KBO Games Cancelled: Record Heat Wave Halts Korean Baseball

If a KBO baseball game was on your Seoul itinerary this week, don’t head to the stadium without checking first: the league has cancelled all games nationwide because of the heat, and upcoming fixtures are on hold indefinitely.

It’s a real loss — a packed KBO night game, with the chants, the beer, and the city skyline glowing behind the stands, is one of the best cheap nights out in Seoul. Which is exactly why the league pulling the plug mid-season says everything about how serious this heat wave is.

What happened

Korea is in the middle of its worst heat wave on record — the national all-time high was broken three times in a single week, peaking at 42.5°C. At a night game in Incheon on August 5, a 25-year-old spectator went into cardiac arrest and had to be revived with CPR and a defibrillator, and around 25 fans at the same game were treated for heat-related illness.

The KBO called an emergency meeting with all ten clubs and the players’ association the next day and cancelled every first- and second-division game — an unprecedented move in the league’s history. Games stay suspended until the league finalizes safety measures, so there is no restart date yet (Chosun Ilbo report).

If you already have tickets

• Cancelled games are refunded automatically through the platform you booked on (Ticketlink, Interpark, or a team’s own app) — you don’t need to do anything, but the refund can take a few days to appear on a foreign card.
• Don’t rely on the ticket date. Postponed games will be rescheduled, but your original ticket usually isn’t valid for the make-up date — you rebook when new tickets open.
• If you bought through a reseller or a tour package, contact the seller directly; the automatic refund only covers official channels. If the Korean-only refund page defeats you, this is exactly the kind of thing our Anything Else concierge service handles.

How to check the schedule in English

The KBO’s official site is Korean-only, so use one of these:

• MyKBO or the “KBO” section of major sports apps — English schedules and live cancellation updates.
• Your team’s official app (Doosan Bears, LG Twins, SSG Landers, etc.) — push alerts go out when a game is called off, sometimes only in Korean, but the ❌ icon on the schedule is universal.
• 1330 Korea Travel Helpline — free, 24/7, English-speaking. They can check today’s status for you if the apps are confusing.

Same-day heat cancellations have been announced as late as a couple of hours before first pitch, so check again before you leave — especially for weekend day games.

Stay safe out there

This heat is not normal even for a Korean summer, and it has already killed at least 19 people this season. Outdoor sightseeing follows the same logic as the ballpark: do it before 11 a.m. or after sunset, carry water, and duck into a subway station, convenience store, or bank lobby when you feel dizzy — all are air-conditioned and nobody will mind. Call 119 if you or someone near you shows signs of heat stroke (confusion, no sweating, fainting).

One more heat casualty nobody warns you about: keypad door lock batteries drain faster in extreme temperatures. If yours dies and locks you out, here’s how to get back in.

Get it sorted

Stuck figuring out a refund, a rescheduled game, or anything else that’s suddenly in Korean? Message us on WhatsApp — we’ll sort it out in English. First answer is free.