Hanwha vs. Kiwoom
Overview
Hanwha vs. Kiwoom refers to the matchup between the Hanwha Eagles and the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League, a regular fixture that has continued without interruption in the same first-tier league since the Heroes were founded in 2008. In the 2010s, the pattern was clear: Kiwoom (formerly Nexen) sat in the upper tier while Hanwha remained in the lower tier. From the mid-2020s onward, however, Hanwha began to rise on the strength of roster reinforcement and the construction of a new stadium, significantly altering the balance of power between the two clubs. Both teams command fan bases representing the Seoul metropolitan area and the Chungcheong region, so interest rises especially in periods when they are competing for position in the standings.
Main Content
Overview of the Two Teams
Hanwha Eagles is a club founded in 1986 as the Binggrae Eagles, acquired by the Hanwha Group in 1993, and has been based in Daejeon ever since. The club won the 1999 Korean Series and used Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium as its home ground before moving to Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in 2025. Kiwoom Heroes launched in 2008 as the Woori Heroes, changed its parent company to Nexen in 2010 and to Kiwoom in 2019, and plays its home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The club reached the Korean Series twice, in 2014 and 2019, finishing as runners-up both times.
History of the Matchup
After the Heroes joined the first-tier league in 2008, the two teams have played roughly 16 games per season, building up a head-to-head record. In their early years the Heroes were limited by the constraints of a newly founded club, but in the 2010s they raised their competitiveness through their player development system and trades, reaching the postseason consistently between 2014 and 2019. Hanwha, by contrast, spent most of the 2010s in the lower tier and endured a long stretch of trailing in the head-to-head record. In particular, as the upper-tier strength of Nexen/Kiwoom in 2019 overlapped with Hanwha's slump, this matchup sometimes came to be perceived as a "card with a large gap in competitiveness."
Reversal of the Balance of Power
Entering the 2020s, the trend began to flip. Kiwoom entered a rebuilding phase as key players departed via free agency and trades, while Hanwha raised its competitiveness through the signing of foreign players, in-house development, and free-agent additions. In 2023 and 2024, Hanwha remained in the race for the mid-tier while Kiwoom stayed in the lower tier, and in 2025 Hanwha contended for position in the upper reaches of the regular season while Kiwoom maintained its rebuilding framework and posted results around or below a .500 winning percentage. Accordingly, unlike the 2010s, Hanwha has increasingly held the upper hand in matchups since the mid-2020s.
Stadiums and Points of Interest
Hanwha's home, Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, is a newly built stadium emphasizing an open structure and the spectator experience, and since its opening it has driven the baseball boom in the Daejeon area. Kiwoom's home, Gocheok Sky Dome, is the only domed stadium in the country and is unaffected by the weather, making game operations stable. The two stadiums differ in the presence or absence of a roof, fence distances, and the influence of wind, producing different degrees of pitcher- and hitter-friendliness; this is cited as a factor creating differences in home and away performance even within matchups between the same two teams.
Representative Rivalry Elements
The two teams are not traditional "regional rivals," but they are often compared because of the late-2010s standings race, indirect competition in the foreign player and free-agent markets, and each club's distinctive fan culture. Hanwha stands out for its overwhelming home attendance, while Kiwoom stands out for its relatively small budget and development-centered operations, each showing a different character. This contrast becomes a talking point not only in terms of gameplay but also in comparisons of how the two clubs are run.
Latest Trends
As of 2024–2025, Hanwha is at the stage of setting attendance records with the opening of its new stadium and aiming for a leap into the upper tier behind foreign pitchers and hitters and a young infield. Kiwoom is in the process of completing a generational change, focusing on the development and reorganization of rookie-level players. As a result, this matchup has taken on a stronger character as "a contest between an upper-tier contender and a rebuilding team," and it has often been the case that Hanwha holds the advantage early in the season while Kiwoom's young players rebound later in the season. As attendance rises across the KBO League and OTT and digital broadcasts expand, matchups between the two teams are also being exposed to a broader viewership through regional broadcasts and online platforms. In addition, with institutional changes such as the Automated Ball-Strike system (ABS) and larger bases being introduced, changes in pitching management and base-running strategy are being reflected in the nature of the matchup as well.
Related Topics
- [[Hanwha Eagles]]
- [[Kiwoom Heroes]]
- [[KBO League]]
- [[Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark]]
- [[Gocheok Sky Dome]]