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Baseball in South Korea has been popular since the , and as of ***, around ** percent of the population stated baseball was their favorite sport. Football or soccer followed closely behind in terms of popularity, with just over half of the population considering themselves fans of the sport.

The KBO League

The KBO League, the most popular sports league in South Korea, includes *** franchises and offers the highest level of baseball in the country. Earning a place in a team in this league is considered very prestigious, with the highest paid players earning between *** to *** billion South Korean won in 2019. The Kia Tigers are the most successful team overall, winning the most championships in the leagues’ almost 40-year history. During the 2018 season, the Doosan Bears had the highest win rate in the league.

Sport spectatorship

The number of people who attended a KBO League match was over **** times greater than those who attended a K-league football match in 2018. This could be largely due to the fact that there were significantly more baseball matches – around *** – during this season compared to soccer matches. As larger and more modern sports complexes are built in South Korea, the attendance numbers for both baseball and football matches in the country looks set to continue to increase.