South Koreans love baseball. They have a professional baseball league with 9 teams spanning the country. However, a Korean game of baseball is slightly different than an American game. Though the rules are the same, the players' cultural etiquette causes them to approach the game from a different angle. The Busan Haps, a Korean newspaper geared towards expatriates, states that, "In the Korean league, umpires are apt to apologize for an unfavorable call and some change their minds as a gesture of politeness." Korean culture emphasizes social harmony to such an extent that it even has an effect on the nation's approach to professional baseball. Fascinating!
Today I learned that the city of Gwangju has its own professional baseball team: the Kia Tigers! These guys are apparently pretty awesome, like the Korean equivalent of the New York Yankees in the 1990s. They hold 9 National Championship titles, and have only been around for a quarter century! I'm definitely trying to hit up some games.
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Remind me sometime to tell you about this really interesting research going on on my campus, about how genetics can affect social behavior. It's really awesome.
ReplyDeleteGet me a hat! I love the Kia Tigers!
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