Jack Eaton - May 13,2026

 On Wednesday, the group started off with our first lecture of the trip. Professor Kim went over the topic of sport globalization and an overview of the Asian sports market. We learned how the Asia Pacific sports market generated $116.2 billion dollars in the last fiscal year and that the market was expected to grow 11.1% by 2033. In addition, we discussed the difference between individualism vs collectivism mindsets.  The individualism mindset is common among Western nations while collectivism is often seen in Eastern nations. Finally, we went over the history of South Korea and how the country's history intertwined with the history of sports in South Korea. 

After the lecture, we set off to go meet the general manager of the K League. The K League is the premier South Korean soccer league consisting of 12 clubs in K League 1 and 17 in K League 2. The league is quickly becoming a leader in the soccer landscape with its revolutionary U-22 policy, where clubs are required to have a certain number of players on the roster who are under the age of 22. This policy has shown proven results where younger players are developing faster and thus directly improving the national team’s performance. With FIFA looking into changing its youth policies, they have directly reached out to the K League for advice.

Heading straight from the talk with the K League, we then went to rent out Hanbok. Hanbok is the traditional clothing of the Korean people. The clothing consists of vibrant colors and designs and is often worn for ceremonies and holidays.  Once we all got dressed up, we walked over to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, which allowed free admission to those wearing Hanbok. We were able to hop on a free guided tour and check out all the amazing architecture and learn the amazing history of one of the oldest monuments in South Korea. 

Once we finished the tour, we returned our Hanbok and went to the Tongin Market which was a big food market located in a bustling alley. I ended up getting a chicken kabob which was excellent. From then on we were free to explore the city for the rest of the day. For the first full day of the trip we were able to experience a balance of learning about sport through lectures and meetings while also learning a lot about the city through excursions. It was a great first day and I’m very excited for the rest of the trip.