Kyoto International High School wins first in Japan’s Goshien… The’East Sea Sea’ Korean language resounded

At 2:10 pm on the 24th, Korean songs rang over the blue spring sky at Koshien Stadium in Hanshin, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Kyoto International High School, the first Korean national school to advance to the finals of the Japanese Selected High School Baseball Championship (Spring Koshien), won a dramatic victory after a close battle in the first game of the day. With the declaration of victory, the school’s Korean teacher filled the stadium, and in the audience, “It’s like a dream” and “Ah, it looks like tears” from the graduates continued.

Kyoto International High School players cheered and jumped out to the ground after a 5-4 victory was confirmed after 10 extended games in the 93rd Japan Selected High School Baseball Championship (Spring Koshien) held at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan on the 24th. [교도=연합뉴스]

Kyoto International High School played back 5-4 after an extended battle against Shibata High School in Miyagi Prefecture, which started at 11:40 am on the day. The two schools, which were their first appearance in Koshien, fought a fierce confrontation from the start of the game. Kyoto International High School, which gave two points to Shibata High School at the end of the first inning, succeeded in reversing with a timely triple with three sweeping points from hitter Yuto Takeda, the first hitter in the beginning of the seventh.

But at the end of the 7th inning, Shibatago scored 1 point and tied. After ending 9 innings without any additional goals, both teams entered overtime. Kyoto Kukje High School put a wedge of victory in the attack at the beginning of the 10th inning. 3rd batter Hayato Nakagawa and 5th batter Tsujii Jin scored 1 point each, leading 5-3. Shibatago pursued with 1 point in the end of the 10th attack, but the result could not be reversed.

This day’s game drew great attention in Japan as well. Spring Koshien, where all games are broadcast live on NHK, is called the’dream stage’ where only 32 high school baseball teams can participate in over 4,000 high school baseball teams nationwide. Kyoto International High School is the first foreign school to enter Koshien, which has a history of more than 90 years. The Internet version of the Tokyo Sports Newspaper described the result of this match as a “historical victory.”

On the 24th, Yuto Takeda of the Korean-based Kyoto International High School, who made his first appearance in the 32nd round of the 93rd Japan Selected High School Baseball Championship (Spring Koshien) held at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, is throwing a three-point timely blow from the reverse. [사진=지지통신 제공]

Kyoto International High School, which started as Kyoto Chosun Middle School in 1947, is currently a small school with 130 students in total. The baseball club was founded in 1999 to save the school when the number of enrolled students decreased sharply due to the decline in the school age population in the 1990s, and the school was on the verge of closure. The baseball club, which was initially weak, has become a prestigious high school in the area where baseball talents flock in 20 years. Currently, 93 Japanese are enrolled and 37 are Koreans in Japan. All 40 members of the baseball team are Japanese nationals. Shin Seong-hyun of Doosan Bears is also from this school.

On this day, when 10,000 spectators gathered, Gyeonggi was a festival where not only Kyoto International High School alumni, but also Koreans in Japan were together. Not only graduates, but also about 1,000 Koreans in Japan from various parts of Japan such as Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka visited Koshien Stadium to watch the game. Ji Young-i, 54, a 3rd generation Korean resident in Japan, who was a graduate in 1986, said, “I wanted to hear the school song ringing in the Koshien Stadium. When the school was relocated in high school, local residents even campaigned against it, but now they entered Goshien. “I am so happy and thrilled to have become a school.”

Kyoto International High School Principal Park Kyung-soo was thrilled in an interview after the game, saying, “I am incredibly happy to be the first to advance to the game.” Principal Park also said, “I am very sorry and grateful to the coaches and players who have done so far in a small playground without an outfield.”

Kyoto International High School players who won their first victory in the 32nd round of the 93rd Japan Selected High School Baseball Championship (Spring Koshien) held at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan on the 24th, are singing their school songs. NHK, which broadcasted the competition live, sent out the lyrics of the Kyoga in Korean on the screen in both Korean and Japanese. [NHK 캡쳐]

On this day, the Korean language school of Kyoto International High School, which starts with’East Sea’, was broadcast twice as the introduction time of the participating schools before the start of the second time and the school song of the winning team after the game. NHK has released a subtitle that translates’East Sea’ as’The Sea of ​​the East’ in the lyrics of the Kyoga.

Kyoto International High School, who finished in the round of 16, faces Tokyo representative Tokaidai Issugao High School on the 27th. Tokaidais is a baseball high school that has produced numerous Japanese professional baseball players, and is also selected as a candidate for the championship in this Koshien tournament. Noritsugu Komaki (小牧憲継), coach of the Kyoto International High School, said, “Since our opponent is a strong team, we will try to reshape our posture so that no mistakes can be made and play the game.”

Hyogo = Correspondent Lee Young-hee [email protected]