Watching the 2026 WBC with Fried Chicken — Korea's Ultimate Baseball Snack
In Korea, watching baseball means eating fried chicken. A look at Korea's beloved baseball snack culture during the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is here, and as a Korean sports fan, I couldn't be more excited. Right after the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics wrapped up, the WBC kicked off — it's been a great stretch for sports lovers. Korea's national team started strong with an 11-4 victory over the Czech Republic, hitting four home runs in their opening game at Tokyo Dome. I was glued to the TV.
But here's the thing about watching baseball in Korea: you absolutely cannot do it without food. And not just any food — Korean fried chicken. Today, I want to talk about Korea's iconic baseball snack culture and why chicken and baseball are practically inseparable here.
Why the WBC Is So Much Fun
The WBC is often called "the World Cup of baseball." Watching the world's best players represent their home countries instead of their usual league teams brings a completely different level of excitement.
This 2026 edition is the sixth WBC tournament. Korea is in Pool C alongside some tough competition. To be honest, after three consecutive early-round exits since our runner-up finish in 2009, Korean fans are desperate for a deep run this time.
The Korean squad, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, features strong domestic league stars like Kim Do-young, Lee Jung-hoo, Moon Bo-gyeong, and Kim Hye-seong, plus Korean-American MLB players like Shea Whittcomb and Jermaine Jones. With four home runs and 11 runs in the opener, the signs are promising.
In Korea, Baseball = Fried Chicken
In Korea, watching baseball is essentially synonymous with eating fried chicken. Whether you're watching at home or at the stadium, there's chicken involved. The "chicken + baseball" combo is an unshakable icon of Korean sports culture.
I'm no different. On WBC game days, I open a delivery app about 30 minutes before the first pitch and order chicken. Whether it's classic crispy fried chicken or sweet-and-spicy yangnyeom chicken, eating it piece by piece while watching the game is pure bliss.
And of course, you need something to drink. Most Koreans pair their chicken with beer — a combination so famous it has its own name: chimaek (치맥, short for "chicken + maekju," the Korean word for beer). Chimaek has become internationally recognized as a quintessential Korean food experience.
Full disclosure: I'm not much of a drinker. One beer and my face turns bright red. So my go-to pairing is chicken + Coke Zero. The fizzy refreshment cuts right through the richness of the fried chicken. Sure, drinking plain water would be healthier, but who watches baseball without snacking? I've never met that person.
At the stadium, the experience is even more intense. Visit any Korean pro baseball stadium and you'll see chicken boxes everywhere, beer mugs in every hand, and fans cheering between bites. Other snacks like pizza, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and sundae (Korean blood sausage) are gaining popularity, but fried chicken remains the undisputed king.
Korea's Unique Baseball Stadium Culture
What makes Korean baseball culture stand out globally isn't just the food — it's the entire atmosphere. Korean baseball games are famous for their organized cheering. Each batter has their own cheer song, and entire sections of the stadium sing and chant in unison, led by dedicated cheerleaders on stage. If you've ever seen clips of Korean baseball games online, you've probably noticed it looks more like a concert than a sporting event.
The delivery culture plays a huge role too. Korea's hyper-efficient food delivery infrastructure means that even at the stadium, you can order chicken through an app and have it delivered right to your seat. At home, it's even easier — a few taps on your phone, and piping hot chicken arrives at your door in about 30 minutes.
This is why the "baseball = chicken" equation formed so naturally. When you can get incredible fried chicken delivered anywhere, anytime, and it's the perfect food to share with friends and family while watching a game... the pairing was inevitable.
Back to the WBC — Who's Going to Win?
Getting carried away with food talk — let me circle back to the tournament itself.
The favorites for the 2026 WBC are defending champion Japan and the United States, as always. Japan has assembled a stacked roster, and if they win, it would be their first back-to-back WBC title since 2009. Central American powerhouses like the Dominican Republic and Mexico are always dangerous, and Taiwan has been on the rise recently too.
As a Korean fan, I'm obviously hoping our team makes a deep run. The strong opening game was encouraging, and if we can get through the pool stage and into the quarterfinals, that alone would be a huge achievement. Korean baseball has been waiting a long time to make its mark on the international stage again since that heartbreaking 2009 final loss.
Baseball, Chicken, and Simple Joys
At the end of the day, the joy of watching baseball isn't just about the game itself — it's about the food you share and the people you share it with. In Korea, that means a whole fried chicken and a cold drink, whether it's beer or Coke Zero.
I know I should probably just drink water and skip the snacks for my health. But when a home run sails over the fence, and you pop a piece of crispy chicken in your mouth, and wash it down with an ice-cold drink while cheering at the top of your lungs — that tiny moment of happiness is something I'm just not willing to give up.