"The number of views is 100,000." Inkushi and Choi Seohyun's popularity exploded... Volleyball Newbie is thirsty for an epic [Is V League popular?②]

*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

With Kim Yeon-koung's retirement, the volleyball community put their heads together to produce the next generation of stars after the end of last season.

It was a workshop held by about 200 officials, including coaches, coaches, general managers, secretariat and media companies, host broadcasters, expert committee members, referees and recorders from 14 teams in the V League. At the workshop, professional baseball officials who showed their potential as an industry of professional sports by surpassing the top 10 million audience for two consecutive years were invited as lecturers. The hours-long discussion resulted in, "Players should strive to improve their skills, and league and club officials should be more active and friendly to the media."

However, the most popular figure in the professional volleyball V-League 2025-2026 season is not a talented player like Kim Yeon-koung, but Jamyanpureb Enkh Sun (21, registered name Inkush). Incusi is an outside heater from Mongolia who came to Korea to study volleyball through Mokpo Yeo Sang. He also tried to try out the Asian quarter this season, but suffered a setback in elimination. It was MBC entertainment program "New Director Kim Yeon-kyung" that provided him with an opportunity to turn the tables. In this program, Incusi gradually grew with good chemistry with Kim Yeon-koung, and Jeong Kwan-jang officially recruited him in December last year.

The "Inkush Effect" was great. According to KOVO, the average number of spectators in Jeonggwanjung increased by about 580 when comparing before and after the recruitment of Inku City in the first half of the year (1st to 3rd rounds). Considering that there are about 3,500 spectators at Chungmu Gymnasium in Jeonggwanjang's home stadium, it is a figure that cannot be ignored. In terms of ratings, three of the top five women's divisions in the first half of the year were named as Jeong Kwan-jang. Despite the lowest performance, it has surpassed 33,000 people (league average of 33,500) in total as of February 10, realizing its popularity as much as the top-ranked team.

This popularity is attributed to Kim Yeon-koung. Analysts say that the title of Kim Yeon-kyung's disciple was effective. I can't deny it. However, if so, it is difficult to explain the popularity enjoyed by Choi Seo-hyun (21) of the same team. Choi Seo-hyun is an unfinished star who has just started as a main player, but she is as popular as her sisters who earn billions of dollars in salary at the volleyball court. Related SNS views also exceed 100,000 times. Recently, he also played in the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

Incusi and Choi Seo-hyun are examples of the proposition that "stars should be good at sports" is not absolute. Recently, sports fans tend to want to see the process of growth, even if they lack the skills they have right now. There is a story that Choi Seo-hyun was also nominated by Hyundai Engineering & Construction as the sixth-ranked player in the first round of the 2023-2024 V League, stayed as a backup, and only played on the court after coming to the articles of association this season.

A female volleyball fan in her 20s replied to their popularity, "I think the popularity of Incusina Choi Seo-hyun, like the 'fireball' players, is due to the fact that individual growth stories have been shown through various media." In fact, volleyball is not an easy sport to get into. However, if there is a story, you can easily immerse yourself in the player even if you don't know the event well. In the meantime, I think volleyball has been one of the sports that lacks a lot of opportunities to immerse themselves in," he said.

In fact, volleyball players are rarely exposed to the 'general public'. Club YouTube was limited to the general public, and entertainment programs depend on viewership. There was also an opinion that there was a lack of exposure through club-level publicity or media. B, a male volleyball fan in his 30s, said, "The clubs are also doing 'star marketing', but I feel it is generally insufficient. The absolute volume of articles is regrettable, and the stories are not diverse. "I don't think I enjoy enough promotional effects for many shorts like other sports because of the lack of content," he pointed out.

New fans who are not familiar with volleyball are still thirsty for the narrative. A volleyball fan who follows SNS of all 14 clubs in the V League said, "Fans who have been watching baseball recently come to the volleyball court because they are bored in winter. I think it's worth catching such volleyball Newbies (novices who are new to the game or community), but volleyball is not fun to see each player like baseball," he said.

"The reason why each fan falls for a player at the volleyball court is different. But when I try to find out about this player, there is really no information such as articles or club YouTube. In baseball, interviews and various stories about individuals as well as star players are presented, and volleyball articles only watch the results of the game or the subsequent interviews of the instructors. At the club level, it seems that Lim Sung-jin (KB Insurance) is the only one who is actively marketing stars, he added.

The reason why volleyball players' media exposure is not diverse is complex. In a situation where there are not many games and the number of participants is limited, very few players can stand in front of the media as MVP after winning. According to Article 48 of the KOVO Covenant, the pre-match interview can be conducted autonomously for 20 minutes from 80 minutes to 60 minutes before the start of the game, but there are conditions. It should not interfere with the players' preparation for the game. In addition, there are field leaders who show their reluctance to interviews before the game, so it has become a de facto private clause.

Veteran player C said, "Honestly, when I was a rookie, I was even scared to make a sound. I don't think I even thought about doing anything like interviews," he said. Another club official, D, also said, "There were managers who didn't want to be disturbed in preparing for the game. The atmosphere was very different from now," he recalled.

Fans who are just starting to get interested in volleyball want a variety of stories that can be easily permeated even if they don't know much about it. The scene is also realizing the atmosphere. V-League head coach E said, "When I was a player, it was a culture that focused only on the game. If I said something wrong, words would come out of the training ground. But now, other events are also very open. I think it's okay to interview as long as there's enough consensus and the players can control themselves well," he said positively.

"It was good to see the players interviewing as they passed the mixed zone at the World Championships last year. Fans can see it and it is a story in itself, he said. "It is important for both the coaches and the club to create a culture together. Also, if that happens, players need to be well aware of how much influence their remarks themselves have," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.