Seoul – As a South Korean baseball fan, Shin Jae-woong had countless reasons to be excited about the opening of the Major League Baseball season in Seoul this week. For starters, these are the first ever regular season MLB games to take place in baseball-loving South Korea. And on top of that, the games feature multiple Korean stars, including Kim Ha-seong from the San Diego Padres.
But there is one player who stands out above the rest – Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani. Shin and his two young sons traveled all the way from their hometown of Gwangju to see Ohtani in action.
“I think Ohtani is out of this world. He’s on a whole other level as a player,” said Shin as he watched the Los Angeles Dodgers practice ahead of the series opener on Wednesday.
Ohtani, the do-it-all Japanese megastar, recently made headlines when he signed a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. His incredible talent draws massive crowds wherever he goes, and his popularity is not limited to Japan – he has throngs of fans in South Korea as well.
Eo Soo-young, a 38-year-old resident of Seoul, is one of those fans. “He has a good personality, he’s tall, he’s good-looking,” she said. “And as for any past issues, that’s all water under the bridge now.”
This week, it’s all about positive vibes as fans from South Korea and Japan come together to celebrate their shared love of American baseball. This event has become a showcase for the improved ties among the three countries.
“It’s almost become a trilateral event,” said Philip Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to Seoul. He attended the Wednesday game with several senior South Korean and Japanese officials and remarked that, “In this atmosphere of better relations, it brings even more luster.”
The relationship between Japan and South Korea has historically been strained, often due to issues related to atrocities committed by Japan during its brutal 1910-1945 occupation of Korea. However, when South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in 2022, he chose to focus on the future and has since expanded security cooperation and held several meetings with his counterpart, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
In recent years, there has been a shift towards improving relations between the two countries. This was evident in the planning for Kishida to attend Wednesday’s MLB opener in Seoul, possibly alongside President Yoon. However, the visit was called off due to potential controversy ahead of next month’s general election in South Korea, according to Japanese media reports.
“Even though the two governments have been able to smooth things over, this historical issue still remains unresolved. This leaves open the possibility of the relationship deteriorating in the future,” said Benjamin Engel, a professor at Seoul National University.
Despite any potential challenges, the ties between Japan and South Korea are warming, even at the people-to-people level. Recent polls suggest that a majority of young Koreans want to improve relations with Japan. This is also reflected in the increasing interest in Japanese cultural productions, such as anime, and commercial products like beer, in South Korea.
In an interview with VOA, Ambassador Goldberg expressed his optimism for the future of trilateral ties. “It just makes so much sense. It’s in the interests of all three countries,” he said. “There will be moments where we have to manage and go through different periods, but I believe there is a logic to all of this that will keep it going.”
And the presence of Ohtani – whom Koreans refer to as the “baseball genius” – certainly doesn’t hurt, at least according to many Korean baseball fans. They were impressed when Ohtani displayed nothing but warm words for South Korea during his pre-game comments to the media. This is in stark contrast to another Japanese baseball legend, Ichiro Suzuki, who stirred resentment among many Koreans with his taunting and sometimes insulting behavior towards their country.
“(Ohtani) just respects Korea…and that’s why other people respect him too,” said Ryoo Sung-kyu, a Seoul resident. “It’s a give and take, I think.”
In conclusion, the opening of the MLB season in Seoul is a momentous event for South Korean baseball fans, as it not only brings together their love for the sport but also symbolizes the improving relations between South
