Saturday, November 17, 2007

Adam Asks A Waeguk, Vol. 6.4

The latest in an ongoing series:


Dear Waeguk,

If I were to watch the Korean equivalent of
Sportscentre, what sport would be most likely to
feature as the lead story? Does Korea have its own
versions of the NBA, NHL, MLB, etc? Professional
leagues or associations for any other sports? Is any
particular Korean athlete the LeBron of the bunch
(meaning the anointed and most favoured one)?

The Waeguk responds:

Adam,

Korea has its own versions of the NBA (the Korean Basketball League, or KBL), and its own Professional Baseball League. Ice hockey, on the other hand, is virtually unheard of, at least in Busan.

Interestingly, most of Korea's most famous athletes do not play in Korea. These include Park Ji-Sung, who plays for Manchester United in Great Britain's Premier League, as well as almost a dozen Koreans who play in North America's Major League Baseball. The best known of these is the Los Angeles Dodgers' Chan Ho Park. Manchester United is quite popular because of the Park Ji-Sung connection, but I don't there's an overwhelming allegiance to any particular baseball team.

Another popular sporting figure in South Korea is the 7'2" kickboxer Choi Hong-Man, who dwarfs just about everyone. Choi is well-known because of his massive size and impressive record in the ring, but even despite his personal appeal, kickboxing is not a particularly popular sport here.

Almost all of my male students, as well as a number of my female students, attend taekwondo classes on a regular basis; it's not uncommon for boys to come to school in their taekwondo uniforms.

0 comments: