When I think of basketball I think of the NBA, Micheal Jordon and the movie Space Jam. Personally I’ve never had much interest in it as in England it just looks like a cooler version of Netball. However a week ago I had the opportunity to go and watch a live professional game in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and I thought it was worth a shot. Here are details of the Samsan Gymnasium, Incheon ET Land Elephants and the experience in general.
How to get to the Samsan Gymnasium
The Samsan Gymnasium is on the boarder between Incheon & Bucheon. It is very simple to get to as the new extension of subway line 7 has a stop right outside it, called “Samsan Gymnasium Station” or 삼산체육관역 in Korean. Basically from there you take exit 3 and walk straight down the road for a couple of minutes its that easy. I’ve included a map if you’re interested plus the address in Korean is: 인천 부평구 삼산동 458-1
About Samsan Gymnasium in Incheon
The Samsan Gymnasium is a 7,500 capacity indoor arena in Eastern Incheon and Western Bucheon boarder, and is home to the Incheon ET Land Basketball team. In the same area as the Gymnasium are parks and a couple of museums and tourist attractions. Also a major nightlife area of Bucheon is only one subway stop or a 10minute walk away.
Inside the arena you can buy snacks, drinks and beers (which were ₩3000 each).
Tickets for Incheon ET Land Elephants
Ticket prices range wildly depending on many things such as: the day of the game, type of game, seating area and even gender (yes girls get a discount). For the game I went to a Saturday Afternoon the ticket cost ₩10,000 which was the cheapest option (I think). However the girls in the group only paid ₩8,000 (female discount). I was lucky and part of a Facebook meetup group (Arranged by the Fresh Korean Institute), and so didn’t have to work out the complex system.
If you just ask for the cheapest seats you should be ok.
Ticket Information Link (sorry only in Korean)
Incheon ET Land Elephants vs. Goyang Orions (The Game & More)
As I said at the beginning I’m not a basketball fan and I only roughly know the rules plus this was my first basketball game. Information in English about the Incheon ET Land Elephants is a little limited but from what I read, they have 2 American players in their squad both forwards and they are an average mid-table side. That’s about it.
Before the game there was a random mass warmup with everybody doing a strange dance after which the cheerleaders threw gifts into the crowd, I’m proud to say I caught (it was a mini-blanket). Then the game started, it was interesting, a few 3 pointers but sadly only 3 slam dunks during the whole game (one pictured below). Here are some action shots:
Apart from the game, there were numerous entertainment breaks when the cheerleaders danced or the cameras did a kiss cam. All of which was very interesting a made the 2 hours fly by. Here are a few pictures of the entertainment:
The game finished Incheon 90 – Goyang 80, which was Incheons highest points tally of the season so far. Here are a couple of pictures displaying the excited Incheon ET Land Elephants Fans:
Useful Links
If your interested in finding out more, here are few few useful links about the Incheon ET Land Elephants:
Finally
A big thank you to Fresh Korean who arranged the Facebook Event, it was fun and a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I’m looking forward to the next one.
Thank you for your time today and if you have any questions about the Incheon ET Land Elephants or comments please feel free to let me know either here or via the Modern Seoul Twitter/Facebook pages.
Tim Modern Seoultim@modernseoul.org
Modern Seoul 
You’re welcome, it was a fun day. Hope to see you again in January for our 2nd Language Exchange party 🙂