefully you bring me your finest tequila before kiwoom does.
SA: If the Kiwoon Heroes came to my door I would demand tires. I don’t trust them with liquor. You will find out why later in this episode.
JT: Anyway, it seems like Hwang really hit it off with the Wiz, right?
SA: Indeed! He was part of their first championship and their other playoff runs. He played 8 years with them, and while fans were not happy with his salaries they were certainly happy with the leadership and the golden glove and the 112 home runs. They would have been happier if his final 2 seasons didn’t have as much of a statistical dropoff. But that comes with age.
JT: Was he the guy that was involved in the marriage scandal?
SA: Yup that was him, sort of. He was married to Ji Yeon of T-Ara in February 2022. He was out all night at the bar of a friend that suspiciously resembled a hunting pocha in August 2024. Then he had back strain on September 4th, and that made a fan SO mad he filed a complaint with the KBO under Article 151, saying quote [snotty voice] As the team's star veteran and most senior player, Hwang Jae-gyun should have set an example for his juniors by focusing on recovering his condition. Even though it was a day off with no games or training, it is considered highly inappropriate for a married man with a family to be caught drinking with members of the opposite sex at a 'hunting pub' until 6 a.m. unquote.
JT: These superfans need to get a life!
SA: Anyway, this incident and the constant fan complaints on her socials were definitely a factor that led to their divorce in 2024, just as the playoff started. Hwang retired with the team despite all this and is now a broadcaster. KT fans consider him a good prospect for a retired number. He is also the last playing member of the Unicorns.
JT: Alright, my turn. I am going with pink shoes himself….
SA: Pink shoes?
JT: Yes Mr. Pink shoes Mel Rojas Jr.
SA: Why do you call him pink shoes?
JT:Well one game, a guy named Mr. J got very nice seats at Champions Field through a friend who had a private tutor through a doctor.
SA: You got the hook up, where were you sitting?
JT: We were directly behind home plate 1st row, the Tigers and KT weren’t very good at the time it was the year we had Preston Tucker and thankfully they weren't good as there was some heckling going on and the broadcast probably picked up some of it..
SA: UH-OH, does Mr. J need a time-out.
JT:No worries, Mel Rojas shut me up and I was only heckling him.
SA: Wait. back up what happened?
JT: Well Rojas was wearing pink shoes and him being the foreigner I assumed he understood English, so I was only heckling him about his pink shoes., I was only racist against his shoes.
SA: CANCELLED!!!!!! So, how did he shut you up?
JT: well as he was at the plate, I was telling him how he was at the wrong ballet dance academy and other things along those lines, and I guess he didn’t like that.
SA: Why not Mr. J?
JT: He ripped a double off the center field wall and for some reason celebrated slightly looking at home plate direction. But if you are listening to this Mel Rojas Jr. I would like to apologize……… to your shoes, but I will not apologize for anything else, I stand firm on Korea needs more heckling in the KBO, too much cheering up!
SA: Alright lets get back on track! Tell me about Rojas.
JT: Mel Rojas Jr. was a Switch hitting and power hitting outfielder who was a staple of the KT Wiz team and is the current KBO homerun leader for foreigners.
SA: Ya he played from 2017-2025 his first and last season however he only played a little bit over a half a season, so basically 5 full seasons. What are his big accomplishments?
JT: Besides his highlight in 2019 of shutting up the foreigner behind home plate, which I might add he had a fantastic season the following year and I think that double was what motivated him. As in 2020 he put a historic year narrowly missing the quadruple crown.
SA: Yes, his MVP year in 2020 all started thanks to his bold fashion choice, pink shoes, That year was the most dominant offensive year in KBO history, he lead the league in home runs with 47, runs scored with a 116 that year, RBI’s a measly 135 and just missed out on the triple crown with a batting average of .349 just 5 points below current KIA Tigers at the time Choi Hyung Woo.
JT: Rojas single handedly and pink shoedldly carried the KT Wiz to their first post season appearance which didn’t turn out well against the Doosan Bears.
