Dreaming of making it big in baseball, teenage brothers Ahn Seung-han and Ahn Seung-young traveled hundreds of miles from their home to Deokjekdo. Baseball and the team are now the closest thing they have to family.
The boys are among the dozens of teenagers who have left the bright lights of South Korea’s big cities to enroll in a specialized sports academy founded by Kim Hak-young, former coach of the Dongguk University elite team that has produced countless athletes. I’m alone. Belongs to the nationwide KBO Major League.
“If I work hard here, I can become a mainstay, so I will work even harder. If I keep improving my grades, I can become a professional baseball player,” his younger brother Seung-yeon (16) said during practice.
Sports academies not only help young boys realize their dreams, they also provide support to young people who, like many other rural areas, are struggling to attract and retain young people in the world’s fastest aging society. It revitalized the city.
The island has a population of 1,800 people, most of whom are elderly. The school was on the brink of losing its last school last year due to national school board guidelines that stipulate closure if enrollment drops below 60 students.
Thanks to Kim and his friend Jang Kwang-ho, the baseball coach at Deokjak High School, things have changed.
“The players who come here come with a great mindset. Don’t come here unless you’re willing to give up everything,” Chan said.
Although the island is less than two hours by ferry from Incheon, it remains fairly isolated from the mainland and undeveloped.
