A Royals/Chiefs fan from South Korea soaked up all KC has to offer during visit
As a teenager in Seoul, South Korea, Jun Hong Kim was searching for a Major League Baseball team to root for when he watched the movie, “Moneyball.”
Jun soon began cheering for the Oakland A’s, but he changed allegiances after one of the most famous games in the Kansas City history: the 2014 Wild Card Game.
“The 2014 Wild Card Game that was so great,” Jun said Friday as he tailgated with a boisterous but affable group of friends in Lot A at the Truman Sports Complex. “My favorite player: Salvador Perez, Salvy, so I became a Royals fan. After that, there were obviously so poor. In 2017, I didn’t have any sports to watch in the winter. So I thought: ‘What should I do?’
“Twitter said, Patrick Mahomes is debuting in Denver. Before then, I wasn’t an NFL guy. Had only heard of maybe Tom Brady. But Twitter exploded because of Patrick Mahomes and I started watching Chiefs games after that and became a Chiefs fan.”
Although he lives on the other side of the planet, Jun connected with fans in Kansas City on X (née Twitter), and his love of the Royals and Chiefs blossomed. Three Super Bowl championships helped, too.
Jun, 25, saved up for a trip to meet those friends in person and arrived in Kansas City on Aug. 17 for a week’s stay in the City of Fountains. He shared his ambitious plan to soak up all the best things about KC.
Jun said he did about 98% of the things on that itinerary before leaving Saturday.
“It’s my first time so I had to ask Twitter, ‘What should I do in Kansas City?’ That’s how I made the list,” he said. “This is so cool. I went to like five barbecue places in a week. My stomach was bloated. My first few days my body condition was bad. I couldn’t sleep, so I went to Joe’s barbecue. It was so delicious. I ate it all ... and my stomach exploded. And the next few days, I couldn’t eat.”
Jun laughed as he recalled the barbecue overload, but it was so delicious that he couldn’t resist eating more.
At the first Royals game he attended, Jun got upgraded seats from the Royals, along with a bag of goodies that included a Cole Ragans autographed ball and a bobblehead.
Radio broadcaster Jake Eisenberg mentioned Jun while calling Tuesday’s Royals-Angels game, and the two met afterward.
At last week’s Chiefs-Bears preseason game at Arrowhead Stadium, fans came to take a selfie.
“It felt like I was famous, like I was a celebrity,” said Jun, who took a picture with Mahomes’ mother, Randi. “It was so cool.”
While at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Jun was greeted by Bob Kendrick, the museum’s president.
Jun fell in love with Kansas City and wants to return as soon as he can.
“This is the best moment of my life,” Jun said. “I don’t know what the future will be, but this will be the best moment of my life yet. Maybe my whole life. It probably will be.”
A big part of what made Jun love Kansas City was the support from his friends, who until a few weeks ago he had known on social media. They helped show him around the area, and Jun couldn’t pick a favorite place he visited in Kansas City. But here are some highlights he shared on X.
This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 10:04 AM with the headline "A Royals/Chiefs fan from South Korea soaked up all KC has to offer during visit."
