Standing Room Only

What seemed like a good idea at the time proved to be a popular notion among everyone in Seoul—"let's go to a baseball game on Children's Day." A no-school holiday in honor of all the lovely children, May 5 offered my co-workers and I a day without paperwork, classrooms, and most importantly... students. With a warm, sunny day in the forecast we decided to buy tickets for a much anticipated baseball game. Like America, Korea has a summer baseball season and a fleet of teams to choose from:  Wyverns, Lions, Giants, Bears—oh my. 

As we stepped off the subway it was evident that our "great idea" was maybe the worst one we'd ever had. Of course, with no school or work families were seeking the perfect afternoon activity to keep their kids occupied; and the stadium offered free tickets for each precious angel. Flooded with bodies, the walkways leading to the stadium were difficult to navigate as children wove through the crowds like pesky flies. 

When we finally reached the entrance we were instructed to locate our standing-room only section along the top perimeter of the stadium. Standing room only! The tickets had oversold (perhaps they didn't keep track of all the free children) and there were no available seats left. The tickets we had purchased were for unassigned seats in the nose-bleed section, but our late arrival left us out of luck. In denial, we entered the stadium determined to find 9 seats together, however, it became quite clear that we would not even locate one single empty chair. We had no choice but to traverse the dangerous stairs and head toward the standing section along the top. The climb was made more treacherous by the amount of people who thought sitting on stairs was a safe and intelligent idea. 

Along the top perimeter of the stadium, hundreds of people huddled up for a peek at the field. Some chose to opt out of the visual excitement and instead made impromptu picnics on the ground using sheets of cardboard they had brought with them. After losing half of our group and our patience, we decided to take a break and shop for souvenirs. We had already made our minds up earlier to cheer for the Doosan Bears so it was only a matter of selecting the best merchandise. 

Over half-way through the game while standing behind the "expensive" seats, luck cut us some slack. A group of school children vacated their seats taking with them all of their belongings and chaperones so we seized the opportunity and sat up close and personal with first base. Unfortunately, the Bears were unable to gain any runs and we watched our new team get embarrassingly smashed into the ground by the LG Twins. 

Next time we'll splurge and spend the $30 for front row tickets. Yes, it's only $30 for the premium seats! Until then... good game, good game.

The standing section for hundreds of bummed people without seats just like us.

During our shopping time-out we even spotted a Build-A-Bear stand!

Finally sitting! And in good seats, too—10th row from the field.