# Korean Series

The Korean Series (Korean: 한국시리즈; Hanja: 韓國시리즈; RR: Hanguk Sirijeu) is the final championship series of the KBO League. It has been held since the KBO League's first season in 1982 and is the final series of the post-season play-offs. From 2005 to 2013, the winner of the Korean Series went on to play in the Asia Series.
The teams finishing in fourth and fifth place in the regular season face each other in the wild card game, which was added to the KBO League postseason in 2015. The winner of the wild card game faces the team that finished in third place during the regular season in the first round of the play-offs, with the winner then facing the team that finished in second place during the regular season in the second round of the play-offs. The winner of that round faces the team that finished in first place for the championship in the Korean Series.
All championships are a best-of-seven playoff series between the league pennant winner and the winner of the second round of the play-offs. The series follow a 2–2–3 format since 2022; the first two games and the last three games, if necessary, are played at the home venue of the league pennant winner, while the third and fourth games are played at the home of the winner of the second round. If the game ends in a tie, more games would be scheduled until any one of the teams wins four games.

## Results

* Note: Winning team and losing team columns indicate the number of times that team has appeared in a Korean Series as well as each respective teams' Korean Series record to date.
* Note: Games in the KBO League have a limit to the number of extra innings and/or time that could be played before being officially declared a tied game (except in 2008 when this rule was removed). When post-season games were declared tied, they had to be replayed.
| Year | Winning team | Manager | Games | Losing team | Manager | Most Valuable Player |
| 1982 | OB Bears (1, 1–0) | Kim Yeong-duk | 4–1–(1) | Samsung Lions (1, 0–1) | Seo Yeong-mu | Kim Yu-dong (OB-OF) |
| 1983 | Haitai Tigers (1, 1–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–0–(1) | MBC Chungyong (1, 0–1) | Kim Dong-yub | Kim Bong-yeon (Haitai-IF) |
| 1984 | Lotte Giants (1, 1–0) | Kang Byeong-cheol | 4–3 | Samsung Lions (2, 0–2) | Kim Yeong-duk | Yu Du-yeol (Lotte-OF) |
| 1985 | Samsung Lions (1–2) | Kim Yeong-duk | No Korean Series | No Korean Series | No Korean Series | No Korean Series |
| 1986 | Haitai Tigers (2, 2–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–1 | Samsung Lions (3, 1–3) | Kim Yeong-duk | Kim Jung-soo (Haitai-P) |
| 1987 | Haitai Tigers (3, 3–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–0 | Samsung Lions (4, 1–4) | Park Yeong-gil | Kim Jun-hwan (Haitai-OF) |
| 1988 | Haitai Tigers (4, 4–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–2 | Binggrae Eagles (1, 0–1) | Kim Yeong-duk | Mun Hui-su (Haitai-P) |
| 1989 | Haitai Tigers (5, 5–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–1 | Binggrae Eagles (2, 0–2) | Kim Yeong-duk | Park Cheol-u (Haitai-IF) |
| 1990 | LG Twins (2, 1–1) | Baek In-chun | 4–0 | Samsung Lions (5, 1–5) | Jeong Dong-jin | Kim Yong-soo (LG-P) |
| 1991 | Haitai Tigers (6, 6–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–0 | Binggrae Eagles (3, 0–3) | Kim Yeong-duk | Jang Chae-geun (Haitai-C) |
| 1992 | Lotte Giants (2, 2–0) | Kang Byeong-cheol | 4–1 | Binggrae Eagles (4, 0–4) | Kim Yeong-duk | Park Dong-hui (Lotte-P) |
| 1993 | Haitai Tigers (7, 7–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–2–(1) | Samsung Lions (6, 1–6) | Woo Yong-deuk | Lee Jong-beom (Haitai-IF) |
| 1994 | LG Twins (3, 2–1) | Lee Kwang-hwan | 4–0 | Pacific Dolphins (1, 0–1) | Jeong Dong-jin | Kim Yong-soo (LG-P) |
