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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: SEMIS & FINALSMarch 17, 2006In-Sik KimJong-Beom LeeJae-Weong SeoSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Team Korea. Q. I think at the beginning of the tournament, if anyone would have said that Korea not only is the only undefeated team but is in the semi-finals, it might have been a little surprised. How do you react to those comments, that you are the surprise team? Obviously you knew you had a good squad when you came here. This is for the manager. IN SIK KIM: No, I did not expect that at all. I did not anticipate that we would be where we are today. Our goal was to be one of the top two teams in the pool, but we will do our best for the remaining games, and I am also surprised at the fact that we made it this far. I think it's due to our excellent players, and they played an excellent game each game. Q. This is for the players. Can you talk about the rivalry with Japan and your feelings for them? It's clear that it's a pretty intense rivalry. JONG BEOM LEE: Well, yes, we have this rival feeling, but as you know, we have very deep feeling of that, but since I was little, we always had this, whenever Korea and Japan team were having a game, nobody wanted to lose. They had a very strong will to beat the other team. Up to now, Japan has been known to be a top team in Asia, but we work harder to beat Japan. I think because of that, because of our strong will, the zeal to beat the Japan team, maybe there is some hidden power that comes out when we fight against the Japan team. JAE-WEONG SEO: Well, the Korea and Japan are known to be the top two teams in Asia, and that's why we have very strong rivalry for a long time, and also it goes back to our history and tradition. It stems from our parents' generation and us, and also I'm sure that our next generation probably will feel the same. So whenever we have a game against Japan, we have the strong will to beat team Japan. Q. This is a question for the manager. You've played them twice, beat Japan twice. Which team do you think has the advantage going into tomorrow's game and why? IN SIK KIM: Well, I cannot answer your question for sure. Advantage? Well, I mean, Japan almost did not make it to semi-final, but because of the game last night, Japan was able to make it to the semi-final. So maybe now they have this additional power that they did not have, and energy. But regarding which team we are going to have a game against, we have to do our best. Which team has the advantage? I do not know, I cannot answer, but I think the Japanese team has very strong team spirit at this point. Q. This question is for Jong Beom Lee. Japan and Korea have a very long and difficult history between them, but you played in Japan and you continued with your very successful career in Korea. What did you take from your time in Japan back with you, and is beating Japan a way of showing your personal growth and showing that you learned something in Japan and are now giving it back to them? JONG BEOM LEE: Well, I played in Japan for three and a half to four years, and I was led into a national career in Korea and I'm here again. I'm a better hitter, and having played in Japan definitely helped to learn the strength and weakness of Japanese pitchers, somewhat familiar with their patterns, just like a Seung Yeop Lee, as he is familiar with Japanese pitchers' patterns. I know somewhat about which pitcher throws a ball on which side, so as a batter, it is much better to know the styles of the pitchers, and I think that that has been perhaps the secret for our success. Let's see, if I teach anything that I learned from Japan from my experience in Japan? Well, rather than teaching them, I would tell them that it was a very, very valuable experience, and it was a golden opportunity, so I kind of encourage them to have an experience like that, and also having the experience in Japan helped us to analyze our strategy better. Q. I would like to ask to Mr. Kim, tomorrow one of the Asian teams will come up to the final. How do you think, considering the future, is it a big step for the Asian baseball world? IN SIK KIM: Well, who will make it to the finals? I don't know, and none of the players know, and I don't think Japan would know, either. I mean, we just have to wait until the game is over to determine who will be the winner. I'm not able to answer your question. Of course, one of the two teams, yes, from tomorrow's game will make it to the finals, and I think it's very, very important in Asian baseball obviously. And also the WBC. I hope that with this tournament that there will be a baseball boom in Asia, and I believe that that is the No. 1 priority for WBC, as well, is to popularize baseball throughout the world, and I hope that baseball would be popularized in the Asian region, as well. Q. Mr. Kim, can you tell us who the starting pitcher is for tomorrow? IN SIK KIM: Jae-Weong Seo. Q. My question is for Jae-Weong Seo. After the Korean-Japan game you had a victory lap and also you put the Korean flag on the mound. What kind of mindset do you have against the Japan team for tomorrow? JAE-WEONG SEO: Well, I know that I heard that Japanese players hurt their pride when we put the Korean flag in the mound, but that's not something I have to be concerned with. I mean, we won and we were ecstatic, and we showed our happiness in that manner. But tomorrow's game, I'll do my best and I'm positive that Japanese players will do the same. We will do our best to have a wonderful game for everybody. Whoever wins will be very happy, and the loser, probably sad, but that's the nature of the game. Again, we will do our best.
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