Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
'You can eat chicken, but you cannot shout': COVID-19 measures at ball games raise eyebrows
Baseball fans enjoy chicken and beer before the wild card match for the postseason between the Kiwoom Heroes and Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
By Lee Hae-rin
Baseball fans are questioning the effectiveness of regulations that allow spectators at sports matches to eat while banning them from cheering and chanting.
Over 10,000 baseball fans attended a postseason wild card match between the Kiwoom Heroes and Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Monday, the first day Korea began a phased return to normal by easing social distancing measures. It was the largest number of spectators to attend a sports match in Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Under the scheme, people who are fully vaccinated, have tested negative for the coronavirus within the last 48 hours or are under age 18, are allowed to attend indoor and outdoor sports games. Fully vaccinated people are also allowed to eat while watching the matches.
Spectators at Monday's game had chicken and beer, which are the most common choices of food and drink at sports stadiums here. According to their players' performance, the fans also cheered and chanted the team songs together.
But after the game, the health authorities said the cheering and chanting had violated social distancing regulations.
“Cheering and chanting are not allowed at baseball stadiums. We'll talk with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and clubs to ensure that the rules are kept,” senior health ministry official Son Young-rae said at a press briefing Tuesday.
Baseball fans cheer for their teams during a wild card game for the KBO postseason between the Kiwoom Heroes and Doosan Bears at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Monday. AP-Yonhap
Many baseball fans, however, said that the regulations are unrealistic and unreasonable, questioning whether the rules ― allowing eating and banning cheering ― could effectively prevent the spread of the coronavirus at sports matches.
“Banning cheering at games, even though everybody wears a mask, sounds like a contradiction. Eating food seems to make people more susceptible to airborne transmissions of the virus,” a Suwon-based Kiwoom Heroes fan who wished to remain anonymous, told The Korea Times, Tuesday.
A Lotte Giants fan, who asked to be identified only by her surname An, said, “It just makes no sense for baseball fans to remain silent while watching the game in a packed stadium, full of heat and energy.”
Regarding the complaint, Son said, “Even when wearing a mask, if people cheer and chant, they emit droplets, and the effectiveness of masks in preventing infections declines. In particular, as fully vaccinated people are allowed to eat, there is a high chance of them cheering while eating, with their masks off. Thus, cheering and chanting at any time could increase the risks of transmission.”
Baseball fans also complain of the rules that do not allow eating at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, the nation's only domed ballpark. “People can eat popcorn in movie theaters, but why can't we have food at Gocheok?” an internet user wrote on a portal site.
“To baseball fans, watching games in a stadium means eating and enjoying. I hope we can bring back the cheering culture we had before the pandemic, as we are returning to normalcy, step by step,” An said.