V League posts all-time attendance record across 2024-25 season

The 2024-25 V League season witnessed the highest cumulative attendance record in league history at 598,216 for its men's and women’s games.

The Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders celebrate winning the 2024-25 V League Championship at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on April 8. [YONHAP]

The 2024-25 V League season witnessed the highest cumulative attendance record in league history at 598,216 for its men's and women’s games, the Korea Volleyball Federation announced Tuesday.

This season’s 266 games — 132 men’s and 134 women’s — saw the record total attendance, with 257,159 fans recorded in the men’s league and 341,057 spectators in the women’s league.

The men’s league also logged 1,948 fans on average, with the women’s seeing 2,249.

The men’s saw the most fans this season at a game between the Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers and the Uijeongbu KB Insurance Stars on Jan. 19, while the women’s recorded its highest attendance this season during the fifth game of the championship series between the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders and the Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks on April 9.

That championship game was not only the second-most watched game in women’s V League history, but it was also the season finale that saw Korean volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung end her storied career by winning the championship title on top of the regular season trophy with the Pink Spiders. Kim announced earlier in the 2024-25 campaign that she would retire at the end of the season.

The rest of the top five most-watched games in this season’s women’s league were all contests in which the Pink Spiders were involved.

The 2025-26 V League season will miss Korean volleyball icon Kim, who not only contributed to the league’s popularity but led the country to the semifinals at the 2012 and 2020 Olympics.

The Pink Spiders are reportedly considering holding a retirement ceremony for her at the team’s first home game next season.

The 2025-26 campaign will begin in October. Before the new season unfolds, V League stars who received women’s national team call-ups will compete in the annual Volleyball Nations League, during which the squad faces 12 multiple countries from June to July.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]