Kim Yeon-kyung (35, 192cm), the returning ‘Volleyball Emperor’, eventually achieved the record of ‘all stadiums sold out’ for 7 women’s volleyball clubs.
As a result of examining the online ticket reservation status of the IBK Industrial Bank-Heungkuk Life Insurance match to be held on the 8th at the Hwaseong Indoor Gymnasium in Gyeonggi-do, all seats were sold out on the morning of the 6th, less than a day after the reservation started on the afternoon of the 5th. The number of seats sold online for Hwaseong Indoor Gymnasium is 3,300.
As a result, the game in which Kim Yeon-kyung participated was sold out at all 7 women’s volleyball clubs’ stadiums. In addition, Hwaseong Indoor Gymnasium, home of BK Industrial Bank, also sold out for the first time this season.
From the opening of this season to the 6th, there are a total of 8 cases where tickets were sold out and full spectators were recorded in all women’s volleyball matches. If the crowd is recorded at full capacity by the 8th game, it will increase to 9 games.
What is surprising is that all 9 of these games were played by the Heungkuk Life Insurance team, in which Kim Yeon-kyung participated. The venue of the game was not only Seoul, Incheon, and Suwon, but also Daejeon, Gimcheon, and Gwangju, creating a frenzy of crowds in the metropolitan area and provinces. In addition, it was so great that not only the weekend but also the weekday game was sold out.
Looking at the tickets sold out and spectator records so far, the Heungkuk Life Insurance-Korea Expressway Corporation match held on November 13, 2022 at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium, the home stadium of Heungkuk Life Insurance, recorded a full crowd with 5,800 people entering. In addition, the Heungkuk Life Insurance-IBK Industrial Bank Gyeonggi held at the same stadium on December 24 also recorded 5,800 full spectators. These two matches are the record for the largest number of spectators in V-League men’s and women’s volleyball this season.
The match that recorded the first full crowd in the V-League this season was the KGC Ginseng Corporation-Heungkuk Life Insurance match held on October 29, 2022 at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon, the home stadium of KGC Ginseng Corporation. On this day, 3304 spectators entered. Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon also recorded the second crowd (3374) in excess of 10,000 won in the game against Heungkuk Life Insurance on December 17th.
GS Caltex-Heungkuk Life Insurance match held on November 10, 2022 at Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul, the home stadium of GS Caltex (3325 people), Korea Expressway Corporation-Heungkuk Life Insurance match held on November 22 at Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium, Korea Expressway Corporation home stadium (4118 people) ) also achieved sold-out ticket reservations.
In addition, the Pepper Savings Bank-Heungkuk Life Insurance match held on December 7 at the Pepper Savings Bank’s home stadium, Gwangju Pepper Stadium (3,000 people), and the Hyundai E&C-Hungkuk Life Insurance match held on December 29 at the Suwon Indoor Gymnasium, the home stadium of Hyundai E&C (3798 people) All of them recorded more than 10,000 spectators.
‘Kim Yeon-kyung Syndrome’ female volleyball crowd… the only ‘increased than before Corona
‘ This proves how great the ‘Kim Yeon-kyung Syndrome’ is in the V-League this season. At least 3,000 spectators and as many as 5,800 spectators are flocking to the Heungkuk Life Insurance team’s game, in which Kim Yeon-kyung is participating, regardless of weekdays and weekends, metropolitan areas and provinces.
In particular, it was regrettable that only 5,800 seats were sold at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon, the home stadium of Heungkuk Life Insurance. Judging from the heat of online ticket reservations, Samsan World Gym’s ‘weekend game’ could easily be sold out even with 7,000 seats. In addition, all of the top 5 matches with the highest number of spectators across the V-League men’s and women’s volleyball this season were all held at Samsan World Gymnasium.
Influenced by the Kim Yeon-kyung syndrome, women’s volleyball this season is recording an amazing record in which the number of spectators recovers to the level before the Corona 19 outbreak or more.
According to the number of spectators in the first half of the 2022-2023 season (rounds 1-3) announced by the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) on the 5th, women’s volleyball had both the total audience and the average audience per game in the 2019-2020 season, which was before the outbreak of Corona 19. increased from the first half.
