'Came for the food, baseball was a bonus': Inside Korea’s ballpark food culture
Content featuring baseball stadium food is actively being posted on social media. Captured from YouTube
Korea’s baseball stadium food craze: How ‘yapu’ became part of the ballpark experience
“I came here to eat, and they’re showing me baseball and playing music.”
A post on social media joking that food is the main reason to visit a baseball stadium is a surprisingly accurate depiction of Korean baseball stadium culture these days.
Stadium concessions have become such an essential part of the ballpark experience that a newly coined term, “yapu” — a blend of the Korean word for baseball, "yagu," and the English word "food" — is now widely used among fans.
Food matters as much as the game
According to an April 13 report by social data analysis service Sometrend, mentions of the keywords “watching baseball” and “attending games in person” on Naver blogs in March increased 73 percent from a year earlier.
Stadium concessions have been drawing increasing attention recently. In September last year, during the latter part of the season, blog mentions of “baseball food” or “yapu” reached an all-time high of 1,506, with some fans even saying they were “more excited about the baseball food than the baseball itself.”
This enthusiasm for food was also found in a survey of baseball stadium visitors conducted by the Korea Professional Sports Association last year. The survey, conducted with 9,321 visitors between August and September, asked which factors affected their experience of the game. Stadium concessions ranked fourth in importance, scoring 4.48 out of 5. The other top factors were clear sightlines for watching the game, access to public transportation and the overall cleanliness and comfort of the facilities.
Instagram posts show content related to “yapu,” or baseball stadium food. Captured from Instagram
Kang Hye-min, a 26-year-old college student who became a Hanwha Eagles fan last year and has been going to ballparks ever since, said the food is especially important when she visits a stadium she has never been to before.
“It is usually hard to get a good seat unless the game is played at your home stadium. But even if the view is not great, good food and a lively atmosphere still make it a fun experience,” she said.
Lee Sang-min, a 24-year-old LG Twins fan, also stressed the importance of food at the ballpark.
“Of course, it’s best when we win. But even if we are losing by a wide margin, thinking ‘at least I get to eat something delicious' makes me feel better," he said.
The rising importance of stadium concessions has led to a wider variety of food options. In the 1990s and 2000s, the ballpark dining experience was mostly beverages and simple finger foods. Now, menus have expanded to full meals such as traditional dishes like seasoned raw beef, sushi, grilled intestines, dumplings and even sweet and spicy fried chicken.
Kim Sung-hyeon, a 58-year-old Doosan Bears fan and frequent visitor to Jamsil Stadium, recalled how much ballpark food has changed.
“Stadium food in the 1990s and 2000s was pretty much just dried squid and boiled eggs. Now, when I look at what younger fans are holding in their hands, I can really see how much the menu has diversified,” he said.
Fans tour stadiums in search of food
Fans say that stadium cuisine really shines when they travel to watch away games. When visiting stadiums, they try local dishes either at the park or famous restaurants in the area. Fans already have a well-established line-up, including kimchi noodle soup at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, baseball-shaped bread at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, fried shrimp in cream sauce at Incheon SSG Landers Field, and noodles and dumplings from Boyoung Mandoo or fried chicken from Jinmi Tongdak near Suwon KT Wiz Park.
“Whenever I go to away games, I always make sure to bring local food with me into the stadium. Local food makes the atmosphere feel even more lively,” Kang said.
To capitalize on the trend, food and retail companies are expanding their presence at baseball stadiums. Pizza franchise Banolim Pizza opened its third stadium store at Incheon SSG Landers Field this season, joining its outlets at Changwon NC Park and Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark.
Food and restaurant franchise company Theborn Korea, meanwhile, operated eight locations at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark last year and introduced menus designed especially for spectators.
A blog post introduces various menu items such as tteokbokki, fried snacks and gimbap. Captured from Naver Blog
To baseball fans, stadium cuisine is more than just food. It has become a way to record and share the experience of attending games in person.
“I always include food when taking an I-was-there photo,” Kang said. “With the food, visuals are as important as taste and variety. I like taking pictures of my food at each stadium and keeping them as a record.”
Experts say the trend is part of a broader transformation in sports spectatorship.
“Going to a baseball stadium today means choosing the ballpark as one of many consumption and leisure activities. Ballparks have become complex cultural spaces where cheering culture and ‘sportainment’ — a combination of sports and entertainment — converge,” said Nam Sang-baek, a professor in the Department of Sport Science at Hanyang University.
This article from the Hankookilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.