– Tradition revealed at the opening match of new player songs
– Cho Seong-hwan and Lee Dae-ho cheering songs remain in memory
– 18 years as a leader thanks to the love of fans
– Tea brewed by his wife

is the secret to throat care ‘Sajik Karaoke’ 메이저놀이터reopened at the end of September last year. With the Corona 19 endemic transition, ‘no mask’ and foster support became possible at the baseball field. Accordingly, this year, the ‘Busan Seagull’ is expected to resound at Sajik Stadium from the home opening game.

There is someone who has been waiting for this news more than anyone else. Jo Ji-hoon (44), cheerleader of the Lotte Giants. Director Cho said, “Due to COVID-19 for the past two years, ‘Isn’t this why we can’t see Lotte fans forever?’ I was worried countless times. Aside from the admission revenue, as the game continued without spectators, the players were very disappointed because they could not breathe with the fans.” said.

In the last Stove League, when Lotte recruited three free agents (Yoo Kang-nam, Noh Jin-hyuk, and Han Hyun-hee) and a large number of ‘released veteran’ players, general manager Cho became busy as well. This is because we had to create a cheering song suitable for the new players before the start of the league. The cheering song that resonates whenever a player appears not only symbolizes the player, but has long been established as an indispensable element of fans’ support. Players pay a lot of attention to their cheering songs. General Manager Cho announced, “We plan to release a new cheering song in the opening game against Doosan in Jamsil on April 1.” When he asked if he could listen at least briefly to taste, Captain Cho was adamant. He said, “Some other clubs make it public before the season, but it has become a tradition for us to disclose it during the opening game. Also, for the fans who have struggled to get tickets for the opening game and come to ‘intuitive’ the baseball game, I think we should tell them first.”

Lotte’s representative cheering songs include “Come back to Busan Port”, “Oh ~ the strongest Lotte” and “Busan Seagull”. Then, what is Cho’s favorite cheering song? He said, “I can’t pick and talk about one song because I’m attached to each song.” Last year, Lee Hak-joo’s cheering song was the most popular.” Usually, the cheering song is created by combining the opinions of the cheerleader and the club front desk. Once the direction of cheering and the atmosphere of the song are decided, the music director goes into production. When the song is completed, it is confirmed by the club. Sometimes the players are asked for their opinions.

It has been 18 years since Cho took office as the Lotte cheerleader. He started as a professional basketball (KBL) Anyang SBS Stars cheerleader in 2000, and has been associated with Lotte since 2006. He was able to do this for 10 years thanks to thorough ‘neck management’. General Manager Cho said, “In the baseball season, there are matches every day, so it is humanly impossible not to have a sore throat.” In the days when he didn’t have any tips for cheering, he only shouted loudly without adjusting the intensity, so he even told him not to use his neck anymore at the hospital. He said, “The sky really looked yellow at that time, but he recovered somewhat after drinking the tea his wife brewed every day.”

There is only one thing that Cho has yet to do as the Lotte cheerleader. It is Korean series support. He said, “(Lotte win) remains a part of my life. I want to do it by selling my soul, but there is nothing I can do unless I am a player or manager. That’s why it’s even sadder,” he said. “If Lotte advances into the Korean series this season, rather than creating a new song for an event, we will try to make a remake by slightly modifying the existing cheering song. If you make a new song, it will be difficult for fans to sing along, and the effect may be halved.”

Cho has been running a sports marketing company since 2010, using his experience as a cheerleader. In addition to sports-related events, it also manages video production and social networking services (SNS). After 10 years of establishment, the number of employees has increased to 12 people. The recent retirement ceremony of ‘Joseon’s number 4 hitter’ Lee Dae-ho was also held by General Manager Cho’s company. He said, “I play the role of a cheerleader during the baseball season and run the company during the off-season, so I spend a day without blinking my eyes.” “It was thanks to the love of Lotte fans that I was able to continue working as the cheerleader for a long time without change,” he said.