SA: Rojas Jr. turned this monster season into a lucrative offer from NPB in Japan
JT: He failed to adjust to NPB pitching and he didn’t last there very long and also had a stop in Mexico and the Dominican Republic before his triumphant return to KBO in 2024.
SA: His last season of putting up all start numbers with .329 batting average, 32 dingers, 112 RBIs and 109 runs.
JT: I would put him up as one of the top foreign hitters in KBO history.
SA: He would wind up being released in August 2025 because of physical fatigue and a severe batting slump.
JT: They had an emotional farewell ceremony for his pink shoes and his cemented place as a KT icon.
SA: My turn. Let’s talk about Kang Baek-ho, their first rookie of the year winner. Drafted by KT in 2017 he had a plan to be a pitcher and outfielder, even though he didn’t play it much in high school.
JT: So of course Coach Kim put him in the outfield. It seemed to work in spring training.
SA: It worked so well he made Kang the starting left fielder at the start of the season. In his first place appearance in 2018, he hit a home run off Tigers pitcher Hector Noesi. In 2019 he even played catcher and pitched in the final game.
JT: Quite the versatile player.
SA: In 2020 and 2021 he won the gold glove for first baseman. But in 22 and 23 he missed many games due to toe injuries and a torn oblique along with anxiety issues.
JT: Where’d those issues come from?
SA: The toe was because he fell down the stairs. The anxiety came from fans and broadcasters harassing him over chewing gum and looking melancholy during the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal match, with the fans calling him Gum Baekho. His social media got peppered with hate comments even though he went 2 for 4 in the game.
JT: He’s not the one that gave up 5 runs in one inning. I don’t know if you can say Park Chan-ho was blaming him for not raising morale, but some people did.
SA: The recording also happened when there was a pitching change going on. What’s the point of yelling or praying during that time? Give the players a break.
JT: But that’s not what happened huh?
SA: Nope. The comments got so ridiculous he shut them off. But this wasn’t the only thing to hound him. In 2023 while playing for the national team at the WBC against Australia, he hit a double, then got tagged out while celebrating. It was originally called safe but on video review he was called out. The next hitter had a hit, which if he were on base, could have tied the game. Australia later won 8 to 7.
JT: (your statement here but you can mention it was discussed on FOX Sports twitter)
SA: Later in 2023, he botched a throw during a game against LG in May, which led to more mockery and bringing back the bubblegum incidents. KBS, yes the tv station, even made videos about his mistakes. Then came the avalanche of hate speech and comments from angry reporters who wanted him to bribe them for positive press.
JT: That’s a thing?
SA: Yeah, Park Chan-ho used to do that, those reporters felt guilty about the bribery and offered to treat him to samgyepsal but his team told him to watch his weight and he couldn’t go so the reporters got mad at him and started writing unfairly about him. Kang Baek-ho has a cold relationship with the press so they wanted to punish him, it seems. The cyberbullying became relentless. On May 23rd he attached a picture of a person standing on the edge of a cliff as the background image, which led fans across the KBO to raise money to send him a coffee truck to cheer him up.
JT: Do you feel like the team adequately had his back?
SA: All the writing I saw on it didn’t say, but I get the feeling they helped him find a therapist or something. He mentioned he had a panic disorder during the Hangzhou Asian Games, but no problems were reported. The fans stepped up some more and criticized journalists for writing articles that mocked him.
JT: We fans always have our players’ backs! Unless they ruin our parleys and out comes the voodoo dolls! *Joke sting*
SA: That’s why we at the Hwa-ting sports podcast only mock you players once on the shows! Once and only once.
JT: OK, maybe twice if you really screw up. *joke sting*
SA: Yeah but we won’t dump on your wife’s Instagram! To wrap up, Kang played for the Wiz until 2025 and now plays for the Eagles. If he had stayed until retirement with the team, I think he’d be a shoo-in for the retired number. But as it stands, I still think he gets it.
JT: But KT’s playing much better this season without him, and we’re gonna talk about that after this break.
