Busan Gijang-gun, 추진 for Korea's First Official Baseball Museum Establishment

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan's Gijang-gun submitted a preliminary evaluation application to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 30th of last month to build the 'Korea Baseball Hall of Fame' as a public museum.

The Hall of Fame construction project has been promoted since 2014 as a tripartite cooperation project between Gijang-gun, Busan City, and the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization).

Busan City supports a total project cost of 10.8 billion KRW, and the KBO provides 50,000 collected artifacts and supports program operations. Gijang-gun will provide the site and be responsible for facility operation and management.

The Hall of Fame will be built and promoted as a public museum operated by a local government, becoming the first official baseball museum in Korea.

Since last year, Gijang-gun has been preparing for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 'Preliminary Feasibility Evaluation for Museum Establishment' as part of the public museum establishment process, and after prior consultations with officials at the Ministry, submitted the preliminary evaluation application on the 30th.

The preliminary evaluation results are expected to be finalized at the end of April after document screening in February, on-site inspection in mid-March, and presentation evaluation in April.

A bird's-eye view of the Korea Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jung Jong-bok, the mayor of Gijang-gun, said, "We will unite our efforts to build the baseball museum, a long-cherished project for 10 years, and spare no comprehensive support to ensure it is registered as a public museum." He added, "We will make the baseball museum a representative complex cultural space in Busan with abundant attractions."

The Korea Baseball Hall of Fame is being promoted with the goal of opening in 2026 and will be located in Ilgwang Amusement Park (Baseball Theme Park) in Ilgwang-eup, Gijang-gun, with a site area of 1,852㎡ and a total floor area of 2,996.2㎡ from one basement floor to three above-ground floors.

The museum will be developed as a complex cultural space with multiple functions, including the storage and exhibition of about 50,000 baseball-related materials covering 110 years of history, the Hall of Fame honoring baseball heroes, a baseball archive center, experiential programs, and educational spaces.