Abstract

Korean baseball experienced dramatic growth from the late 1950s to the 1980s, rising from a mid-tier position in Asia to a world-class level. Existing research has primarily focused on state-led policies and the establishment of professional baseball, while the role of Zainichi Korean players has remained undervalued. This study analyzes approximately 50 Zainichi Korean players who participated in Korean baseball between 1956 and the early 1990s through the examination of historical documents, statistics, and oral testimonies. Focusing on Chang Myung-bu, who recorded 30 wins in 1983, the study demonstrates that these players functioned as key mediators in the transfer of Japanese baseball techniques during the formative period of Korean professional baseball. The concentration of Zainichi Korean player migration in the early 1980s resulted from a “structural window” created by discrimination within Japanese society, the establishment of Korean professional baseball, and the narrowing salary gap between Korea and Japan (which declined from 5.38:1 in 1980 to 1.76:1 in 1982). However, this window closed rapidly following the 1985 Plaza Accord. The undervaluation of these players resulted from the complex interaction of nationalist narratives, institution-centered research trends, media emphasis on contract amounts, and the erosion of collective memory. This study repositions Zainichi Korean players as structural actors in the modernization of Korean baseball and offers a perspective that understands Korean sports history as a transnational process shaped by the intersection of East Asian labor markets and diaspora networks.