Hwaighting! Pt. 2: A People’s History of South Korean MMA

Previously on “Language Fight:” South Koreans work hard, they’re tough, mentally strong, and they are starting to fuck people up with their jiu jitsu. And like jiu jitsu, Korean MMA is still relatively new; in terms of producing talent in MMA, Korea does very well. There are Korean fighters competing in local organizations like Road FC, international organizations like One FC, and even in the UFC. Korean fighters are representing their country abroad and at home, but how are Korean sport fans receiving their athletes? How closely do Koreans follow the sport of MMA? And how many Koreans are joining MMA gyms to train as a hobby? What of Woman’s MMA? And What is the experience of training and fighting in South Korea like?

Just like BJJ, Mixed Martial Arts has a rich but short history in South Korea. MMA communities around the world are a complex ecosystem made up of fighters, fans, promoters, managers, trainers, students, and their families. An athlete could compete on TV one day, go home the next morning, do an interview for a magazine, pick up the kids from school, take them to the gym, teach a boxing class, take the kids back home, finish their own training session, and then talk to his or her manager about the next fight. To truly analyze the global expansion of MMA, I have to present it through the eyes of not only the fighters, but also the newbies in the gym, the fans, training partners, family members, and coaches that make up the MMA scene. This being my 3^rd post, I’ve learned to narrow my topics a little better. This post deals with how well the Korean public socially accepts the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, and the potential of South Korea as a future market for MMA.

Interest in MMA grew when the Action Channel began broadcasting King of the Cage and Pride FC events in 2002. A year later Daehwan Kim was hired on as an announcer for free televised live events. "There weren't many people that could commentate this kind of shit... at the time the sport itself was really new. And before I went [into] the army i ran a website dealing with MMA... While I [was in] the army, the broadcast station [SBS] started showing MMA... They wanted to find a commentator and they found my website... I [had] and audition and they liked me" says Kim. Since then, MMA fights have drawn good ratings; especially among young males.

“I was thirteen [the first time I] watched King of the Cage,” says Korean MMA coach Taemin Kwak. King of the Cage was a mid level organization at that time, and the UFC was in its dark ages while the Japanese organization, Pride FC, ruled the MMA world. At the time most Korean fans looked up to Pride stars like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko, and Kazushi Sakuraba, from Brazil, Russia, and Japan respectively. When asked what made him want to start training, Kwak answered, “Sakuraba [made] me [start] training.” It is interesting that a Japanese fighter inspired a teenage Korean kid considering that Korea and Japan have an uneasy history of war, colonization, and oppression.

It is also interesting that, one of the biggest MMA stars in Korea is Sung Hoon Choo, better known by his Japanese name, Yoshihiro Akiyama. Born and raised in Japan, but of Korean decent, Akiyama had a difficult upbringing. He was bullied in school, and even after starting his MMA career, he was initially boo’ed by both Japanese and Korean fans for never being quite Japanese enough or being Korean enough to be accepted. Despite all this, Akiyama is now a household name in both countries. Through the sport of MMA, Akiyama was able to bridge cultural and political differences between two peoples. His exciting fights helped both Korean and Japanese fans look past their personal issues with his ethnicity or nationality and embrace him as their own. Today, Akiyama not only fights for the UFC, but also models designer clothes, holds sold out concerts in sport stadiums, is an actor in TV and films, and promotes everything from hand soap to chewing gum in both countries.

At first, it may seem that MMA and its athletes are widely liked by the Korean mainstream, but MMA is just another part of Korea’s wide generational gap. Only 60 years ago, Korea was a nation in ashes. Thus, the Korea experienced by the older generations was very different from Korea today. One older Korean man told me he worries about the youth today. To him, young people are lazy, overly sexual, and disrespectful. He can’t relate to Korea’s youth culture, and MMA is just another part of something he sees strange. “Many people think it’s not a sport, [they think] it is just a fight,” says Hyungsu Kim. Almost every MMA coach I talked to expressed an initial tension between them and their parents over their chosen profession.

Gender also plays a big role in the acceptance of MMA. From a young age girls are taught to be gentle, cute, and submissive. While women who train are usually fans of the sport, generally speaking cagefighting and Korean femininity don’t go together. For example, Taemin Kwak had to break up with his a girlfriend over MMA. She couldn’t get into the sport, and believed he cared more about training than his relationship. Turns out she was right, but there are Korean girls out there for Taemin. I brought some female Korean friends to watch the UFC, and a lot of them enjoyed the action. And when a big Korean name fights in the UFC, it is common to see at least a few female fans watching at the local bar. Still, most Korean girls I’ve met aren’t fans of the sport.

But in spite of the generational and gender gap, the Korean public is embracing MMA. Like I said before, BJJ is growing fast and with it generally comes an interest in MMA. With every jiu jitsu gym that opens, the market for MMA grows. And with young people continuing to follow the sport, South Korea can become a big market for the UFC.

As it stands right now, Koreans are not laying down their money to buy MMA merchandise and media. Furthermore, the largest Korean organization, Road FC, still has trouble selling out tickets. But, a look deeper into who is attending the fights proves the audience is made up of people who train MMA. The potential market for MMA grows as the number of people who train grows. If there is any indication as to how far MMA can go in South Korea, it’s the fact that MMA gyms are opening all around the country. Dong Hyun Kim just opened a very successful gym in the city of Daejeon. And “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung is now the proud owner of the newest MMA gym in Gangnam. A gym that had over 250 enrollments within the first few weeks of its opening. That makes 250 new people who will buy tickets to events, 250 people that will buy mouth guards, rashguards, gloves, and fight shorts, and 250 new people who will introduce the sport to their friends and families. Even K-Pop singers, TV actors, and film stars all took advantage of the one-on-one private lessons offered by Jung; bringing further mainstream attention to MMA.

But it’s the regular people who are training that will make up the first markets for MMA. Those gym newbies still falling over when throwing a jab are the ambassadors for the sport. They will be the ones who will wake up Sunday mornings (because of the time difference) to watch live UFC events. They are the ones who will talk their friends and family into watching the fights together. They will be the ones explaining the action to their coworkers, boyfriends, and girlfriends, and it is exactly those people that I will discuss in my next segment.

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