(upbeat electronic music)
- [Announcer] Baseball in Korea, is like nothing
you've ever seen.
And its fans, they're in a league of their own.
- [Announcer] The atmosphere at a game, it's cathartic,
it's cleansing.
No one cares what you look like or how badly you sing
or dance, as long as you're cheering for Lotte Giants,
everyone's happy together.
(crowd chanting in foreign language)
- [Announcer] Baseball was first brought to Korea in 1905
by American missionaries, and the people of South Korea
loved it; it became one of the country's
most popular sports, and in 1982,
Korea made its love of the game official
and formed the Korean Baseball Organization,
or KBO for short.
The league started with six teams.
Today, there are 10, and the Lotte Giants
from the city of Busan are one
of two inaugural franchises left.
Their fans are legendary.
(crowd cheering)
Their cheermaster is a celebrity.
(yelling in foreign language) (crowd cheering)
What's a cheermaster?
Don't worry, we'll get to that.
First, meet Lotte's most unlikely superfan.
- I came to Korea in 2008,
and I teach at a small university.
I was living in Ulsan, and we took a field trip
to Sajik Stadium, and, uh, it was just amazing.
Gradually, I've become a Lotte Giant's superfan, I guess.
(upbeat music)
- [Announcer] And, in the nine years
he's been going to games, he's become so well known
in the stands that people regularly stop
and ask to take photos with him.
- [Kerry] I really don't know why I became so famous
other than it's perhaps because I'm big
and I look like Santa Claus,
and in a crowd of 20,000 Koreans,
there are not many guys that look like me.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Announcer] Choi Joon Suk is a mountain of a man.
He's a first baseman, your prototypical masher
in the middle of the batting order.
He's known for crushing baseballs
and his epic bat flips.
Because in the KBO, bat flips are quite common,
and no big deal, whereas in the major leagues
in the States, it's seen as a sign of disrespect.
We'll just let the slugger explain this.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Announcer] OK, fine, not much to say.
What about you, foreign Major-Leaguer
and Lotte Giants team captain, Lee Dae Ho?
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Announcer] Some say it's nationalistic.
Some say it's entertaining.
And some say very little at all.
(upbeat music)
Regardless of theory, one thing is certain.
Bat flips are absolutely mesmerizing,
and in the KBO, you get your money's worth.
(classical music)
(announcers speaking in foreign language)
(upbeat music)
- I tell everyone that, to me,
the MLB is like an opera,
and the Lotte Giants at Sajik is like rock and roll.
(upbeat music)
The atmosphere, the energy.
And I only planned to go to a few games,
and for the last three years, I've had season tickets
at Sajik, so I'd probably been to about 120 games
every year for the last three years.
(chanting in foreign language)
I get asked a lot: Why do I go to so many games?
And, in one word, it's fun.
I'm, 63 years old, and I don't think I should apologize
for wanting to have fun.
- [Announcer] Rambunctious crowds, electric atmosphere,
and bat flips are all part of the KBO experience.
But what really sets the KBO apart is the cheermaster.
And, Lotte's is top dog.
So, what does a cheermaster do?
(screaming in foreign language)
(loud, thumping music)
(speaking in foreign language)
(chanting)
- Cho Ji-Hoon is so famous because of his skill,
because of his passion.
He is working almost 100% of the game.
He's talking, he's singing, he's dancing.
He is the heart of the Lotte Giants.
(upbeat electronic music)
(speaking in foreign language)
(chanting in foreign language)
(speaking in foreign language)
(singing in foreign language)
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Announcer] The Lotte Giants are Busan's
only professional sport's team.
The entire city rallies behind them.
They are a raucous and rambunctious fan base,
they make sure you feel, or rather, hear their presence.
(cheering)
(speaking in foreign language)
- I'm probably the luckiest man in Korea,
because I've made so many friends,
and had so many unique and special experiences
all because of baseball.
Many of my Korean friends speak very little English,
I speak very little Korean,
But, we have a common language.
And that language is the Lotte Giants.
(upbeat music)