| 1995 | OB Bears (2, 2–0) | Kim In-sik | 4–3 | Lotte Giants (3, 2–1) | Kim Yong-hee | Kim Min-ho (OB-IF) |
| 1996 | Haitai Tigers (8, 8–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–2 | Hyundai Unicorns (2, 0–2) | Kim Jae-bak | Lee Kang-chul (Haitai-P) |
| 1997 | Haitai Tigers (9, 9–0) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–1 | LG Twins (4, 2–2) | Cheon Bo-seong | Lee Jong-beom (Haitai-IF) |
| 1998 | Hyundai Unicorns (3, 1–2) | Kim Jae-bak | 4–2 | LG Twins (5, 2–3) | Cheon Bo-seong | Chung Min-tae (Hyundai-P) |
| 1999 | Hanwha Eagles (5, 1–4) | Lee Hui-su | 4–1 | Lotte Giants (4, 2–2) | Kim Myeong-seong | Koo Dae-sung (Hanwha-P) |
| 2000 | Hyundai Unicorns (4, 2–2) | Kim Jae-bak | 4–3 | Doosan Bears (3, 2–1) | Kim In-sik | Tom Quinlan (Hyundai-3B) |
| 2001 | Doosan Bears (4, 3–1) | Kim In-sik | 4–2 | Samsung Lions (7, 1–7) | Kim Eung-ryong | Tyrone Woods (Doosan-1B) |
| 2002 | Samsung Lions (8, 2–7) | Kim Eung-ryong | 4–2 | LG Twins (6, 2–4) | Kim Sung-keun | Ma Hae-yeong (Samsung-OF) |
| 2003 | Hyundai Unicorns (5, 3–2) | Kim Jae-bak | 4–3 | SK Wyverns (1, 0–1) | Cho Beom-hyeon | Chung Min-tae (Hyundai-P) |
| 2004 | Hyundai Unicorns (6, 4–2) | Kim Jae-bak | 4–2–(3) | Samsung Lions (9, 2–8) | Kim Eung-ryong | Cho Yong-joon (Hyundai-P) |
| 2005 | Samsung Lions (10, 3–8) | Sun Dong-yol | 4–0 | Doosan Bears (5, 3–2) | Kim Kyung-moon | Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung-P) |
| 2006 | Samsung Lions (11, 4–8) | Sun Dong-yol | 4–1–(1) | Hanwha Eagles (6, 1–5) | Kim In-sik | Park Jin-man (Samsung-SS) |
| 2007 | SK Wyverns (2, 1–1) | Kim Sung-keun | 4–2 | Doosan Bears (6, 3–3) | Kim Kyung-moon | Kim Jae-hyun (SK-OF) |
| 2008 | SK Wyverns (3, 2–1) | Kim Sung-keun | 4–1 | Doosan Bears (7, 3–4) | Kim Kyung-moon | Choi Jeong (SK-3B) |
| 2009 | Kia Tigers (10, 10–0) | Cho Beom-hyeon | 4–3 | SK Wyverns (4, 2–2) | Kim Sung-keun | Na Ji-wan (Kia-LF) |
| 2010 | SK Wyverns (5, 3–2) | Kim Sung-keun | 4–0 | Samsung Lions (12, 4–9) | Sun Dong-yol | Park Jung-kwon (SK-1B/RF) |
| 2011 | Samsung Lions (13, 5–9) | Ryu Joong-il | 4–1 | SK Wyverns (6, 3–3) | Lee Man-soo | Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung-P) |
| 2012 | Samsung Lions (14, 6–9) | Ryu Joong-il | 4–2 | SK Wyverns (7, 3–4) | Lee Man-soo | Lee Seung-yeop (Samsung-1B) |
| 2013 | Samsung Lions (15, 7–9) | Ryu Joong-il | 4–3 | Doosan Bears (8, 3–5) | Kim Jin-wook | Park Han-yi (Samsung-RF) |
| 2014 | Samsung Lions (16, 8–9) | Ryu Joong-il | 4–2 | Nexen Heroes (1, 0–1) | Yeom Kyung-yup | Yamaico Navarro (Samsung-2B) |
| 2015 | Doosan Bears (9, 4–5) | Kim Tae-hyoung | 4–1 | Samsung Lions (17, 8–10) | Ryu Joong-il | Jung Soo-bin (Doosan-CF) |
| 2016 | Doosan Bears (10, 5–5) | Kim Tae-hyoung | 4–0 | NC Dinos (1, 0–1) | Kim Kyung-moon | Yang Eui-ji (Doosan-C) |
| 2017 | Kia Tigers (11, 11–0) | Kim Ki-tai | 4–1 | Doosan Bears (11, 5–6) | Kim Tae-hyoung | Yang Hyeon-jong (Kia-P) |
| 2018 | SK Wyverns (8, 4–4) | Trey Hillman | 4–2 | Doosan Bears (12, 5–7) | Kim Tae-hyoung | Han Dong-min (SK-RF) |
| 2019 | Doosan Bears (13, 6–7) | Kim Tae-hyoung | 4–0 | Kiwoom Heroes (2, 0–2) | Jang Jung-suk | Oh Jae-il (Doosan-1B) |
| 2020 | NC Dinos (2, 1–1) | Lee Dong-wook | 4–2 | Doosan Bears (14, 6–8) | Kim Tae-hyoung | Yang Eui-ji (NC-C) |
| 2021 | KT Wiz (1, 1–0) | Lee Kang-chul | 4–0 | Doosan Bears (15, 6–9) | Kim Tae-hyoung | Park Kyung-su (KT-2B) |
| 2022 | SSG Landers (9, 5–4) | Kim Won-hyong | 4–2 | Kiwoom Heroes (3, 0–3) | Hong Won-ki | Kim Kang-min (SSG-CF) |
| 2023 | LG Twins (7, 3–4) | Youm Kyoung-youb | 4–1 | KT Wiz (2, 1–1) | Lee Kang-chul | Oh Ji-hwan (LG-SS) |
| 2024 | Kia Tigers (12, 12–0) | Lee Bum-ho | 4–1 | Samsung Lions (18, 8–11) | Park Jin-man | Kim Sun-bin (Kia-2B) |

