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When the idea of spraying water into the stands was first proposed, the reaction was cold.
The perception that a baseball stadium is a place to watch a game, not to play in water, was so strong. kt wiz was founded in 2013 and debuted in the KBO first division in 2015, and they started this Water Festival in that very debut season.
Many said it made no sense to spray water into the stands, and there were actually quite a few complaints. Looking at how it is now after those times, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the entertainment-ification of professional sports in Korea truly began with this event.
Every Club Does It Now, But the Original Is Different
Today, almost all of the ten professional baseball clubs in Korea run similar water events.
But the original kt wiz Water Festival’s world-leading scale and the way fans perceive it remain at a level that other clubs find hard to match. Every summer, as the event approaches, it draws intense coverage not only in sports news but in general media as well, and has become a signature piece of summer content.
Mirrorball Time and the Beat Bat — Synergy Content
In particular, the Water Festival held on midsummer nights created synergy by combining with kt wiz’s other unique content.
After the game, a small concert called “Mirrorball Time” follows, with dazzling lights and DJing alongside fans, and when you add kt wiz’s unique cheering tool, the “Beat Bat,” it maximizes the enjoyment of fans who came to the stadium. As someone who actually participated, both as a marketer and as a regular fan, I couldn’t help but think this was amazing at how far they went. These elements went viral on social media and YouTube, and now well-known domestic singers and bands perform and join in, forming a culture of enjoying the event with fans.
These light sticks, wirelessly synchronized with the cheerleading controller, change color and rhythm from in-game cheering to post-game Mirrorball Time, so it felt like the result of designing the entire spectator experience, not just a single event.
Popularity Crosses Borders — Benchmarked by Overseas Clubs
This popularity crossed borders. In June 2019, Japan’s professional teams—SoftBank Hawks, Nippon-Ham Fighters, and Chiba Lotte Marines—visited kt Wiz Park to benchmark IT-based fan services like smart ordering, and Rakuten Eagles even requested cooperation with the water cannon equipment kt wiz had developed to scale up their own Water Festival. Considering how rare it is for a domestic club to be benchmarked by overseas clubs, it was a remarkable scene.
Becoming the KBO’s Signature Summer Event
Now the kt wiz Water Festival has outgrown being an event solely for kt wiz fans. The sections where water is concentrated draw fans from all ten KBO League teams, regardless of their team, and it has effectively become a KBO-representative summer event.
Every time I hear that games sell out as soon as tickets open, I’m reminded that this is a case where a single team’s event grew into content for the entire league.
K-Style Cheering Spreads to MLB
This trend hasn’t stayed within Korea. The entertainment-ification of Korean professional sports has become something even U.S. Major League Baseball clubs—baseball’s homeland—are paying attention to. During a visit to the New York Mets last year, I saw firsthand how they were benchmarking K-style cheering culture and fan experience elements, even reorganizing their cheerleading team.
Closing Thoughts
In summary, the biggest change the kt wiz Water Festival brought about was a change in perception.
It broke the long-held notion that sports venues should focus only on the game and helped establish the idea that they should provide entertainment on par with the game itself. I believe one reason younger generations are so passionate about Korean professional baseball today started here.
I strongly recommend all sports lovers, both domestic and international, who read this to experience the kt wiz Water Festival at least once.
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