Home > Sports > Baseball

KBO attracts over 7 million fans for the first half the season ever

Published: 03 Jul. 2025, 13:24

Fans watch a KBO game between the Lotte Giants and Doosan Bears at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on June 6. [NEWS1]

Korea’s professional baseball league set a new milestone by attracting more than 7 million fans in the first half of the season for the first time in history.

The KBO said Wednesday that a total of 76,723 fans attended games held across five stadiums nationwide. With that, the total attendance for the 2025 KBO League reached 7,007,765, marking the first time the league has surpassed the 7 million mark in the first half.

The previous record for reaching 7 million fans was set in 2024, when it took 487 games to hit the milestone. This year, the league achieved the same feat in just 405 games.

Among Wednesday’s matchups, the game in Daejeon was a sellout with 17,000 fans. Other attendance figures included 20,661 in Busan, 20,448 in Jamsil, southern Seoul, 11,827 in Gwangju and 6,787 in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

The average attendance per game this season stands at 17,303 — the highest ever — significantly surpassing last year’s average of 14,529. The league is now well on track to break the 10 million mark in total attendance for the second consecutive year.

On the field Wednesday, the SSG Landers defeated the Kia Tigers 8-5 in Gwangju, ending Kia’s four-game winning streak. In Busan, the Lotte Giants avenged their previous day’s loss by beating the LG Twins 5-2. The NC Dinos also bounced back from a loss, shutting out the Hanwha Eagles 2-0 in Daejeon.

KT Wiz beat the Kiwoom Heroes 4-2 in Suwon, and the Doosan Bears blanked the Samsung Lions 5-0 in Jamsil.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KO BONG-JUN [[email protected]]