The Early Cultural Evolution of Baseball in Korea (1876–1945): Unilateral Product of Cultural Imperialism or Multilateral Process?

Abstract

The dissemination of sports culture is not a unilinear or unilateral phenomenon. It depends on how the recipients perceive and react to it in the context of their lives. This study aims to shed light on the complex political, social, and cultural processes that led to the acceptance and popularization of baseball in Korea. In the era of imperialism, various modern sports cultures spread in the Korean society, but baseball emerged as the most popular. Baseball was initially introduced to Korea as a by-product of US and Japanese expansionism during the Korean Enlightenment period (1876–1910) and the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945). However, baseball’s germination during the Enlightenment period lay in the self-awareness of Koreans willing to embrace it as a cultural product of Western modernity, realizing its potential to meet the physical and cultural needs of their society. Additionally, during the Japanese colonial period, baseball functioned as a channel for expressing both nationalism and youthful masculinity, being popularized in the Korean society. The international exchange between US and Japanese baseball, which was developed with active recognition of baseball acceptance within the Joseon society during the Japanese colonial period, became the vital momentum driving the popularization of Korean baseball.