Jim McMahon

Attend a sporting event in South Korea and you’ll probably see more female fans cheering in the stands than you would in many other nations. In South Korea, women make up 55 percent of fans of pro sports, according to a 2022 estimate by the Korea Professional Sports Association. (In the U.S., women account for less than half the crowds for pro athletics, and in the United Kingdom and Australia, the figure dips to a quarter or less.) Experts say the high levels of female fandom could be due to women feeling comfortable at South Korean arenas, which tend to be safe and offer family-friendly amenities. Another factor might be the nation’s intense fan culture, which includes the worship of K-pop idols. Han Nagyeong, 26, began watching soccer because she was drawn to one of the star players, but she now roots for the whole team. She says she has several friends whose fandom has taken a similar turn. “Gradually,” she says, “they became more sincere about the sport itself.”