Sports in Korea

One thing that my time here has certainly not lacked is physical activity. There is an amazing range of sports and activities to fill your time in South Korea. I've been very fortunate to come to a place where I can make some good money, see a ton of cool places and do what I love to do which is playing sports. From as long as I can remember sports have been a major part of my life. Not only have they kept me in shape but also and probably more importantly have been a great way to meet new people who have similar interests.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge soccer buff, and obviously one of the first missions for myself when I got here was to find out where I could play. Luckily I had two teachers at my school from England and soccer was a sure bet. They had been playing for a team on Saturdays that travels all around Seoul for games. I got myself a spot on the team and things were looking up already one week in. Not only was it good quality soccer but also a good bunch of guys that has made life outside of teaching pretty awesome. There is now also pickup games I play during the week at a really nice field turf facility and on sundays with a bunch of Koreans. Needless to say, I have been playing my fair share of soccer over the last four months.

I have also found out that there are quite a few hockey fans out here. I have joined a really well organized Ball Hockey League. I play just next to the Olympic Stadium in Seoul. Pretty quality hockey as well (lots of Canadian here obviously). I think with the Olympic games held in Seoul in 1988, sports have come a long way and branched out to more than just the typical sport stereotypes of asian culture like Badminton and Ping-pong (which of course are very big here).

I see the wide variety of sporting activities being done here. The most popular ones would have to be baseball, soccer, tennis, badminton, golf, biking, and hiking. As I have previously mentioned, image and the appearance of things is very important in the Korean culture. The average Korean may not be great at these sports but you can bet your ass they will be dressed to the T with the most expensive equipment and clothing for it. But, as long as they look professional...