Korea looks to return to early 2000s success in new 'Behind the Flag' documentary

Korea's national baseball team was riding high in the early 2000s. In the years following Chan-Ho Park's debut as the first Korean-born player in the Major Leagues in 1994, the sport's popularity exploded, leading to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic games and a heartbreaking, extra-innings loss to Japan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic final.

Despite the success found by Korean players in the Major Leagues like Shin-Soo Choo, Ha-Seong Kim, and Hyun-Jin Ryu (who is back to play for the national team at next month's World Baseball Classic), the national team's performance has suffered since then. They haven't advanced beyond the first round since that 2009 defeat and the 2023 tournament was a lowpoint, Korea being upset by Australia and taking a heavy 13-4 loss against rivals Japan.

But everything -- as Jaeki Cho, the man behind Righteous Eats, narrates in the newest "Behind the Flag" documentary -- "comes in waves: Culture, history, music, technology and, sometimes, baseball."

Cho -- with help from former big leaguers like Byung-hyung Kim and Sun-Woo Kim and reporters Jee-ho Yoo, Jae Woo Song, Jee Huyng Kim and Yun Ju Roh -- traces the growth of baseball alongside Korea's emergence as a global leader, culminating in the sport's exploding popularity today. These days, KBO games are high-energy, sold out affairs, with fans gleefully singing and dancing for all nine innings.

Will the national team -- bringing in an exciting collection of Major Leaguers, U.S. players with Korean heritage, and young KBO stars -- be able to build on this passion and bring glory back to the national team? Watch the documentary at the top of the post and then tune in when Korea begins its World Baseball Classic campaign against Czechia on March 5.