Gwangju Jeil High coach describes moment Baejaego players mocked rivals with 'Starbucks' chant

Some Baejaego players chant "Let's go to Starbucks" against Gwangju Jeil High School. [Provided by reader]

Jo Yun-chae, the baseball coach at Gwangju Jeil High School, has given a firsthand account of the incident in which Baejaego players chanted a slogan mocking the May 18 pro-democracy uprising during a game against his team.

Speaking Tuesday on CBS Radio's "Park Seong-tae's News Show," Jo said he was inside the dugout during the top of the eighth inning and did not hear the opposing team's chant directly. "It was our head coach who shouted loudly during the game, 'This Starbucks thing is too much' — that's when I became aware of it," he said.

Jo said his coach was visibly agitated and moved toward the third-base dugout to intervene. "After hearing what happened, I asked the umpire to issue a warning or eject the players for chanting that kind of slogan," he said.

Baejaego in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

On the number of players involved, Jo said he understood Baejaego's baseball team had about 30 members in total. "I'm not sure of the exact count, but I heard that more than ten of them did it together as a group," he said.

Regarding the umpire's response, Jo said the official acknowledged the complaint and indicated he would take action, walking over and making some kind of gesture toward the Baejaego side. "I'm not entirely sure exactly what kind of warning or sanction was given," he said. Jo added that the chanting was not heard again after that.

Asked whether such a mocking chant had occurred before, Jo said it was a first. "Honestly, a chant like this has never happened before. There have been arguments in the past over simpler taunting or teasing, but nothing like this," he said.

Jo acknowledged that the ongoing controversy was affecting his team's ability to focus. "Baejaego is a prestigious school, and this kind of thing has never happened there before — I hope this gets wrapped up properly and resolved well," he said.

He also had a message for the Baejaego players. "I hope this incident serves as a turning point, and that they compete with the spirit of amateur baseball — fair and square. I also hope their coaches properly teach the players not to say things that demean or hurt the opposing team," he said.

Baejaego had sparked controversy at a national high school baseball tournament by chanting "Let's go to Starbucks" — a phrase widely understood as ridiculing Gwangju and its association with the May 18 pro-democracy uprising — and was considering forfeiting its remaining games.

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