Current Roster
Matthew Sauer-P, Caleb Boushley-P/out for 6wks; replaced by Logan Allen from NC in 2025, Sam Hilliard-CF (They say he’s similar to Patrick Wisdom?)
Updates: SP So Hyeong-jun is also hurting. Shortstop competition between rookie Lee Kang-min and vet Kwon Dong-jin with Dong-jin regaining starting spot.
JT: The Wiz so far are winning and are in second place.
SA: But I feel like they’re the worst best team in the league. They were first for almost all of April but it seemed like they didn’t have the stuff to maintain the lead. And lo & behold, they are not in first place.
JT: Ya I tend to agree, the games I watch I am not all that impressed. The pitching staff is quite good they have Korean all star Go Young Pyo their Korean ace, their young future ace So hyeong jun made his first start yesterday after missing most of May with shoulder muscle pain he was 3-0 before getting injured so hopefully he is healthy (talk about how he did in his return) and Sauer their new foreign pitcher.
SA: Of course, Sauer is their best pitcher with 8 wins but he has 10 wild pitches and his ERA is the highest on the leaderboard. Of course Go Yeong Pyo is also very good, but still has a high ERA and rRAper9.
JT: KT bats aren’t very powerful outside of Hiliard who is in the 5th ranked in the league for homeruns with 14, the next highest HR hitter is Jang Sung Woo who is ranked 23rd with 8. Possibly why we feel this team is a little fraudulent as they don’t possess enough power hitters. However they got the best average hitter in Choi Won Jun with .381 BA
SA: Yes 최원준 has been an excellent off-seaon addition. The Tigers and Dinos both got rid of him and he wound up here where he’s #2 in WAR. Hillard is a whole number behind him but still ranked #11.
JT: Yeah where was this Choi Won Jun with the Tigers, I will say he always was streaky with the tigers, but I was not happy when KIA traded him and Lee Woo Sung for Han Jae Seong and Jeong Hyeong Chan. BUT Let’s talk about the shortstop competition between Lee Kang-Min and Dong-Jin
SA: Lee Kang-min the rookie got off to a decent start but he slumped in May and now Dong-jin is starting at short. His slump began right after the interview the manager announced he would be starting.
JT: And now it’s looking like he’s got the yips!
SA: The Wiz have been playing both of them together in the infield and sometimes subbing each other out. I guess the manager’s trying to figure out who’s the best fit but they’ve got other injury issues so they need both players to fill in gaps. On that note, I just read in the Joongang Daily that outfielder and rookie of the year Ahn Hyun-min has returned from his hamstring injury.
JT: Speaking of gaps, KT had to fill in a big one called Suwon stadium! More on that after this commercial.
Copy Plug for SIM Company from last week’s episode
Stadium and why it’s #1 with foreign fans (military fans) [also talk about why it’s hard to get there by car and the 2029 new Dongtan to Indeokwon Anyang line station]
SA: And now let’s talk about their stadium because whoooo boy they needed a new one.
JT: The Unicorns old stomping grounds of Suwon baseball park weren’t good enough?
SA: Oh hell no! The grass turned yellow in the spring and fall. The men’s bathrooms had steel toilets that were made for the highway rest stops, and there weren't enough seats.
JT: But at least the women’s restrooms were fine, right?
SA: Hahaha oh hell no! They didn’t even have toilets. Just squatters and a hole in the wall.
JT: DAAAAMMMN! Probably the inspiration for their team name the WHIZ cause every woman had to hold it. haha.Yeah the modern KBO wouldn’t be happy with those conditions,
SA: The city tax department office was in the building and one of the entrances was in the 1st base dugout with the sign visible on camera.
JT: You could go to a game and collect your refund the same day! And players could make payments before the game. Too bad they moved the office.
SA: So KT knew they needed a new stadium. Suwon pledged billions of won for the construction but they soon ran into money problems and construction almost stalled. Eventually the province sent in the money and construction completed in 2015. The stadium officially opened on March 14, 2015 and the first preseason game was played there later that month.
JT: They even had a water slide in the right outfield zone but took it out in 2022. Buncha killjoys.
