By Tae-in Chun

When people think back to the 2001 World Series, many remember this scene: a game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth, and a pitcher collapsing on the mound. The man at the center of that moment was BK, Byung-hyun Kim. That year, he was the closer for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He took responsibility for finishing games in both the Division Series and the Championship Series, helping Arizona reach the World Series. In Games 4 and 5, he gave up two home runs. The series went all the way to Game 7, and in the end, the team won the championship. Kim became the first Korean player to appear in the World Series and experience winning it.

Byung-hyun Kim made his professional debut at twenty. At twenty-two, he was entrusted with the ninth inning of the World Series. His pitches, rising sharply from a low release point, felt unfamiliar to hitters. That unfamiliarity was his weapon.

A personality that stood out even more in the conservative culture of Korean baseball

Although Kim was an exceptional talent, the trait that made him even more famous in Korea was his “bad boy” image. In 2003, while playing for the Boston Red Sox, he was heavily booed by home fans and responded by raising his middle finger toward the stands, instantly causing controversy. He later apologized publicly. MLB media at the time also criticized the act as “unprofessional.” Still, after the apology and the club’s disciplinary action, the issue did not grow further there.

In Korea, however, the image lingered strongly. Even now, it is still remembered as the “beop-gyu incident.” The nickname grew out of the similar sound between the English swear expression and the Korean word beop-gyu meaning “regulation,” along with the trivial fact that he had studied law. It eventually became one of Kim’s best-known nicknames.

That same year, after returning to Korea, he got into a physical altercation with a reporter while refusing unsanctioned media coverage at a health club. The incident was reported as an “assault controversy.” In 2006, he was unable to join the national team for the World Baseball Classic after losing his passport. There were also a series of mishaps involving his precious World Series rings, including losing them during a move, finding them at home, and then losing them again. Episodes like these reinforced his image as a highly individualistic figure.

His choices after retirement, and an extension of his MLB experience

After retiring, Byung-hyun Kim entered the food business. It began with a sushi restaurant in San Diego. Later, he opened “Gwangju Jeil Hambaego” in Gwangju. His decision to focus on hamburgers goes back to his playing days. He said that when he visited Boston in 1995 for the World Youth Baseball Championship, he walked into a Burger King for the first time. That experience became one of the sparks, and he has said that the food culture he encountered while living in the United States also shaped his business ideas.

The idea of opening a restaurant inside a baseball stadium was something he had carried with him since his days with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He explained that he was inspired by Gonzo’s Grill at Chase Field. Seeing a stadium restaurant named after a player made him want to open a burger shop inside a ballpark using the name of his alma mater, Gwangju Jeil High School. His stores later opened in places such as Gocheok Sky Dome and Changwon NC Park, and at one point expanded to five branches, though only the main location is currently operating.

Later, he adjusted both the menu and the direction of the business. He now runs Metz Hannam, a German-style sausage restaurant in Hannam-dong, Seoul. To make sausages, he learned the process from a sausage meister in Korea. Afterward, he participated in a sausage competition held in Germany. The sausages he made received awards from the German Butchers’ Association.

He said, “Baseball was my world, and I poured all my passion into it. After retirement, there was an emptiness. So I started working in food service, and now I am pouring my passion into that work.” Even after retirement, he has continued baseball in another way.

Past that era, now in a place where he talks about MLB

Recently, he has been appearing on the MLB Korea talk show Meritalk. The program was created to introduce Major League Baseball to Korean baseball fans. Joining him are Johnny of the K-pop group NCT, Dustin Nippert, former Arizona and Texas pitcher, and Sun-woo Kim, who played for Montreal and Washington.

Although it is an entertainment program, it also covers how former MLB players adapted to the minor leagues and the major leagues, as well as the cultural differences they experienced.

Byung-hyun Kim moved to the United States at twenty. At the time, he was only the third Korean player ever to reach Major League Baseball. There was also very little environment for receiving advice on adapting to life and competition in another country. Looking back on his MLB days on Meritalk, he says this:

“MLB is not a system where someone takes care of you. If you set a goal, you have to fight for it yourself until the end. But rather than trying to force quick results, it is more important to adapt to the system first. English matters as much as baseball. You also should not isolate yourself, and it is important not to compare yourself with others.”

His advice mentions adaptation before baseball skills. It is the perspective he gained from experiencing the major leagues at a young age. Now, drawing on that experience, he shares entertaining stories that help Korean fans understand and enjoy Major League Baseball more deeply.

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