Hwaseong-gun, Gangwon-do, a county known for its beef and ddeok, is now laying the groundwork to become a baseball mecca. The KBO and Hwangeong are strengthening their cooperation in hopes of achieving a “win-win” effect, not only in promoting baseball and sports, but also in revitalizing the local economy.
The final of the ‘2023 KBO CUP FAN Club Baseball Tournament,’ organized by the KBO, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hyundai Motor Company, and Dong Aotsuka, ended with NC (Apos) winning the title with a 7-2 victory over KIA (ARES).
The tournament, held at the KBO Baseball Center in Hwaseong, Gangwon-do on the 18th and 19th, aims to revitalize purely amateur club baseball leagues and expand the baseball base through the realization of ‘happy baseball’ that the whole family can enjoy together.
Ten teams selected through a story contest from local fan clubs and teams participating in club baseball leagues participated in the competition, and the winner was determined through a 10-team tournament.
Retired KBO players Lee Sung-woo and Kim Yong-ui (LG), Ahn Young-myung and Shin Myung-chul (KT), Park Myung-hwan and Jeong Soo-min (NC), Kim Tae-hoon and Jeong Young-il (SSG), Jang Won-jin and Cha Myung-joo (Doosan), Kim Jong-mo and Kim Min-woo (KIA), Yoon Hak-gil and Kang Sung-woo (Lotte), Jung In-wook and Lim Dae-hwan (Samsung), Song Jin-woo and Song Kwang-min (Hanwha), and Kim Yong-dal and Kim Kyu-min (Kiwoom) participated as daily coaches and mentors and worked together with their fellow baseball players.
The Hwaseong area of Gangwon-do Province came alive with the tournament. It was bustling with players, families, and tournament officials. This is the process of forming a link between baseball and local economic revitalization. 보스토토 도메인
In recent years, the Hwaksung KBO Baseball Center has been hosting a variety of amayage events. In June 2022, KBO President Heo Gu-yeon and Hwaseong County Mayor Kim Myung-ki discussed how to revitalize Hwaseong Baseball Theme Park, which has been operating since 2016.
In December 2022, Hwaseong-gun, Gijang-gun, Busan, and Bo-eun-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do were finally selected as KBO Baseball Centers. The KBO Baseball Center is a baseball cluster promotion project that gathers infrastructure that has been desperately needed for the sustainable growth of the baseball industry and the establishment of a healthy ecosystem, such as the expansion of the baseball industry’s current problems, the lack of training sites and educational infrastructure for professional and amateur baseball teams, and the expansion of opportunities for student baseball skills and character education.