Korea to host Czech Republic in baseball exhibitions as WBC prep begins

In early tuneups for next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), South Korea will host the Czech Republic in a pair of exhibition games in Seoul on the weekend.

Games at Gocheok Sky Dome in the nation's capital, each starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, will be part of the "K-Baseball Series," launched in 2024 to give the national team a chance to compete against other countries during the offseason in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

The 2025 KBO season wrapped up on Oct. 31, and the national team, managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, opened training camp two days later. Players from the two Korean Series contestants, the LG Twins and the Hanwha Eagles, reported to camp on Tuesday, two days after the rest of the national team.

After playing the Czechs, South Korea will travel to Tokyo next week and take on Japan on Nov. 15 and 16 at Tokyo Dome.

South Korea, Japan and the Czech Republic are all in Pool C for the 2026 WBC, alongside Australia and Chinese Taipei. The top two teams from this group will advance to the next stage.

South Korea has not made it past the preliminary round in three consecutive WBCs -- 2013, 2017 and 2023 -- after reaching the semifinals at the inaugural tournament in 2006 and finishing as the runner-up to Japan in 2009.

The roster for these exhibition matches has 18 pitchers, three catchers, eight infielders and five outfielders -- a mix of established KBO stars and up-and-comers in their early 20s and, in the case of a couple of pitchers, still in their teens.

Manager Ryu has announced Doosan Bears right-hander Gwak Been as Saturday's starter. Gwak went 5-7 with a 4.20 ERA in 19 starts, after missing the early portion of the season with an oblique injury. He tied for the KBO lead last year with 15 wins.

Gwak is unlikely to be asked to handle typical starter's workload, with the manager ready to see as many of his pitchers as possible over these four games.

These games will be Ryu's first as the national team skipper. The former KBO star and manager was named to the national team post in January.

Ryu said Friday he will rest most of the players from the Twins and the Eagles and give them more time to recover from their recent postseason action. Those players, including All-Star third baseman Moon Bo-gyeong, slick-fielding second baseman Shin Min-jae, slugging infielder Roh Si-hwan and veteran center fielder Park Hae-min, will likely see action in the Japan games next week.