Zachary Thom — May 15, 2026

After a more leisurely day yesterday filled with screen golf, video games, and exploring the city at our own pace, today was much more structured and packed from start to finish. We met in the hotel lobby at 9 a.m., then headed out to the subway station and took a roughly 40-minute ride to Olympic Park, one of the most important sports-related sites in Seoul.

The first thing that stood out was the scale and appearance of the park itself. The architecture was modern and intentional, while some of the gates and monuments around the area reflected the significance of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It was easy to tell that this was more than just a public park — it represented a major moment in Korea’s emergence onto the global stage.

Our first official activity of the day was a visit to the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO). We listened to a presentation and then walked through another building that showcased many of the organization’s projects and initiatives. We were shown many promotional videos that highlighted everything from golf and tennis to archery, cycling, and even darts. It was clear that Korea does not just focus on globally dominant sports but instead invests heavily across a wide range of athletic programs and infrastructure.

At the end of the visit, we also got to participate in part of a national fitness testing program that is free for all Koreans. We only did a couple of the tests, but I tried the reaction time and grip strength stations. It was interesting seeing how accessible and normalized physical fitness testing seemed to be within the broader sports culture. Professor Jamie also pointed out that KSPO is trying to shift the connotation of sports and physical activity from a privilege to a right.

Afterward, we had a quick lunch — Professor Jamie had Korean-style burgers delivered to the Olympic Park. They were certainly unique, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. Directly after lunch, we visited the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) for another presentation, this time focused more specifically on Korea’s Olympic history and national sports strategy. One major takeaway was how transformative the 1988 Seoul Olympics were for the country. The presentation framed the Olympics as a turning point where sport became connected to broader national goals involving economic growth, modernization, global reputation, and national identity. Ever since then, Korea has clearly placed sports at the forefront of many societal ambitions.

After the visit to the KSOC, we headed to Lotte World Mall and spent time shopping and exploring the area. I ended up eating udon while we were there, and later we went up the Lotte World Tower, which is the sixth-tallest building in the world. Seeing Seoul from that height really emphasized how massive and dense the city is. The skyline seemed endless, with modern buildings stretching in every direction.

The highlight of the day for me, though, was easily the baseball game that night. I have been lucky enough to attend multiple World Series games and grow up around Giants baseball, so I already had pretty high expectations for live baseball environments. Somehow, this experience exceeded them. The energy throughout the stadium was nonstop. Fans were constantly chanting, singing, and fully engaged in the game from start to finish.

What made the atmosphere especially fascinating was how much it connected back to something Professor Jamie discussed in lecture a few days earlier about individualism versus collectivism. At the game, the crowd experience felt extremely collective. Everyone was participating together at all times, whether it was chants, songs, or coordinated cheering routines. It created an environment where the focus was not just on individual spectators enjoying the game on their own, but on the crowd acting almost as a unified group supporting the team together. Compared to many American sporting events, it felt much more synchronized and constant throughout the entire game. The atmosphere honestly made it one of the best live sports events I have ever experienced.

By the end of the night, everyone was exhausted on the subway ride back to the hotel. It was one of those days where every part of the schedule felt completely different from the last — Olympic history in the morning, modern Seoul and shopping in the afternoon, and one of the most energetic sports environments I have ever experienced at night. Days like this are making it easier to understand not just Korean sports culture itself, but how sports connect with identity, community, and everyday life throughout the country.

The time in Korea has been flying by, but it has been beyond amazing so far. We have an entirely free day on Sunday, and I will be blogging again then — so I look forward to sharing what we do!