Is Having Fun All That Matters...? "Fish Cake Skewers and Beer Cans Everywhere" Leaves Baseball Commentator Fuming

Ballpark waste surges alongside baseball's popularity
Ballpark waste rises by more than 1,000 tons in two years

As the Korean Series draws intense interest from baseball fans, photos showing some spectators leaving behind food scraps, beer cans and other garbage in the stands after a game have sparked outrage. Baseball’s popularity is growing, with attendance surpassing 12 million for the first time last year, but waste volumes are also rising sharply, prompting calls for more considerate spectator behavior.

The photo showed more than 10 beer cans, half-eaten fish cake skewers, coffee cups, plastic bags, wooden chopstick wrappers and other items strewn across tables in two rows of the stands. Social media.

On November 5, Song Mingu, a commentator for Daegu MBC, posted photos on his social media account on November 3 showing the stands after a game. The photos are said to have been taken after Game 1 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Korean Series between the kt wiz and Samsung Lions at Suwon KT Wiz Park that day.

The photos showed more than 10 beer cans, half-eaten fish cake skewers, coffee cups, plastic bags, wooden chopstick wrappers and other items strewn across tables in two rows of the stands. The spectators who had eaten the food had already left. Containers with food still inside were mixed in with the trash on the tables, showing that the area had not been properly cleaned up after the game.

“The men who ate at these tables should clean up before they leave,” Song wrote. “You came here wearing your company jacket, and this is how you want to behave?” This is not the first time some spectators have caused controversy by leaving a baseball stadium without clearing away their trash. In September, photos circulated on social media showing students who had attended a game as a group at NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, leaving behind food scraps and garbage in the stands.

A social media user who posted the photos at the time wrote, “Trash was scattered across the floor, and drinks that had been partially consumed were left in the cup holders in the stands. I got angry when the students left without cleaning up, so I cleaned it myself.” A social media user who identified themselves as a teacher accompanying the students later apologized in a comment. The teacher explained that the students had been taught how to use public facilities and that the teachers had also collected trash, but that they had not been able to check the surrounding area thoroughly because it was nearly time to board the bus.

Waste surges 24% as attendance rises 13%...up by more than 1,000 tons in two years

The issue of waste at baseball stadiums is emerging as a major challenge for stadium operations and environmental management, beyond controversy over the poor manners of some spectators. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to National Assembly member Jin Sunmi of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sits on the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the nine professional baseball stadiums nationwide generated a total of 2,931.7 tons of general waste last year. That was an increase of 573.83 tons, or 24.3%, from 2,357.87 tons in 2024. Compared with 1,895.9 tons in 2023, the amount surged by 54.6% in two years, an increase of 1,035.8 tons.

Participants hold signs at a press conference held in June outside the KBO in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to announce the results of a nationwide monitoring survey on the use of disposable and reusable containers at professional baseball stadiums. Yonhap News Agency

The increase far outpaced the growth in professional baseball attendance over the same period. Attendance at the KBO League regular season last year reached 12,312,519, up 13.1% from 10,887,705 in 2024. In other words, while attendance rose by about 13%, waste increased by more than 24%. The increases are even more striking when broken down by stadium.

General waste generated at Seoul’s Jamsil Stadium surged 132.2%, from 214.44 tons in 2023 to 497.94 tons last year. Over the same period, regular-season attendance for the two teams that call Jamsil Stadium home rose by just 36.9%. A simple calculation based on attendance puts general waste per spectator at about 98.7 grams in 2023 and 167.5 grams last year, an increase of 69.7%. Waste at Daegu Samsung Lions Park also rose 98.6%, from 218 tons in 2023 to 433 tons last year, while at Sajik Stadium in Busan it increased 61.2%, from 254.87 tons to 410.94 tons.

1.187 billion won spent on cleanup over three years...challenges remain despite reusable containers

As waste has increased, so have the costs of waste disposal and stadium cleaning. The combined waste disposal and cleaning costs disclosed by eight professional baseball stadiums nationwide rose 28.7%, from 3,506,760,000 won in 2023 to 4,513,930,000 won last year. The cumulative cost over the three years from 2023 through last year reached 11,873,140,000 won. Tens of billions of won are spent each year to address the waste problem at baseball stadiums.

Seven of the nine venues nationwide currently use reusable containers, and the remaining two plan to introduce them next year. However, some say that simply expanding the use of reusable containers is not enough. The Asia Business Daily DB

As the so-called “chimaek” culture of enjoying chicken and beer at baseball stadiums has become a defining part of the spectator experience, it generates a variety of waste, including food packaging, disposable cups and beer cans. Some stadiums have introduced reusable containers to reduce waste, but critics say there are limits to managing waste from disposable products and food brought in from outside.

Seven of the nine venues nationwide currently use reusable containers, and the remaining two plan to introduce them next year. However, some say that simply expanding the use of reusable containers is not enough. They say that meaningful waste reduction requires both improving systems for collecting and reusing the containers and reducing the use of disposable products in the first place. With professional baseball now drawing 12 million spectators a year and established as one of the nation’s leading sports, calls are growing for stadium etiquette to develop accordingly.

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