How to Watch a KBO Game in Seoul With a Local

There are two ways to watch a KBO game in Seoul with a local: go with a Korean friend who supports a team, or book a small-group game night on HanBuddy, where a Korean buddy meets you an hour before the game with your ticket and stadium food included and teaches you the cheering songs. Either way, the local next to you is what turns a ballgame into a night out.

How does a HanBuddy game night work?

HanBuddy is a platform that connects travelers and foreign residents in Korea with local buddies. A buddy is a Korean local who hosts a small-group experience in English and goes with you. HanBuddy's team checks every buddy before they host (FAQ).

What the buddy does. The evening follows the schedule on the experience page:

1. Meet your buddy (15 minutes) and hear the plan for the day and how entry works.
2. Enter the stadium together and find your seats (20 minutes).
3. Pick up food and drinks and learn the basic cheering moves (25 minutes).
4. Watch the game (about 180 minutes) while your buddy explains what is happening, teaches each cheering song, and takes photos with you.

What is included. The match ticket and stadium food. Each experience page lists what is included (FAQ).

Who it suits. First-time visitors to a Korean ballpark, solo travelers and foreign residents who want company. Guests come solo, as couples and with friends, and everyone sits together. No Korean or baseball knowledge is needed. Game nights are for guests aged 19 and older.

Track record. Since June 2026 HanBuddy has hosted 8 game nights for 20 guests, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 from 15 guest surveys (June to October 2026). One guest said it "felt like spending time with friends" (About).

What is it like going with a Korean friend?

If you already know someone who follows a team, ask them three things before the day: who buys the tickets, which side you will sit on, and whether they will teach you their team's songs. Clubs open sales on a fixed schedule (LG Twins tickets went on sale seven days before each game in 2026), so agree early on who books. Sitting on the home side near the cheering section gives you the full experience, and a fan friend can explain each player's song as the batter comes up.

Do I need my own ticket?

Not if you go with HanBuddy: the match ticket is included in the price, and your buddy has it ready when you meet (FAQ). If you go with a friend, one of you buys tickets through the home club's official ticketing partner.

How do I buy KBO tickets myself?

Through the home club's official ticketing partner, linked from the club's website. For the 2026 season, LG Twins home tickets were sold on Ticketlink from 11:00 seven days before each game, up to 8 per person per game, with a 1,000 won booking fee per ticket. LG's page lists a Ticketlink Global call center (1644-3850) for foreign buyers (LG Twins). These rules were checked on November 8, 2026; recheck them for 2027, as partners and rules can change.

If online booking does not work for you, a HanBuddy game night takes ticketing off your hands.

When is the KBO season, and how do I check game dates?

The season runs from spring to autumn. The 2026 season opened on March 28 with 10 clubs playing 144 games each (Korea Times). For any season, check the official schedule on the KBO website, and check open game-night dates on the HanBuddy experience pages.

Which stadiums will Seoul teams use in 2027?

• Jamsil Olympic Stadium (temporary ballpark): home of the LG Twins and Doosan Bears for the five seasons from 2027 to 2031. Seoul city officials said the 60,000-seat stadium would be converted to an 18,000-capacity ballpark, with extra seats for up to 30,000 at major games (Korea Times).
• Gocheok Sky Dome: home of the Kiwoom Heroes in Guro-gu. It opened in 2015 and seats 16,744 for baseball (Wikipedia).

What happened to Jamsil Baseball Stadium?

It hosted its last regular-season game, Doosan Bears against Lotte Giants, on October 12, 2026 (Korea JoongAng Daily). Built in 1982, the KBO's first season, it is being torn down and replaced by a 30,000-seat dome on the same site (Korea Times), due to open in March 2032 (Korea Times). HanBuddy's buddies met guests at Sports Complex Station on Subway Lines 2 and 9 for Jamsil games.

How does cheering work at a KBO game?

The home crowd follows a cheer captain and a squad of cheerleaders; each club has one captain and four or five cheerleaders. Each batter has a personal fight song, sung as the batter steps into the box (Wikipedia: Baseball cheering culture in South Korea).

Fans bang inflatable balloon sticks, known in English as thundersticks; the LG Twins were the first club in the world to introduce them. Clubs also have their own traditions: Lotte Giants fans cheer with newspapers and orange plastic bags (same source).

You do not need to learn the songs first. The local next to you can teach the short parts as each player comes up, and HanBuddy buddies teach the cheering songs during the game (FAQ).

What should I eat?

The classic is chimaek, fried chicken and beer (Wikipedia). If you have dietary restrictions and book with HanBuddy, write them under Special Requests and your buddy plans the food around them (FAQ).

How long does a game last, and what if it rains?

Plan for a little over three hours. Through the first 40 games of 2026, nine-inning KBO games averaged 3 hours 12 minutes, or 3 hours 14 minutes counting extra-inning games (Korea JoongAng Daily, April 2026). HanBuddy's schedule allows about 180 minutes for the game after an hour of meeting, entry and food.

Open-air games can be called off for rain. Gocheok Sky Dome has a roof, and HanBuddy's indoor dome game night there lets you watch without worrying about the weather.

How do booking and cancellation work on HanBuddy?

Pick a date on the experience page and pay online with PayPal, or message HanBuddy for another method such as a Korean bank transfer. Bookings close 24 hours before the start. After buddy approval, the refund is full at least 48 hours before the start, 50% from 24 to under 48 hours, and none within 24 hours; if your buddy cancels, the refund is full (FAQ). The exact meeting point is on each experience page and is confirmed by message before the day. If your date is full, pick another date or the other baseball night.

Book a HanBuddy baseball night

• Open-Air KBO Baseball Night
• Indoor Dome KBO Baseball Night

Check each page for open dates and the 2027 venue.