Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Conrad B Hart]

When, If I come to Korea i'd be interested in joining and playing for a sports team (especially whilst I'm still young and fit enough to compete). So I'm just wondering if any of you guys (and girls) play in any teams and which sports.
I'm particularly interested to know if anyone plays in a mostly Korean team or one that's mixed, or whether it's a 'foreigner only' league.

I'm aware that it largely depends on the area you're living in. But how easy is it to find and join an amateur sports team over there? Please tell me that on-line gaming isn't the most popular 'sport'.

Any comments, info and mostly shared personal experiences greatly appreciated. As a side issue I'd mostly be interested in playing football (soccer), American Football or perhaps trying something new like baseball. But not just on Wii.

[Cohiba]

There is an almost limitless supply of foreigner organized (with Koreans
and any other nationality obviously welcome) sports teams in the Seoul
area. In other parts of the country I am not sure. Probably pretty hit
and miss. Maybe Busan, Daegu and Daejon have some teams. Anything
smaller and I'd bet you'd be out of luck. For the best range of options I
would stay in Seoul.

[Conrad B Hart]

I think one of the things I'll miss about the UK is the sports and music scene. I keep reading about Brits getting lazier and more obese, yet I can still go to even a pretty small village anywhere in the Country and there will always be a sports team that I can join within a very small distance.
I keep reading how football (soccer) and baseball are really popular team sports in Korea, but I'm thinking they probably just mean watching.

So for playing sports it seems it's Seoul or bust.

[riverboy]

I'm the only foreigner playing in my baseball league in Incheon.

[Binch Lover]

For soccer, there are two foreigner leagues in Seoul:

Seoul Saturday Soccer League: http://seoulsaturdaysoccerleague.com/
Lower standard, mainly dirt pitches but generally games are centrally located in Seoul.

Seoul Sunday Football League: http://ssflkorea.com/
Higher standard, mainly turf pitches, but games take place all around Seoul and satellite cities due to the difficulty of finding decent turf fields in central Seoul.

Team contacts are available on the respective league websites.

For midweek games, a guy called Sun runs a mixed foreigner/Korean team that plays against Korean teams just outside northwest Seoul near Gupabal and Samsong stations on the orange line. See this thread: http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=162033&highlight=

To play with Koreans, you could find your local community turf field and just hang out and ask to play. I know several people who have played with Korean teams this way. Be aware that it's a different style of football, however. A bit more gentle, let's say.

[diver]

Daejeon has ice hockey, soccer and baseball.

[Conrad B Hart]

Hey. Thanks for those 'soccer links', though as I'm by no means guaranteed to be placed in the Seoul area I'm of course still looking for any kind of sporting activities in other areas. Surely cities like Busan and Daegu have sports leagues??
As for those other sports mentioned (ice hockey and baseball). Do you have any links? (though it's highly unlikely I'll ever try ice hockey). Cheers.

[diver]

[Conrad B Hart]