'Is he a K-drama lead?': Korean baseball team's handsome interpreter goes viral

The striking looks of an interpreter for Korea’s national baseball team competing at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games became a hot topic on social media. Taiwanese media outlet China Times reported Thursday on the interpreter’s appearance in an article titled, “‘I Thought He Was a Drama Lead’: Who Is the Man Interpreting for Korea at the Asian Games Who Has Become an Internet Sensation?” The report focused on the looks of the interpreter working with the national team led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun. “The baseball game between Taiwan and Korea took place on Sept. 21. While the thrilling game itself drew attention, the Korean team’s interpreter unexpectedly caught viewers’ eyes with his exceptionally handsome looks,” the outlet reported. “Many netizens mistook him for a scene from a Korean drama and took screenshots of the broadcast, asking, ‘Who is that?!’ It turned out that the handsome man was Baek Deok-yeol, a staff member of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO),” it added. According to China Times, Baek appeared on the broadcast during the first Group B game