Female fans in their 20s and 30s who led 'Baseball 12 Million' lost their way at the volleyball court, saying, "We lack food and attractions."" [Is the V League popular?①]

*This content was translated by AI.

The mobilization of 12 million spectators in professional baseball last year was a milestone that signaled the growth potential of Korean professional sports. It is a phenomenon that occurs when sports intuition has established itself as a culture. Professional volleyball is also one of the events that shows potential. This year's V-League, the first season since Kim Yeon-kyung (38), Korea's top volleyball star, left the court, is filling the volleyball court with more spectators than expected. But there is still a long way to go. Star News points out the current status and tasks of the V League's popularity in a series for the Lunar New Year holiday. /Editor's note

After the end of the first half of the V-League (1st to 3rd rounds) in the 2025-2026 season, the spectator index presented by the Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) was positive. According to KOVO, the total number of spectators in the first half of the year increased by 10.65% for men (123,255 → 136,233) and 5.3% for women (146,797 → 154,646), up 7.7% from the previous season. The average viewership also rose slightly by 0.04% for the men's and women's integration.

In the volleyball world, the secret was found in MBC entertainment program "New Director Kim Yeon-kyung," which drew attention, and OK Savings Bank, which moved to Busan Metropolitan City this season. Some officials looked for reasons in the trend of sports intuition culture. In a recent phone call with Star News, V-League club official A said, "The number of spectators has increased not only in our club but also in volleyball as a whole. "The internal analysis is that interest in sports has increased more than before, rather than specific factors," he said.

In particular, female fans in their 20s and 30s, who are considered to have led 12 million spectators in professional baseball last year, are also considered strong in winter sports. Another V-League club official B said, "For sure, I think female fans in their 20s and 30s have different purchasing power. In terms of marketing, we are also preparing items aimed at them," he hinted.

The same winter sport, basketball, is similar. C, an official of the Korean Women's Professional Basketball (WKBL), said, "Certainly, the number of spectators has been on the rise since COVID-19. In particular, I can feel that the number of female fans has increased even with the naked eye when I went to the stadium support," he said. The Korean Men's Professional Basketball (KBL) was realizing the existence of increased female fans through internal crowd counting. According to data provided by KBL to Star News, 57.12% of male fans and 42.88% of female fans were in the 2022-2023 season. In the first half of this season, three years later, the gap narrowed significantly to 53.9% of male fans and 46.1% of female fans.

However, sports fans who visit the volleyball court are embarrassed by the unexpected situation. D, a female volleyball fan in her 20s, said, "I liked baseball and volleyball for a long time, but I felt that the volleyball teams were unfriendly. For example, I watch all 14 clubs in the men's and women's divisions, but KB Insurance is the only one that posts entries on SNS. Some clubs block all Instagram comments, so there is no place for fans to ask such a thing," he said.

The information was relatively too limited. Recently, sports fans are not only interested in clubs but also in each player's every move. However, in volleyball, where the entry is not disclosed, fans have no way of knowing whether their favorite player is coming to the stadium. D, a volleyball fan, said, "Some fans ask the player directly via Instagram DM (direct message) and decide whether to go to the stadium or not. Fans have no way of knowing whether they enter the backup zone and play as a one-point server or just watch the game from the stands. Even the news about the injured player should be found out by the fans themselves," he complained.

The clubs have their own circumstances. Unlike other sports, volleyball's flow changes according to rotation and order fights. Because of this, the field is reluctant to disclose the entry as well as the lineup that day. On top of that, there was also an opinion that pointed out the reality that "only players who come out" are coming out due to the absence of the second-tier league. A male volleyball fan in his 30s, E, said, "It's a pity that I haven't seen a variety of players. In particular, with the creation of the Asian quarter, the number of players guarding only the backup zone has increased too much. There is no chance for the backup players to improve their skills. If there is a second-tier league, I think there will be more stories to talk about..." he expressed regret.

The infrastructure of the volleyball court is also a complaint of fans. It is a common problem that there is nothing to enjoy due to the aging of the stadium. There were also regrets about the less accessible stadium. Both volleyball fans D and E said, "I understand that there are limitations in the structure of the gym," but added, "I hope the number of stores will increase." Even if it's not there, it's really not there," he complained.

It is an opinion that the lack of various attractions also hinders the formation of an intuitive culture. D, a volleyball fan, said, "In fact, there is nothing to say when people around you ask, 'Why are you going to see volleyball?' For example, baseball stadiums can continue to sing cheering songs, and there are many advantages to intuition itself, such as various foods. However, volleyball has limited players, and only Jangchung and Busan have shops other than convenience stores in the stadium.

Clubs also have some inevitable parts. Unlike other four sports, baseball (1982), soccer (1983), and basketball (1997), volleyball (2005) was difficult to allocate a stadium close to the city center or with good facilities due to the late launch of the professional league. In addition, it is pointed out that volleyball has a limit to attracting various franchise companies to the stadium like baseball, as there are only 18 games of an average of 3,500 spectators in a season.

The various food trucks common in front of volleyball courts are the club's own efforts to overcome those limitations. A club official said, "I honestly understand that the stadium is a really difficult environment for fans. "I'm trying to give you various conveniences, such as setting up a food truck, but there are limitations," he said. "I've experienced other sports, and certainly volleyball is a sport that is played urgently over the net, so I felt it was a difficult sport to communicate with fans by using the middle time."

Despite various regrets, long-time volleyball fans or new influxes who are just interested in volleyball are visiting the volleyball court little by little even in the cold winter. Rather, some analysts say that the narrow stadium structure and scenery narrow the distance between players and spectators, doubling the attractiveness of intuition. A female fan in her 20s who recently visited Jangchung Gymnasium said, "I didn't know when I saw it on TV, but when I came to the stadium, it was fun to see the players much closer. I want to come to the volleyball court again," he said with a smile.

The popularity of professional volleyball, which seemed to fall due to Kim Yeon-kyung's retirement, is fortunately said to have earned time. However, professional volleyball is still unfriendly and unfamiliar to attract fans to the volleyball court. How should we solve the opportunity in this crisis.

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*This content was translated by AI.