Despite being an Asian community, South Korea remains receptive to European and Western culture in general. The country shares some core values, lifestyles, and cultural leanings with countries like the U.S. and South Korea is one of the few countries in Asia where sports like American football and baseball enjoy massive support.
So, if you are heading to Korea as an expat, you might be surprised to discover that some of your favorite sports back home are actually in huge demand in Korea too, meaning that nothing is stopping you from catching up with your sports. The love for these sports is so great in Korea that some broadcasting companies even offer you live matches for free. For example, 먹튀폴리스 - which is one of the biggest sports broadcasting company in South Korea - offers you NBA, EPL, NFL, and MLB for free.
However, unlike association football (soccer), American football is not a very popular sport outside the United States. In recent years, though, the popularity of the sport has been rapidly increasing across the globe. The huge support and popularity that American football receives at home seem to have spread in countries where there are either large populations of Americans or where there is a huge appetite for American culture. South Korea is one of those countries where American culture is highly appreciated. But, just how popular is this sport in the Southern part of great Korea?
Reception of sports in Korea
To fully understand the popularity of American football in Korea, it is important to first understand the most popular sports in the country.
As we've mentioned before, the Korean culture is quite synonymous with the American culture in terms of lifestyle, entertainment, and sports. Therefore, sports like baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and even archery enjoy a massive level of support in Korea, much like they do in the United States.
Most popular sports in South Korea
Baseball: Without an iota of doubt, baseball is, indeed, the most popular sport in Korea with its huge level of supports and views. Over the past couple of decades, South Koreans have enjoyed watching, playing, practicing, and getting involved with baseball one way or another. Such is the kind of love Koreans have for baseball. Polling in 2018 indicates that a majority, 23.4% of South Korean sports fans continue to self-identify as baseball fans.
European Football (Soccer): Just behind baseball on the cadre of sports popularity in Korea is European football, popularly called soccer in America. This sport has been massively followed by many South Koreans over the years thanks to the frequent participation of the country in global football events like the World Cup. Additionally, many South Koreans have also made names for themselves through the sport, with popular players like Son Heung-min, Park Ji-sung, Ki Sung-Yeung, and Park Chu-young all hailing from South Korea. Hence the support for this sport! According to the same polling described above, 19.2% of respondents confirmed themselves to be football fans.
After football, the other most popular sports are basketball, archery, and swimming. So, this then begs the question: what exactly is the status of American football in Korea?
The status of American football in Korea
From the above descriptions, it is clear that American football isn't among the first five most-watched or followed sport in the country. This is because the sport is neither heavily played in the country, nor does it have huge numbers in terms of fans. Nevertheless, there is a league in the country which is made up of two divisions: The North Division and the South Division. The most popular teams in the league include:
- Seoul Vikings
- Seoul Golden Eagles
- Daegu Phoenix
- Busan Gryphons
One might be wondering how the sport - American football - became a part of the Korean culture. Well, the truth is that most Koreans are big fans of the U.S. entertainment industry. Blockbuster movies often feature American football as part of the culture, and by doing this, the sport's popularity has been able to grow in Korea. While most Koreans may not be an active lover of the sport, they all know about it.
The general perception of American football
Considering that a large number of Koreans know about American football, the next logical question is - what do they think about it? In Korea, the general perception of this sport among the people is indifferent. While some Koreans love it because of its high intensity, entertainment, and quick nature, some don't fancy it because of its physical nature (Many Koreans don't fancy physical sports). But as we've mentioned before, this indifference has not stopped the biggest broadcasting companies in the country from broadcasting live American football matches. Some do for free!
Indeed, while there is an actively running Korea American Football Association, South Korea has not managed to get any accolades in the sport outside the country. By and large, it can be deduced that American football is still in its formative stage in South Korea.
