'Jamsil Soil Sold for 80,000 Won' Listings Marked as Sold Out... 'Final Memories' Fuel Frenzy on Secondhand Markets

Soil Scarcity Emerges Ahead of Jamsil Stadium Demolition
Surge in Transactions on Danggeun Market and Bungaejangter

A listing for soil from Jamsil Baseball Stadium posted on the secondhand trading app "Bungejangteo." It can be seen that all sales were completed even at 70,000 to 80,000 KRW. Screenshot from Bungejangteo

Opened in 1982, the inaugural year of professional baseball in Korea, the Seoul Jamsil Sports Complex Baseball Stadium has witnessed the joys and sorrows of Korean baseball history. As the stadium is set to be demolished at the end of this year, soil from its grounds is now commanding prices of 70,000 to 80,000 won on the secondhand market, leading to a frenzy of scarcity. With the disappearance of a space that holds decades of fans' youth and memories now imminent, desperate demand from baseball fans seeking to keep a piece as a memento has transformed what is essentially a handful of soil into a high-priced 'rare good.'

'Jamsil Soil' Heats Up the Secondhand Market... Pleas of "Please Sell It to Me"

On July 13, posts selling 'Jamsil Baseball Stadium soil' continued to appear on platforms such as Danggeun Market and Bungaejangter. Prices are set at around 70,000 to 80,000 won, and many listings are already marked as sold or reserved, with items disappearing quickly. Meanwhile, online communities are seeing an increasing number of posts from buyers saying, "I don't care how much it costs, please sell it to me," creating a true atmosphere of scarcity in the secondhand market.

This unusual craze has been triggered by the fact that Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which has stood for 45 years, will disappear into history at the end of this year due to aging facilities and redevelopment plans. After demolition, the site will be rebuilt as a large-scale exhibition and convention center, while its replacement—the new Jamsil stadium—is set to open in 2032 as a state-of-the-art domed stadium. Effectively, the opportunity to touch the open-field ground and its soil will disappear forever.

"Goodbye, My Youth"... Preserving Memories by Taking Home Soil

In response, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) set up a 'Fan Fest Zone' at this year's All-Star Game, held over two days on July 10 and 11, offering baseball fans an unforgettable experience. At the 'Re:member Jamsil' booth, fans could collect actual infield soil from the Jamsil stadium in empty bottles. All 5,000 bottles prepared for the two days were quickly claimed, with long lines forming under the scorching heat.

At 2 p.m. on the 11th, fans are carefully packing soil into empty bottles at the 'Re:member' booth in the Fan Fest Zone set up at the second parking lot of Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

At the time, fans waited in line for over an hour despite temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius to receive their soil. With Jamsil Stadium—a symbol of Korean professional baseball—facing demolition, the desire to physically preserve memories of the venue surged dramatically.

The atmosphere on-site was equally fervent. A sellout crowd of 23,750 attending the final Jamsil All-Star Game toured the exhibition booths and experience zones, reminiscing about the stadium's history, while some fans expressed regret, saying, "Jamsil is the very essence of my youth."

Meanwhile, LG and Doosan, who use Jamsil as their home stadium, plan to use the Seoul Olympic Main Stadium—located 300 meters from the current baseball stadium—as their alternative home field from 2027 to 2031.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.