Park Jeong-hyun and Baekhyun to Take the Stage at Domestic Major League Opening Game

by Kim Heeyun

Published 12 Mar.2024 12:09(KST)

Singing the National Anthem of Korea and the United States at the Opening Ceremony Stage

Singer Park Jung-hyun and EXO member Baekhyun will take the stage at the opening game of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season, held for the first time in Korea.

Singer Park Jung-hyun. [Photo by Bonbu Entertainment]

The 'MLB World Tour Seoul Series 2024' will be held on the 20th and 21st at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. It is the official MLB opening game between the LA Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.

According to the music industry on the 12th, the two will sing the Korean national anthem and the US national anthem a cappella on the opening of the 'MLB World Tour Seoul Series 2024' at the Gocheok Sky Dome on the 20th and 21st, respectively.

This Seoul Series is the 9th opening series in MLB history and the 3rd in Asia. The MLB office reportedly chose Park Jung-hyun and Baekhyun as the singers after careful consideration.

Previously, Park Jung-hyun sang the US national anthem in the United States. She performed the US national anthem at the 2010 graduation ceremony of Columbia University's School of General Studies. She majored in English literature and comparative literature at Columbia University.

Baekhyun. [Photo by INB100]

Baekhyun was recognized as a Hallyu star. In November last year, he also participated in the opening ceremony of the '2023 LoL World Championship' (Worlds) finals held at the Gocheok Sky Dome.

As the status of Korean popular music rises, Korean singers are increasingly appearing on the stage of major global sports and gaming event opening ceremonies. Jungkook, a member of the global supergroup BTS, sang the official theme song 'Dreamers' at the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup. The syndrome girl group NewJeans, who sang the 2023 Worlds theme song 'Gods,' also performed at the opening stage of the finals.

Meanwhile, Korean major leaguers Kim Ha-seong and Go Woo-seok (both Padres), Japanese major leaguers Yu Darvish (Padres), and Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) will participate in the opening game.