Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

This past weekend we decided to add another sporting event to our list here in Korea. We’ve already seen a soccer match, and an international archery tournament so we figured it was time to catch some basketball.

Ulsan has it’s own team, Ulsan Mobis Phoebus and they were playing against Busan. They are both part of the Korean Basketball League. We booked our tickets online with the help of one of my co-teachers. We had pretty great seats really, we were sitting in the first and second row opposite the players benches. Tickets were a whopping 11,000 won (about $10)

We arrived at the stadium and were immediately greeted by two young Korean women. They were both university students volunteering with the stadium as part of an English interpreter program. Apparently, Sunday was the first day. Needless to say they were quite excited to have 9 foreigners show up. We were escorted to our seats with a photographer snapping away the whole time. I have a new appreciation for how celebrities feel. We took our seats just before the game started. I came expecting some decent basketball seeing as this is professional. I got a lot more.

No matter how many times it happens, I’m always surprised by the production and fanfare that goes into a Korean event. The whole experience felt a lot more like a circus than a b-ball game. There were cheerleaders, and mascots and someone who’s entire job was to lead the stadium in cheers. All of this is a normal part of a professional game, but it  is over the top in Korea.

The entire time the home team is in possession of the ball there is music playing and chanting in unison lead by the Elvis impersonator. When they take a shot a noise plays that is similar to a person running their fingers down a piano. When the opposition is in possession, they attempt to shout ‘defense’ but since they can’t pronounce f it comes out more like ‘depends’.

There is never a dull moment either. During time-outs the mascots and cheerleaders rush onto the court to dance or hand out free stuff. We got a free pizza! And of course, no sporting event is complete with out the halftime proposal.

All-in-all I’d say I got my money’s worth, but it wasn’t from the basketball.

Johann has put together a little video so you can get a feel for it. Enjoy! There’s also pictures on the photos page.