How to See a Baseball Game in Seoul: Tickets, Atmosphere & What to Expect
Take me out to the ballgame, take me out with the crowds. Buy me some Cass Fresh and Turtle Chips, I don’t care if I never come back.
Baseball might be called “America’s Pastime” thanks to its deep roots in the United States, but the game has travelled well. Few places have embraced it quite like South Korea. And there, it isn’t just a sport: it’s an event.
With its massive, party-like atmosphere, synchronised cheering, singing, dancing, and a fried chicken-and-beer culture that borders on ritual, a Korean ballgame feels closer to a K-Pop concert that happens to have nine innings unfolding in the background.
With Amy a native Chicago Cubs supporter, and me having fully embraced the masochistic obligation to bleed Cubbie blue, it’s safe to say we know our way around a diamond. So on our last trip to South Korea, we made it a priority to score tickets to a game in Seoul — and promptly fell in love with the unique flavour of Korean ball. So much so that when we later tried to catch a game in Busan, we underestimated just how passionate (and how sold out) Korean baseball can be.
Why You Should See a KBO Game in Korea
On our last day in Seoul, we met a lovely older man from the US travelling with a tour group. Their whole mission was simple: visit as many ballparks around the world as possible. This bloke had seen a lot of baseball. For him, Korean baseball was something else entirely. A whole new game. We could have talked for hours, but his group was being taken out the ballgame.
When I start talking about baseball to most other people, especially here in Australia, I’m usually met with glazed eyes, confused head tilts, and a lecture about the superiority of cricket. But the thing about baseball in Korea is that you don’t have to care one iota about the sport itself. A KBO game day (or night) is less about innings and ERA, and more about steeping yourself in modern Korean culture.
It’s noise. It’s choreography. It’s chants led by professional cheer captains. It’s banging coloured balloon sticks in time to the beat. It’s fried chicken boxes stacked under plastic seats and beer flowing long before first pitch. Even if you don’t know a double play from a designated hitter.
How to Buy Baseball Tickets in Seoul (Step-by-Step)
As a visitor, buying tickets to a Seoul baseball game isn’t the easiest thing in the world but there are a couple of solid options.
Online
There are several online platforms, including Interpark (Global), that offer English-language pages and accept international credit cards. If you already know which teams are playing, you can also try booking directly through the club’s official website.
Third-party vendors such as Klook and GetYourGuide also sell ticket packages, often bundled with a beer or meal voucher. These can be convenient, but they’re noticeably pricier: we saw options starting around AUD $100 per person, which was almost triple what we paid for tickets.
For us, the easiest and cheapest option was to go straight to the stadium and buy tickets in person
On site (At the box office)
First, you need to know there are two main stadiums in Seoul: Jamsil Baseball Stadium (in Songpa, near Gangnam) and Gocheok Sky Dome, which you probably glimpsed on your way in from Incheon Airport. In our case, we chose Jamsil simply because it was closer.
Get there early — Tickets usually go on sale 1.5 to 2 hours before first pitch, and you’ll want to be there when the box office opens. (We arrived even earlier and there was already a healthy queue forming). Weeknights are your friends.
Line up at the right gate — Jamsil is large and multi-levelled, so make sure you’re at the correct ticket window. (See the photo below.) If you exit Sports Complex Station via Exits 5 or 6, the main box office is directly in front of you.
Choose your seat — Prices range from roughly ₩8,000 to ₩53,000 (about USD $6–$40), depending on the section. The famous “orange section” is the dedicated cheering block — intense, loud, and enormous fun. Don’t stress about language barriers. The ticket staff are used to visitors and promptly pulled out a large laminated seating chart for us.
Find your gate and seat — Give yourself time. Jamsil is a bit of a concrete maze. You’ll need to locate your gate, then your section, row, and seat number. It’s straightforward once you’re inside, but it’s not exactly intimate. Look out for for something like:
309블록 11열 112 좌석
This would be Section 309, Row 11, Seat 112. The Gate number should be right above that and look slightly larger.
If you can’t make it to the stadium early enough, we also noticed that some nearby convenience stores and the Starfield shopping mall had remote ticket kiosks available.
