Though there are different stories regarding the origins of baseball, it was in the U.S. that the sport originally grew into the global game that is played today. In the U.S., already in the 1860s people were being paid to play the game and professional baseball leagues were budding up across the new nation. In the early 20th century, the sport was introduced in Korea by U.S. missionaries. Ever since, the sport has fascinated people all across Korea.

With the launch of the Korean baseball league in 1982, baseball diamonds nationwide have continued to attract the crowds. League spectators last year exceeded eight million, and during the season three cable TV sport channels broadcast live baseball games six days a week.

Amid this baseball fever, there's one diplomat who calls himself a true Korean baseball enthusiast.

Mark Lippert, who is from the home of modern baseball and is currently the U.S. ambassador to Korea, recently talked about his affection for Korean baseball in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo daily.

In the June 8 interview, titled "Baseball stadium fried chicken and beer makes my mouth water," the ambassador expanded on his deep affection for Korea and for Korean baseball. He said, in his fluent Korean, that he really enjoys the atmosphere at the stadiums, and he listed "chimaek," the Korean acronym for fried chicken and beer, and the baseball fans themselves as his favorite parts of the domestic baseball season. He said that the Korean league has its own peculiar devices to encourage the fans to participate in the games, saying that the cheers and songs yelled out for individual players, to the tune of popular songs, are brilliant. During the interview he even sang the song for Doosan Bears infielder Oh Jae-won, the newspaper said.

Not only the ambassador himself, but everyone in his whole family is a fan of Korean baseball, too, said the newspaper. His favorite domestic team is the Doosan Bears, though his son Sejun likes the Samsung Lions. He made clear that during last year's Korean Series between the Bears and the Lions, his wife and son wore Lions jerseys while he wore Bears jerseys. He said he greatly admires Minnesota Twins infielder Park Byung-ho, who now plays in the Major Leagues and who used to play for the Nexen Heroes. Along with Park, he also said that Bears infielder Oh Jae-won and pitcher Dustin Nippert are his favorite players.



Lippert also talked about the Korean players currently playing in the Major Leagues. "I'm happy that Korean players are doing so well in the U.S. and I'm proud of them," the ambassador said. "An understanding of each other's baseball leagues will grow among Korean and American baseball lovers, and I feel glad that we have achieved something, not only as a fan of Korean baseball, but also as a person who is devoted to the development of Korea-U.S. relations."

"Baseball, known as a truly American sport, has developed very uniquely here in Korea. In a very Korean way, the Korean baseball league has turned into a high-quality baseball league," said the ambassador. "The strength of Korea's soft power is that it changes, evolves and grows endlessly," he said, giving his own analysis of Korean soft power. "Korea, a nation that willingly accepts many factors from outside the peninsula, has taken baseball and has truly made it its own,," he said.

By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: captured from JoongAng Ilbo, Mark Lippert's Twitter account
icchang@korea.kr