SA: Booo KT! But at least they brought back the water festival.
JT: Isn’t that just the July rainy season. But Mr. S I I am not sure about a Whiz water festival. Especially with KBO crime history hopefully this just isn't just a bunch of men using their hoses indecently in public.
SA: NO NO NO NO Around 1st base sections 107 to 110, there’s a splash zone where a rotating hose sprays fans and some mist cannons shoot up a couple of times during the game. Don’t bring sensitive stuff or it ain’t surviving!
JT: I went to the KIA water festival and I was not a fan other than is help my with my K-BO, I betcha there was more than one unlucky fan who didn’t know what was going on and got drenched and didn't enjoy the break from the scorching heat!
SA: *Hahaha* hate to be him! Anyway, since this happens in the summer it can be weather dependent- it could be called off if there’s a thunderstorm nearby or a drought, of course.
JT: Fortunately there wasn’t a drought this year when there was a fire. Was it in the stadium?
SA: No it was next door and some smoke drifted inside, but some firefighters attending the game went out to the burning garbage dump and extinguished it. They got to throw out the first pitch later in the month.
JT: There’s always something that spoils the fun. How’s the food?
SA: Can’t say I was the biggest fan when I went there in 2017. Had some good chicken but I almost choked to death on it when KT gave up an error. I pointed at my chest and the owner just stared at me confused. Had to give myself the heimlich with a chair.
JT: That would have been embarrassing. Imagine your tombstone saying; died watching bad baseball. *joke sting*
SA: It would be so bad. My mother wouldn’t even come to the funeral. She used to tell us, if you die stupidly, your daddies can go but I ain’t. I don’t need the embarrassment.
JT: So how’s the food now?
SA: Apparently there’s a very good local brand of tongdalk whole fried chicken, a chinese american food stand, and a new york chicken skewer shop from china. Huh…make that make sense. Also they have a K-burrito place which I think means bulgogi burritos and tacos? I’m including a link to it in the description.
JT: If you wanna go to the game, as you heard in the interview, it’s not an easy stadium to get to. If you’re driving, you should go on the website or their wizz app and reserve a parking space. Around the stadium there ain’t much parking and the Homeplus next door will charge as much as 50k. Bus 7770 is the main bus that serves the stadium but if you can’t wait for it, or for a non-full bus, use one of the electric kickboards or bikes. Bring your helmet so you don’t get pinched by the cops.
GOTW
Steve’s pick: WK-League Munggyeong Sangmu vs Suwon WFC sat 20th at 7PM. Shinhan Bank SOL 2026 Korea-Japan Handball Club Super Match in Yeosu with H -League men's and women's champions Incheon Urban Corporation and SK Sugar Gliders to compete against Japan’s champions.
Justin’s pick: Kia vs KT in Suwon (I suggest this one because sunny weather this weekend)
SA: Alright listeners! We’ve got a lot of fun stuff going on this weekend, besides the world cup of course.
JT: Korea’s playing right now as we’re recording this! So why aren’t we covering it?
SA: They’re playing Mexico in Mexico. I’m almost afraid to look. Anyway, they’ll play again next week Friday at 11am against South Africa, which will probably go in our favor. Unless the injury bug or the runs strikes again. But anyhooooo, My first pick is women’s football with Sangmu hosting Suwon WFC tomorrow at 7pm in Munggyeong. Sangmu’s luck has been down lately and they face a tough team that wants to move up. Perhaps this is their chance to get some momentum going. You can watch the game on the KWFF YouTube channel if you can’t get out there. And trust me, Mungyeong is WAAAAY out there. What’s your pick, Mr. J?
JT: My game of the week is this weekend’s baseball KT Wiz vs. the KIA Tigers in Suwon and thankfully the women won’t have to hold their wiz.
SA: KT is in the race for first place with LG and needs some wins.
JT:KIA needs to stay atop of the lower playoff bracket fighting with Doosan and Hanhwa for 4th and 5th place
SA: So lots of playoff implications
JT:Especially if the season is cut short somehow. Looking at you, ebola *joke sting*.