Book in advance if you have limited time
We had the luxury of a couple of weeks in South Korea, so we didn’t need a specific night locked in. If you’re on a tighter schedule, or just want the certainty of a ticket in hand before you go, it’s worth exploring the online options.
What the Atmosphere Is Actually Like
Even on a Wednesday night, baseball at Jamsil is hopping.
What struck us first while lining up was how many younger fans, particularly school-aged kids, were there. Tickets are surprisingly affordable. Our seats, just off the visitor's cheer section and slightly to the left of home plate, were ₩22,000 (around AUD $21 / USD $15). And they weren’t even the cheapest.
We ended up beside a lovely Canadian couple as innocent in the ways of Korean baseball as we were. I’ve never felt more like a fish out of water. But within minutes we were wrapped up in it.
An entire bank of seats would erupt into a synchronised song-and-dance routine, perform it flawlessly, then reset and do it again on a loop. Only we — and our new Canadian mates — stood there blinking, lyricless. It was so electric we almost missed the first pitch.
Home team legends the LG Twins faced crosstown rivals the Kiwoom Heroes, with the Twins shutting the Heroes out 12–0. With cheap Cass Fresh flowing, we became instant experts, providing our own enthusiastic (and entirely unnecessary) colour commentary. By the third trip back to the shop, the staff just saw me approaching and said, “Cass Fresh?” Maybe I was the only one who didn’t think to bring their own beer which, as it turned out, was something you could totally do.
Then a man drifted past wearing a Terra Beer backpack, dispensing draft beer from a portable tap like some kind of beverage angel. We bought a large plastic bottle of Terra from him…and promptly failed to open it. The Canadians joined in. Skin was lost. Pride evaporated. A local man in front of us casually twisted them open for us without breaking stride. His girlfriend’s reaction made the night:
“Korea power!”
And that, more than the score, is why you go to Korean baseball.
Our Game Day Tips for Visitors
Seeing a major event in another country can be daunting,especially when you’re navigating language barriers and unfamiliar systems. Here’s how to make your Korean baseball experience as smooth as possible.
Get there early — Whether it's to buy tickets or to soak up the atmosphere, give yourself at least 1.5 hours before the game starts.
Weekday games offer best availability — It goes without saying: the most popular teams and Fridays/weekends attract crowds.
Bring your own food and beer — What surprised us the most was that you could bring your own beer and other outside food and beverages into the games. There's a G25 convenience store, Dominos pizza, friend chicken and other fast food staples around the complex. Our advice? Save your money and time and grab something on your way.
Sitting in the cheering zone — It’s an amazing atmosphere, but be prepared to be constantly on your feet and surrounded by the mega fans.
Busan’s Pokemon x Giants collaboration was almost as popular as the game that night.
Our Failed Attempt in Busan
We didn’t take our own advice above and missed out on a game in Busan. We hadn’t planned on seeing a second matchup, but after the high of Seoul we wanted to keep the good vibes rolling on our trip south. In our naïvety, we assumed that because Busan is smaller than Seoul, we’d be able to rock up on the night and grab tickets without much fuss.
We were very wrong.
A few hours before first pitch, we turned up at Sajik Baseball Stadium and headed straight for the self-service machines. Nothing. Not a single seat available. We circled around to the ticket office. With Google Translate mediating, we got to the heart of the matter quickly enough: sold out.
What we’d failed to anticipate was just how devoted the local crowd is to the Lotte Giants — one of the most popular teams in the entire KBO. This wasn’t a sleepy midweek fixture. This was an event. The pilgrimage wasn’t entirely wasted — we at least got a photo with the giant Pikachu statue outside the stadium.
Hours later, with our tails between our legs, we were sitting in a Busan bar with the game on the television watching the home team storm to victory. It wasn’t quite the same, but we at least tried to be a part of it.
Should you see a baseball game in South Korea?
Emphatically, yes.
We’re not sports people for the most part, but this sat right at the top of our South Korea to-do list. It delivered. The next time we visit, we’ll be booking our seats in advance, grabbing a bucket of vegan fried ‘chicken’, a couple of six-packs, and root-root-rooting for the home team.
Whoever that happens to be on the night.
