The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers will be the first teams to play a Major League Baseball game in South Korea. The series will be the Padres 2024 season opener and will take place on March 20-21, 2024. San Diego Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim is among the country’s most popular stars.

The games will be counted as spilt home games, one apiece for San Diego and LA. The Seoul baseball stadium location has not yet been announced.

Start Times

There is a +16 hour time difference in South Korea. First pitch has not yet been announced.

MLB International Games

Here are the MLB series played outside of the United States and Canada.
Mexico

• 1996, August 16-18 – New York Mets vs. San Diego Padres – Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey
• 2018, May 4-6 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres – Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey
• 2019, April 13-14 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds – Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey
• 2023, April 29-30 – San Francisco Giants vs. San Diego Padres – Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, Mexico City
• 2024, April 27-28 -Houston Astros vs. Colorado Rockies – Mexico City

Japan

• 2000, March 29 – Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo
• 2000, March 30 – New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo
• 2019, March 20-21 – Seattle Mariners vs. Oakland Athletics – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo

United Kingdom

• 2019, June 29-30 – New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox – London Stadium, London
• 2024, June 8-9 – New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies – London

Australia

• 2014, March 22-23 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

Baseball in South Korea

Baseball was first introduced to Korea during the Japanese colonial period in the early 1900s, and after independence in 1945, it quickly became the country’s national sport. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) was established in 1982, and since then, it has grown into a popular league with ten teams. Major League Baseball has had a long-standing interest in South Korea, and in 2008, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the KBO to promote and develop baseball in the country. In 2014, the KBO and MLB signed a player-transfer agreement that allows Korean players to join MLB teams. In August 2022, MLB and the Players Association announced the creation of the Korea Series, which would have been the first time MLB players traveled to South Korea to play games since 1922. However, due to a contractual issue with a local promoter, MLB canceled the 2022 Korea Series, which was scheduled for November. Despite this setback, both MLB and KBO remain committed to promoting baseball and fostering a closer relationship between the two leagues.

There are 5 Korean-born players currently on MLB rosters in 2023: Kim, Ji-Hwan Bae and Ji-Man Choi (Pittsburgh Pirates), Rob Refsnyder (Boston Red Sox), and Hyun-Jin Ryu (Toronto Blue Jays).

In San Diego at Petco Park, the Padres will be celebrating Korean Heritage on Tuesday, September 19.