SA: And my last pick is… oh, this one flew WAY under the radar! There’s an international handball match in Yeosu this Saturday, sponsored by SOL bank! Korea’s men’s champion Incheon UDC vs. Japanese League-H Champion at 1:00 PM. Then the women’s team SK Sugar Gliders plays the Japanese team at 3:20 PM. Both matches will be at Jinnangwan and free!
JT: Any TV coverage? You’d have to be a really big handball fan to go all the way there for a match.
SA: The men’s match will be on KBS N, and the women’s match…wow it’s on KBS1! That’s a big surprise!
JT: Way to go, Sugar Gliders! You’re moving up in the public eye! Don’t get blown out!
SA: Someone in the Ministry of Sports must be a fan.
JT: Or someone at KBS got in hot water and this is their penance?
SA: I wanna say that’s impossible but *laugh* we talked about a KT chairman who got in trouble for satellite sales so anything’s possible!
JT: And for our last game, especially if there’s a lot of rainouts, is the Lotte vs Kiwoon series in the Gocheok Dome this weekend. It’s a battle of the bottom feeders but at least you’ll be in air-conditioning. That’s something, at least.
SA: We’re going to be talking about all 3 teams in the next segment.
JT: The Stars of the Game?
SA: Hahahaha they wish! Though if you wanna get astronomical, they would be compared to brown dwarfs.
JT: So they are pointless bags of gas, huh? *joke sting*
SA: Indeed.
JT: Even the dome stadium?
SA: Not Gocheok, but yes. Even the dome.
Worst Persons
Bulhwa: Lotte Giants June 9th 3 error on one play
SA: There’s that music again! Time for the worst persons in the Korean sports world!
JT: They’re literally falling out of their cars and into our laps this week!
SA: We start with the Bulhwa or Fluoride award which goes to… the Lotte Giants infield! On June 9th Lotte was hosting Doosan when in the top of the 5th, a routine ground ball led to tragedy.
JT: Well what seemed to be routine double play off the bat of Doosans Kim Min Seok, turned into what you might see on a Saturday at 12U little league game, Go Seung Min the unsung hero fielded the ball well and gets it to the short stop Jeon Min-Jae who would have thrown it into the 12th row had there not been a net, Catcher Son Seong Bin proceeds to make an unwise through from deep 1st base foul territory that goes past 2nd base into left field now 3 bad throws, the pitcher Na Gyoon Ahn goes to back up 3rd. Reyes makes not an awful throw to 3rd. It just happened to be where Kim Min Suk was sliding and then Na Gyoon Ahn picks up the ball to throw home only to see the umpire and Kim Min Suk with his little league 1 out/1 run homerun.
SA: Still don’t know why the catcher didn’t return to home base. Was that supposed to become the pitcher’s assignment?
JT: The catcher has to hustle back and even the first baseman could have gone home as the pitcher needed to back up the 3rd base which he did amicably. As he was ready to throw it home.
SA: Well look, a lot of this can be averted if the Giants would learn how to throw the ball properly.
JT: As my high school coach said; stop throwing the ball around after making an error because it will snowball. That's why they are in the basement with Kiwoom if I am correct?
SA: At the time I wrote this, they were 2nd to last but with plays like this they can still be total bottom..
JT: Yes dont give up Lotte you and Kiwoom have the capability to be top 2 teams in Hwa-ting sports podcast’s worst persons leader board.
SA: That is true Mr. J.
JT: So so true
SA: Next up is the Nap or Lead award which goes to… the Mexican college geology department president who was caught on camera doing the slant eyes slur behind a Korean streamer during the Korea vs Czechia game.
JT: We still doing this in 2026? But in his defense there was a Korean who went full mexican in sombrero and a moustache but thankfully Mexicans fully embraced him. I personally hate streaming and influencers, but I was raised well enough to not be racist except against pink shoes in general, but especially on a live stream. It’s like people forgot how streaming works.
SA: But naturally the viewers of her stream were not impressed. They got his image, photo-searched it and found his ass. He made a weaksauce apology but still got fired.
