Yupoong was founded in South Korea in the 1970s, and is still headquartered in the country’s capital Seoul today. Seoul is a modern city in a forward-thinking country, but how much do you know about South Korea’s contribution to headwear and the culture surrounding it?
1. Baseball is a hugely popular sport
The sport of baseball has never gained much traction outside of North America, but a notable exception to this is South Korea, which has a competitive and highly respected baseball league.
The Korean Baseball Organisation (KBO) was set up in 1981 by South Korean leader Chun Doo-hwan, who was either a big fan of the sport or used it for political means, depending upon your opinion. Either way, the sport has grown quickly in the East Asian country, with a recent Deadspin.com article describing the KBO as:
“The wildest, most outlandish baseball league in the world.”
As with Major League Baseball in the U.S., the popularity of the sport has lead clubs to develop and stylise their own American-style baseball caps, although teams there are almost all named after companies, such as electrics giant Samsung and Korean car manufacturer Kia.
2. Food delivery is on another level
In business and retail, one of the most common areas in which baseball caps are seen is in catering. You’re probably familiar with the idea of fast food customer service employees or pizza deliverers wearing caps branded with their company name.
In South Korea, though, you’re much more likely to see these caps every day, as almost all restaurants offer a home delivery service. Even McDonalds, a restaurant most Europeans and Americans will only have experienced by going through their doors or drive-thru, will deliver to South Korean homes, so it’s quite possible to see a red and yellow cap, with the fast food giant’s familiar logo printed on the front, right on your doorstep.
3. South Korean couples like to wear matching outfits
According to Patricia K. Kummer’s book ‘South Korea (Enchantment of the World)’, couples in South Korea are very proud to publicly display the fact that they are an item. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a surprise, therefore, to spot a pair of lovebirds in Seoul who are both wearing exactly the same baseball cap?
4. Millions of Koreans live in America’s big cities
It’s estimated that between 1.5 million and 2 million people of Korean descent live in the United States today. What’s more, most of them live in the country’s big cities like New York, Seattle and Chicago, all of which are known for their baseball teams.
If you’re on the streets of these cities, it’s not unlikely that you could see a South Korean native wearing a New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners or Chicago Cubs cap, showing of their support of their new home town.
As you can see, South Korea is a fascinating country of innovation and free thinking, so it’s not surprising that it remains the home of such a cutting-edge company as Yupoong.
