“Is there anywhere to buy Korean baseball goods?” There is an answer to the curiosity of Japanese baseball fans that cannot be found in Tokyo either.[무로이칼럼]

I have been receiving the same question from Japanese baseball fans for the past 20 years.

“Is there a place in Seoul where I can buy Korean baseball merchandise?”

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Korea exceeds approximately 2.5 million a year. The main purpose of visiting Korea is food, cultural tourism, and watching K-pop performances, but there are many people who naturally like baseball. Most of them have no direct interest in the KBO league and do not want to watch baseball, which would take about 3 hours during a 3-day, 2-night trip.

Still, you may want to experience something about baseball abroad. A new place has been created that fulfills the wishes of baseball fans.

This is the first KBO store, which officially opened last September.

The KBO Store Sinsa Nonhyeon branch, operated by Office Depot, the official KBO goods retailer, in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul, not only has KBO goods produced directly by Office Depot, but also uniforms and goods from 10 teams are gathered in one place. There are places where you can get goods for the 10 teams, such as the concession stand at Jamsil Baseball Stadium or the store in the basement hallway of Sports Complex Station, but it may not be possible to find goods for all teams or may not be open on days when there are no baseball games.

On the other hand, the KBO store not only sells a variety of goods, but also provides a service for attaching player markings to uniforms. You can also take pictures wearing each team’s uniform in the locker room photo zone and experience baseball in the pitching zone. It is a permanent store that is rare even in Japan.

In Japan, there was a goods shop for 12 NPB teams at Tokyo Dome, but then it disappeared. In Korea, many people mistakenly believe that Tokyo Dome is a baseball stadium built by the Yomiuri team that uses it as their home stadium, but it was only in 2021 that Yomiuri headquarters established a capital relationship with Tokyo Dome Co., Ltd. Until this time, Yomiuri had rented and used Tokyo Dome.

Tokyo Dome has had an NPB goods shop directly managed by Tokyo Dome Co., Ltd. for a long time, and it was popular not only with baseball fans but also with tourists. However, after 2023, all baseball-related stores around Tokyo Dome were changed to Yomiuri Giants shops.

An employee in charge of product sales at Tokyo Dome expressed his feelings, saying, “Personally, it is very unfortunate that the goods shops for the 12 teams are gone.” Now, the only place in Japan where you can get various goods from all NPB teams at any time is the Kyocera Dome Osaka, the home stadium of the Orix Buffaloes.

In fact, professional baseball team souvenirs do not have a very good rate of return from a seller’s perspective, except for team items sold directly by the team.

It is also a business where inventory management is difficult due to player transfers or changes to club emblems and uniforms. Even though there are many fans who want it, it is not easy to operate the former club goods shop.

The fact that the KBO Store, run by the league itself, was created despite these difficulties is significant. It was now possible to easily answer the question from the Japanese baseball fan mentioned above.

I have a dream to one day create a goods shop or museum in Japan where people can experience the KBO League in person. We are watching the newly opened KBO Store with interest as an ideal example.