JT: We couldn’t even complete more than 1 day of games before a fan fuckup. I thought there would have been at least two days.
SA: I had 3 days with the first row being a streaker. But now we move on to the Radon award, which goes to… Kiwoon Hitting Coach 이용규 for drunk driving and hitting a police car. According to reports in SBS Sports, Coach Lee was driving drunk at 6:30AM in Guri-
JT: Speaking of hydration breaks, He couldn’t wait for the subway? It was open by then.
SA: -good question. While driving his Porsche he ran a red light and crashed into a car doing a U-turn, then hit two other cars including a parked patrol car.
JT: That was the easiest arrest the officer ever made. He could’ve told Lee “Door’s open, get in, let’s go to the station.” *Joke sting*
SA: I wish. An officer was also injured along with the other driver and both were taken to the hospital.
JT: Kiwoon’s just as bad as Lotte. If I was a Kiwoon coach I’d stay up drinking all night too! Just wouldn’t drive home afterwards! *Joke sting*
SA: He just got the job too. Here today, gone tomorrow!
JT: And a second Radon award goes to…The traveling Korean press group at the World Cup! More World Cup hijinks yaay! Apparently two journalists were caught on an open mic trashing Son Heung Min’s military exemption while he was leading the team in a running exercise. The Mexican fans watching the feeds translated the clip and talked about it on all their socials.
SA: Korean fans heard about it later and word of the remarks made it to the team, according to reports in Football Asia dot com. The team closed ranks around Son and they refused interviews after the Czechia game. Things escalated when KFA released a statement expressing regret for inappropriate remarks by the press and said they would prioritize the protection of players. Jesus Bernal, a veteran journalist for ESPN Mexico, revealed that during a press conference at the Chivas training facility, KFA media officers ordered all foreign journalists to vacate the room before delivering a fierce, behind-closed-doors lecture to the remaining South Korean reporters.
JT: And they got in even more trouble for trash talking Coach Hong on open mics. It’s like they wanna get sent home. Too much cilantro down south for you boys? *joke sting*
SA: The head of the press pool resigned but nothing about the 2 reporters on the clip, but despite the apology, the team and KFA have not yet decided on whether to restart interviews.
JT: But recently a drone was spotted hovering over their training ground during their warmups, and was shot down by Mexican military squads, according to reports in My Daily. The squad spotted two men, nationality unknown, with the drone but they escaped. With all this drama around bad reporters, kinda makes you wonder, huh?
SA: Tough allegations to beat.
JT: And who have we got for the Plutonium award?
SA: Today’s plutonium award goes to…. Busan’s new mayor for canceling the previous mayor’s plan for Sajik and instead building a retractable dome on North Port.
JT: Here we go again! Time for…(steve will add reverb) DOME MADNESS! But hey, a dome can’t be that bad, right? No more summer rainouts!
SA: There are 3 problems that have come up. One, the feds have already set up the funding for their part of the Sajik reconstruction. It’s like a parent telling a kid they can buy the new pokemon plushie for 30 dollars, and they agree. But you get to the store and they’re demanding to get the pikachu extra for 400 dollars because Tokyo kid has one. You’d be like, nuh uh! You already said the 30 dollar one was fine!
JT: I might take the kids back to the car. I ain’t got Tokyo money!
SA: So not a big problem by itself but that means more time to get plans together and now they gotta do a different environmental survey and blah blah blah more paperwork! That means Lotte has to play more years in Asiad, which won’t be great for the fans.
JT: Better than a sandlot I suppose. What’s problem number 2?
SA: The Sajik neighborhood’s kinda built around the sports complex and the fans that patronize the shops before going into the stadium. If the team leaves, so does a chunk of their business. Now that might change if Busan I-Park moves into Asiad and gets really good, but the mayor has seen this coming. In a recent speech published by the Chosun Daily, he said he quote guarantee their survival rights through alternative measures unquote. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.
JT: What the hell’s an alternative? Is he gonna move them to North Port, or build a factory in Sajik? Because I don’t see how you’re gonna replace 20 thousand customers per day over 6 months a year.
