A welcome face stood out at the dugout of Jeonju High School, which represented Jeonbuk at the 105th National Sports Festival in Jinhae Baseball Stadium in South Gyeongsang Province. Jung Woo-joo, who will play for the Hanwha Eagles next year, is the hero of the event. Last month, Jung Woo-joo, the second-ranked pitcher of the Hanwha Eagles in the first round of the 2025 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) rookie draft, signed a contract worth 500 million won (approx.
The National Sports Festival is known as the most prestigious competition only in other sports, but the reality is that the importance of high school baseball is not very high because it takes place after all professional nominations are completed. For this reason, many third-year players do not play, or even if they do, they often support their juniors in the dugout.
Jung Woo-joo was selected as the second overall pick in the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft held in September, so many baseball fans predicted a break, but he stood on the “last high school stage” with his juniors at this tournament along with Lee Ho-min, Lee Han-rim, and Choi Yoon-seok, who were also nominated as professionals. Jung Woo-joo smiled, saying, “I came to the last tournament because I wanted to make memories together.”
“Let’s make the last memories”. Jeon Ju, and Jung Woo Ju, making it to the semifinals
Jeonju High School, which represented North Jeolla Province at the 105th National Sports Festival. A large number of junior high school players participated in this year’s championship. The list includes pitcher Lee Ho-min (designated in the second round at the KIA), who also played for the youth national team including Jung Woo-ju, Lee Han-rim (designated in the third round at LG), and Choi Yoon-seok (designated in the sixth round at SSG).
Players’ conditions seemed extraordinary as they came to make final memories with their juniors. Notably, Jeonju High School had the best year ever, winning two championships at the Blue Dragon and Phoenix Reckless.
In the first game held on the 12th, Jeon High School won a cold victory against Pohang Steel High School in the 9-1 and 7th inning. Jeon High School contributed to the victory by hitting two home runs in a game. Park Han-gyeol scored a back-to-back home run following Sung Min-soo’s leadoff batter home run in the first inning, and also crossed the fence of Jinhae Baseball Stadium in the fifth inning.
Jeonju High School also had a cold victory in the seventh inning with a score of 8 to 0 in the quarterfinals with Gyeonggi Commercial High School on Sunday. Starting with Lee Han-rim’s leadoff double in the third inning, Jeonju High School had a big inning to sweep five runs.
Following Lee Si-hoo, a first-year pitcher who allowed 3.2 scoreless innings from the first inning, Jung Woo-joo also pitched 44 pitches, taking the mound from the fourth inning and striking out five while taking charge of 3.1 scoreless innings. As such, third-year players performed well in the pitching and advanced to the semifinals and succeeded in securing a medal for the National Sports Festival.
Ju Chang-hoon, the coach of Jeon High School, praised the players, saying, “Actually, I wanted the kids to take a rest because they were nominated, but the 3rd graders said they want to make the last memory like a ‘graduation trip’ at the National Sports Festival.” Joo said with a smile, “I am also making good memories with the players in every game. I want to make more memories with them by eating a lot of delicious food with them.”
Coach Joo then thanked Jung Woo-joo, saying, “I’m so proud that (Jung) Woo-joo also said he wanted to throw 40 to 50 balls.” Coach Joo said, “In particular, since there are so many good players in the first and second grades, including (Park) Hangyeol, we are trying to show that Jeonju High School is not easy next year through the National Sports Festival.”
“Since you’re nominated as a professional, you feel so responsible”
Among the third-year players who are about to enter the professional 꽁머니 league, Jung Woo-joo was a “superstar” at Jinhae Baseball Stadium. Right after the game with Jeon, many fans asked for his autograph by handing the ball to Jung Woo-joo. One fan even prepared a uniform for the Hanwha Eagles and asked Jung Woo-joo for an autograph.
Jung Woo-joo, who has been careful about many things since he was nominated by Hanwha Eagles. Jung Woo-joo said, “I feel a little more responsible now that I go to the professional league,” and added, “The coach and the coach are asking me to be as sincere as usual, so I’m more careful about my words and actions.”
Why did you prepare to pitch in this year’s event? “Our school’s performance was good this season. So we decided to wrap it up on our own,” Chung said. “Since all our seniors are running together, it’s natural that we can’t be left out. We’re preparing well for pitching as well.”
“I think it’s because everyone is working hard and not getting nervous at the National Sports Festival,” Jung Woo-joo said on his performance in this year’s event. “I think this is the last check before I start professional baseball. Finally, I want to strengthen it well.”
Jeonju High School, which has advanced to the semifinals of the National Sports Festival, will play in the semifinals on Sunday. If it wins in the semifinals, it will play in the final on Sunday.