Korea to host Czechia in exhibition baseball games in Seoul

KBO Commissioner Heo Koo-youn, right, and Czech Ambassador to Korea Ivan Jancarek pose together after signing an agreement during a ceremony at the KBO headquarters, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Korea will host the Czech Republic for a pair of baseball exhibition games in Seoul this fall under an agreement signed Monday.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced it reached a deal with the Czech Baseball Association to pit their respective national teams against each other on Nov. 8 and 9 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

KBO Commissioner Heo Koo-youn and Czech Ambassador to Korea Ivan Jancarek signed the agreement during a ceremony at the KBO headquarters Monday.

The KBO said the two matches will be part of the "K-Baseball Series" launched in 2024 with exhibition games against Cuba, designed to give the national team a chance to compete against other countries during the KBO offseason.

After playing Czechia, Korea will travel to Tokyo to face Japan on Nov. 15 and 16.

Czechia is an emerging baseball country, ranked 15th in the World Baseball Softball Federation rankings — the third-highest position among European nations.

Czechia made its World Baseball Classic (WBC) debut in 2023 and competed in Pool B alongside Korea, Japan, Australia and China. The European team will also play at next year's WBC, up against Korea, Japan, Australia and Chinese Taipei in Pool C.

"I am pleased to invite the Czechia national team, a baseball power in Europe, for games here in Korea," Heo said. "We hope that these games will further strength the friendly relations between the two countries, which already have a strong industrial connection, and will also help both of our national teams to have success at next year's WBC."

Ambassador Jancarek said the baseball agreement is the latest proof that the bilateral relations between Czechia and Korea will only continue to get better.

Petr Ditrich, president of the Czech Baseball Association, thanked the KBO for extending its invitation to his national team, saying that Czechia looks up to the Korean national team as its role model and it will try to learn more from the host country come November.