SA: Voodoo magic I guess? Anyway, Busan’s not that rich of a city but he’s saying 56 percent of the funding is supposed to come from the private sector. It might as well be voodoo economics at this point.
JT: Seeing shades of the Saemalgeum fiasco here too.
SA: And the final, biggest problem. North Port is on reclaimed land and its sinking.
JT: So we’re gonna put a megaton concrete structure on sinking land, next to an ocean?
SA: Yes
JT: That’s vulnerable to typhoons and storm surge?
SA: Yes
JT: In a country with an uneven record of successful reclamation projects?
SA: Yes
JT: And we’re sure they’re building a dome and not a sinkhole? Because this is how you get a sinkhole.
SA: And this is why Busan’s new mayor is today’s WORST PERSON in the Korean sports world.
JT: How’s that Gadeok airport project coming along?
SA: Maybe I should call up the Kojects guy and see what he thinks?
Sports Update
SA: A quick update on a story we’ve been following for a few years. The K-League set up a Pitch Assist Team last year to monitor field conditions and make improvements happen because whoo boy they’ve had problems with their fields for years. Last week Sports Chosun online took a look at the team’s progress. So far, in this year’s K League stadium ground evaluations, 16 out of 25 stadiums (64%)—excluding the new teams, have improved rankings.
JT: No more playing on faded, dirt patched or flooded fields!
SA: Yeah, it got so bad years ago FIFA wouldn’t allow some matches in some stadiums and they had to be moved to other stadiums in the country.
JT: Perhaps having massive concerts on the pitch the week before a game is a bad idea? (sarcastic voice) I’m just saying!
SA: Jeonju World Cup stadium won Green Stadium Award for best grass after ranking very low in ground evaluations before last year.
JT: That’s to be expected now that they are good again. What about Gwangju? How’s our local World Cup doing?
SA: Sit down when you hear this part.
JT: That bad, huh?
SA: Drumroll please *drum sound* SECOND PLACE!
JT: BOOOYAH BABY! That’s as close to second place place we’re getting this season *joke sting*!
SA: *laughing* We’re finally second place in something other than FIFA fines *joke sting*
JT: Come to Gwangju FC games everyone! The product on the field might be ass but the field itself is like a morning meadow *joke sting*.
Ending
Copy 1st ending from previous episode
SA: A shoutout to our listeners in Ashburn Virginia! Home of the George Washington Revolutionaries college sports team!
JT: Hail to the Buff and Blue! Do they have any good teams?
SA: Not this decade.
JT: What about their football team? They’re in the A-10, so they can’t be that bad, right?
SA: They haven’t played football since the 60s. Maybe they got scared of the ball? *joke sting*
JT: Huh… I guess they’re more into water polo or something.
SA: We will return on the 3rd of July and we’ll be covering South Korea’s World Cup soccer team’s matches! Here’s hoping they’ve gone far, Korean Sports fans!
(AI voice) Guests of the Hwa-ting sports podcast get free jeans from Graham’s Midnight Run clothes stash! Good ‘ole Graham fell in love with an online hottie from Phuket and he’s throwing his job away to be with her, which means you get to pick any extra clothes! Marvel at the jeans with only two holes in them! Comes in all sizes! (speed faster) Banned from resale. Wash at least twice before wearing. All choices final!
Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KT_Wiz
Suwon Katy Wiz Park - NamuWiki
K League Stadium awards- Sportalkorea
Kwon Dong-jin's Decisive Hit Secures Lions' Victory, Signals Revival
KT Wiz Rush to Replace Injured Ace Caleb Boswell
KBO postponed meeting about 10th team
대낮에 음란행위 벌이다 입건…유명 프로야구 선수는 누구? | 일요신문
KBO Executive Acquitted in Broadcasting Rights Bribery Case- Chosun Daily
Mexican Official Mocks Korean Fans With Racial Gesture at World Cup
The K-Burrito place - myseatcheck.com
https://www.koreahandball.com/medianews/news_view.php?idx=2553