'Come Visit Busan!' Refreshing Cheer Goes Viral Again

[Anchor]

Amid the recent controversy surrounding Baejae High School's cheer, which was criticized for disparaging the May 18 Democratic Uprising, a video from a year ago has resurfaced and is drawing renewed attention. It is a refreshing clip from a final match where a player from Busan's Gyeongnam High School shouted to his opponents from Seoul's Whimoon High School, "How can the Han River beat the ocean? Come visit Busan!" We spoke with the protagonist of that moment, Yoo Jin-jun, who was the captain of Gyeongnam High School at the time.

Reporter Lee Seonghun has the story.

[Reporter]

In August of last year, Gyeongnam High School secured a thrilling come-from-behind victory against Whimoon High School in the Presidential Cup final, clinching their first-ever tournament title.

As the Gyeongnam High players rushed onto the field to celebrate their victory, team captain Yoo Jin-jun shouted the following:

[Yoo Jin-jun/Infielder at Dong-eui Institute of Technology (Former Baseball Team Captain at Gyeongnam High School): How can the Han River beat the ocean? Come visit Busan!]

This shout, filled with the joy of victory, pride in his hometown, and friendship toward the friends he competed against, became a major topic at the time. Now, in the wake of the Baejae High School incident, it is being highlighted again as an exemplary case of sportsmanship.

[Yoo Jin-jun/Infielder at Dong-eui Institute of Technology (Former Baseball Team Captain at Gyeongnam High School): I hadn't prepared it. The guys were asking, 'What should we say, what should we say?' and that just came out. People around me told me it was a great line...]

At the time, the Gyeongnam High players had agreed under the guidance of their coaching staff not to engage in cheers that mocked their opponents.

[Yoo Jin-jun/Infielder at Dong-eui Institute of Technology (Former Baseball Team Captain at Gyeongnam High School): We decided to 'focus only on cheering for ourselves' and agreed not to say anything about the opposing team. Our coaches also kept telling us, 'Just cheer for our own team...']

It is also becoming a topic of conversation that Kim Han-hol, the captain of Whimoon High School at the time, was actually drafted by the Busan-based Lotte Giants and has since made his first-team debut.

Yoo Jin-jun, who did not get drafted and went on to college, is also preparing for the day he can showcase great sportsmanship in the professional league.

[Yoo Jin-jun/Infielder at Dong-eui Institute of Technology: I just rejoined the team after an injury, and I am working hard to get good results in next year's draft.]

(Video Editing: Ha Seong-won, Video Source: SPOTV YouTube)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.