Women’s volleyball recorded 103,574 total spectators and an average spectator of 2,301 in the first half of the 2019-2020 season. And in the first half of this season, the total number of spectators was 149,215 and the average spectator was 2,368.
On the other hand, men’s volleyball decreased significantly compared to the first half of the 2019-2020 season. In the first half of the 2019-2020 season, it achieved a total attendance of 143,986 and an average attendance of 2,285, but in the first half of this season, it recorded a total attendance of 88,869 and an average attendance of 1,411.
It’s not just men’s volleyball. Professional baseball and professional football have also admitted 100% of the stadium capacity from this year, but the total and average audiences have decreased significantly compared to the level before the Corona 19 incident.
This is because the aftershock of the corona crisis continues and there are many negative factors such as the economic recession. Rather, women’s volleyball, where the number of spectators has increased, is a special case.
Fans ‘Heungkuk Punishment’… More hotter ‘Only players support’
On the other hand, from the last 2nd, the worst scandal in the history of the V-League, Heungkuk Life’s volleyball team’s highest-level player appointment intervention and manager Kwon Soon-chan’s hardship occurred. Since then, volleyball fans have been showing a strong ‘punishment’ movement towards the top layer of Heungkuk Life Insurance.
Fans began responding by thoroughly separating Heungkuk Life Insurance players and Heungkuk Life clubs, including Kim Yeon-kyung. The players are cheering more enthusiastically, and Heungkuk Life Insurance is sending protests and warning messages to the top level through truck protests.
Fans did not leave the stadium disappointed by the manager’s sacking. As you can see from the early sell-out of the game on the 8th, they rather actively visit the stadium. In addition, Heungkuk Life Insurance is cheering more passionately for the players who have been hurt by the ignorant behavior of the top level. 메이저놀이터
On the other hand, it was decided to exclude the Heungkuk Life Insurance team from cheering tools and cheering slogans. In fact, in the first Heungkuk Life Insurance-GS Caltex game on the 5th after the manager’s hardship, many fans rejected the cheering clapper with the phrase ‘Heungkuk’ distributed by the Heungkuk Life Insurance club. And the fans raised their own money and cheered with a clapper that they had jointly purchased.
The purple cheering clappers produced and distributed by fans are engraved with the phrases ‘Happiness Volleyball’ and ‘Fans cheer and support the players’.
The phrase ‘Happiness Volleyball’ contains a message of protest and warning to the highest level of Heungkuk Life Insurance to stop unfairly interfering and harassing players so that they can play happy volleyball.
The enthusiasm of the fans to participate is also very hot. When the fundraiser for making the clapper started on the fan site, the money was collected in an instant, to the point of closing the deposit account early. Thanks to that, the production of 5,000 clappers was made lightly.
Heungkuk Life’s highest level of strong warning ‘truck protest’ started
In addition, fans gathered their own mercy and started a ‘truck protest’ to protest the hardship of Heungkuk Life’s manager from the 6th. The truck protest was held in the headquarters of Taekwang Industrial Seoul, Jangchung-dong, the parent company of the Heungkuk Life Insurance Volleyball Team, the headquarters of Heungkuk Life Insurance Gwanghwamun, and the Sangam-dong area where the Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) and media outlets are located.
On the electronic display board of the truck demonstration vehicle, “The perpetrator of the school violence was covered, and the text command was ordered by force? Taekwang Group Chairman, wake up!” etc. are engraved. Here, the chairman seems to be aiming at Lee Ho-jin (61), former chairman of Taekwang Group, who is the head of Taekwang Group.
The fans who hosted the truck protest said, “The owner of Heungkuk Life Insurance (parent company Taekwang Group) exercised his authority by ordering a specific form of player appointment through text message under the direction of the chairman. “There was a situation where the manager was hardened for a reason,” he explained the background, “watching this process, many women’s volleyball and Heungkuk Life Insurance fans felt great anger at the behavior of the parent company Taekwang Group.”
And to the players,
Meanwhile, on the 8th, the IBK Industrial Bank-Heungkuk Life Insurance match will be held at 2:00 pm, earlier than the previous weekend game time. The match will be broadcast live on SBS Sports, a sports channel.