## Records by team

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.
| Team | Wins | Losses | Apps | Win % | Season(s) |
| Haitai / Kia Tigers | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1.000 | 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2017, 2024 |
| Samsung Lions | 7＋1 | 11 | 18 | .389 | 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2024 |
| OB / Doosan Bears | 6 | 9 | 15 | .400 | 1982, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| SK Wyverns / SSG Landers | 5 | 4 | 9 | .556 | 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2022 |
| Pacific Dolphins / Hyundai Unicorns | 4 | 2 | 6 | .667 | 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004 |
| MBC Chungyong / LG Twins | 3 | 4 | 7 | .428 | 1983, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2023 |
| Lotte Giants | 2 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 1984, 1992, 1995, 1999 |
| Binggrae / Hanwha Eagles | 1 | 5 | 6 | .167 | 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2006 |
| NC Dinos | 1 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 2016, 2020 |
| KT Wiz | 1 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 2021, 2023 |
| Nexen / Kiwoom Heroes | 0 | 3 | 3 | .000 | 2014, 2019, 2022 |

## Frequent matchups

The following are the ten matchups of teams that have occurred two or more times in the Korean Series.
| Count | Matchup | Record | Years |
| 5 | Doosan Bears vs. Samsung Lions | Bears, 3‍–‍2 | 1982, 2001, 2005, 2013, 2015 |
| 4 | Kia Tigers vs. Samsung Lions | Tigers, 4‍–‍0 | 1986, 1987, 1993, 2024 |
| 3 | Kia Tigers vs. Hanwha Eagles | Tigers, 3‍–‍0 | 1988, 1989, 1991 |
| 3 | SSG Landers vs. Doosan Bears | Landers, 3‍–‍0 | 2007, 2008, 2018 |
| 3 | Samsung Lions vs. SSG Landers | Lions, 2‍–‍1 | 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| 2 | Kia Tigers vs. LG Twins | Tigers, 2‍–‍0 | 1983, 1997 |
| 2 | Samsung Lions vs. LG Twins | Tied, 1‍–‍1 | 1990, 2002 |
| 2 | Lotte Giants vs. Hanwha Eagles | Tied, 1‍–‍1 | 1992, 1999 |
| 2 | LG Twins vs. Hyundai Unicorns | Tied, 1‍–‍1 | 1994, 1998 |
| 2 | Doosan Bears vs. NC Dinos | Tied, 1‍–‍1 | 2016, 2020 |