Sporting rivalries run deep at Korean universities

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Published: 15 Feb. 2023, 15:56 Updated: 02 Mar. 2023, 15:26

Sporting rivalries run deep at Korean universities

Yonsei University students cheer during the 2022 Korea-Yonsei derby's baseball game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Oct. 27, 2022. [YONHAP]

There’s a lot of reason to be proud of your university, from academic achievements and fancy campuses to famous alumni and global rankings. But only one thing draws cheering students out in their thousands to support their school — its prowess on the pitch.

Like many countries around the world, Korea is home to some fierce intercollegiate sporting rivalries. Instead of boat races or semi-professional American football games, it’s on the regular football pitch where many universities here initially started duking it out for bragging rights.

Since 2008, interuniversity sports in Korea have been organized into the KUSF College Sports U-League. The existence of the league helps reinforce the existing sports rivalries, introduce new ones and let everybody know exactly where they stand in the nationwide competition.

The league was initially established solely for football. It has gradually expanded over the years to also include baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soft tennis and volleyball.

The size of the league has also grown, with more than 110 universities now competing. Universities now compete predominantly in regional divisions, with the best teams advancing to a national league.

The expansion of the U-League has helped boost some of the more intense university rivalries, including the most famous one of all: The Korea-Yonsei derby.

Undoubtedly the best-known university sports rivalry in Korea today, the competition between Korea University and Yonsei University started in the 1920s, long before the foundation of the U-League.

But the competitive spirit between the two sides has become more intense as they clash more often in the U-League, as well as in their own annual derby weekend.

The two elite universities compete across five different sports in the annual Korea-Yonsei derby: Football, basketball, ice hockey, rugby and baseball. None of these results count toward the U-League, so it’s purely bragging rights on the table.

Having first played a football game in 1927 during the Japanese occupation period, the two sides added the four other sports over the following decades.

Students from Korea University and Yonsei University play basketball during a derby game at Jangchung Arena in Jung District, central Seoul in 1965. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The enrolled students and even some alumni sometimes attend the games, which can be so big that they have to be held in some of Seoul’s big sporting venues like the Seoul Jamsil Gymnasium and Seoul Olympic Stadium, which can hold up to 60,000 spectators.

“The Korea-Yonsei derby was the event I most looked forward to,” said Lee Hye-lin, a Korea University graduate in 2021. “Winning the derby made it feel like a festival, so I was excited because it made every one of us feel like we’d achieved something.

“I miss those days whenever I see the Korea-Yonsei derby on Instagram or YouTube. It brings back the fun memories and makes me want to go back to there.”

Korea and Yonsei’s competition over in the U-League has also been noticeable as the two sides have dominated football in the league, having won two titles each since 2008.

Korea University students cheer during the 2002 Korea-Yonsei derby baseball game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Oct. 27, 2022. [YONHAP]

Their competition in the U-League almost acts like an extension of the Korea-Yonsei derby because they play all the same sports except rugby.

Korea and Yonsei are also two of the few universities that play four sports in the league: Both competing in baseball, basketball, football and ice hockey.

The Korea-Yonsei competition is not the only rivalry that has continued to develop through the U-League.

Outside of Seoul, local rivalries can be found across the country. One especially fierce rivalry pits Jeonju University against Honam University, two schools on either side of the North Jeolla-South Jeolla divide.

Jeonju University is located in North Jeolla, while Honam University is situated in the metropolitan city of Gwangju which, although technically separate, sits right in the heart of South Jeolla. The two schools’ football teams are regarded as the best in the southwest of Korea.

The derby between the two sides’ does not have a formal name, however, as its history is not as long as the Korea-Yonsei derby.
Both universities joined the U-League in 2008 and have shown their class in football as they topped their region on several occasions.

Jeonju University’s football team has topped the region seven times and won the league title once in the 2021 season, while Honam University finished first five times but have not won the league yet.

The two sides belonged to the same region last season, and Jeonju University was dominant in the derby, beating Honam University twice.
Jeonju beat their rivals 2-1 on their home ground on April 1, 2022, before securing a 5-2 victory in Gwangju on June 17.

Jeonju University’s performance in the U-League has earned them the nickname Jeolla’s Juventus because of the university logo similar to the Italian football club’s emblem.

The U-League and the Korea-Yonsei derby weekend is not the only venue where student athletes compete.

Back in the capital, Seoul National University and Hanyang University in 2018 attempted to introduce a new rivalry dubbed the “Battle for the Capital.” The idea behind the rivalry focused on the university’s names — Seoul National University is named after Seoul, while Hanyang was the ancient name for the capital city during the Joseon Dynasty.

The students from the two universities competed to see who was the ultimate representative of the city across various events, including volleyball, basketball and even hip-hop performances.

Seoul National University emerged successful, claiming itself as the true capital university with the score across all event at 8-5.

The two sides have not held the capital derby since, canceling a planned rematch in 2019, but the rivalry has persisted in the U-League.

Hanyang snatched the title of the true capital of Korea from their local rivals last season, claiming a perfect victory in baseball in May and also triumphing in football in September.

University rivalries across the country will likely be reinforced in the upcoming seasons since the U-League adopted a relegation and promotion system last season in an attempt to increase competition in the league.

Dankook University becomes the first ever university to win the first division U-League football tournament at Gimcheon University on Nov. 16, 2022. The division system was introduced for the first time last year. [YONHAP]

The upcoming 2023 U-League season will kick off in mid-March, shortly after Korean universities begin the academic year.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]