# The Difference Between Korean and Japanese Volleyball

Sarina Koga, the captain of the Japanese women's volleyball team, is ending her career after the Paris Olympics. This is not a common practice for Korean players to retire from the national team. She is now 28 years old. She quit playing even though she can play in full swing. She did not give an explanation, saying, "It's too fast," and the Japanese people are deeply disappointed. Above all, her outstanding skills make her happy with Korea.

Koga led Japan to second place in this year's International Volleyball Federation Nations League. Her husband Yuji Nishida also played a leading role in bringing Japan to second place. Both of them won the 2023-24 Japanese Volleyball Championship and received the Most Valuable Player Award. They are among the best in the world in volleyball. However, their treatment is low. Compared to Korean volleyball players, they say it is ridiculous.

Japanese sports media recently estimated how much the Koga and Nishida couple make a year. Japanese volleyball players' salaries are closed to the public because there is no professional league in the country. Companies and clubs that run volleyball teams pay players' salaries. The Koga couple's annual income is an estimate of not only players' annual salaries but also all their income from activities such as advertising. The couple's combined income is around 600 million won approx.

Japan's Highest Player Expensive Salary is 1/10 of Korea's Highest Salary

Suppose that Korea's top male and female players are couples. Their annual salary is 1.88 billion won 1.08 billion won for men and 800 million won for women. This is about three times the annual salary of the Koga and Nishida. Even though the couple make a lot of hard work, they are still less than the highest-paid salary of one person in Korea. Strictly speaking, the gap is far bigger than the annual salary. Couples have a lot of extra income, which makes up even one third of the Korean players.

The high annual salary is 85 million won approx. 1/10 of the highest annual salary for a Korean woman. Still, he is relatively high among computer companies "NEC" as he was the top player between 23 and 24. Other high-priced contracts include sponsorship, advertising, and television appearance fees. The contract details of personal sponsorship are not disclosed. Famous sports players earn 50 million won approx. Koga has been appearing in a commercial for Japan's largest lunch box company since a year ago.

The average salary of her husband Nishida's "Osaka Pretheon" is about 77 million won approx. Her job experience is more important than her ability to play volleyball. Still, Nishida is younger than her age at 24 and she is a member of the national team, which is estimated at 60 million won approx. One of her main sources of income is YouTube, which is 480,000 subscribers, which is expected to earn between 60 million won approx. Her annual income is estimated to reach 250 million won 27,400 U.S. dollars with her sponsorship contract.

The Koga and Nishida couples earn less than 150 million won a year. However, they are estimated to have earned nearly 600 million won by earning a lot of extra income from various extracurricular activities. Japanese people say they were surprised. This means they earn too much. I wonder what they would say if they saw the salaries of Korean players.

Korea's women's volleyball team ranked 15th among 16 countries in the Nations League this year. It lost 30 consecutive games following 2022 and 23. It was a neighborhood book. Men couldn't even participate because they were ranked low in the world. That's why both of them couldn't make it to the threshold of the Paris Olympics. Compared to Japan, which ranked second in the world, the team is indeed shabby.

Nevertheless, the average pay for a male athlete is 26 million won 237,000 dollars. The average pay for a female athlete is 134 million won 123,000 dollars. For a female athlete whose annual pay exceeds 100,000 dollars, 52 out of 115 male and 30 out of 107 female athletes. There are many male and female athletes who earn more than 500 million won 468,400 dollars. The world volleyball community is surprised. Compared with her performance in the world's top 30 teams, the figure is over the top.

In comparison, the average annual salary of a Japanese male volleyball player as of January this year is estimated at around 72 million won. One third of Korea's, and about 70 million won for Japanese women. This is about one-half of Korea's. The high annual salary is about 10 percent of Korea's highest annual salary. Nishida's is around 6 percent.

Most volleyball players in Japan work as employees of companies and clubs in their teams. Only a few players sign professional contracts. If so, the annual salary is estimated to be less than 150 million won. If they do not go overseas, they cannot catch up with Korean players even if they engage in various side jobs such as YouTube.

So Japanese media lamented, "The annual salary of a volleyball player is sad compared to other sports," "The reality is that it is less than 10 million yen 85 million won, let alone 100 million yen 85 million won. I have no dream," and "Is this the reason why we rarely hear the voice of a player who wants to become a professional volleyball player in the future?"

Why is Japan ranked at the top of the world even though its annual salary is at least, so there are not many young people who want to play volleyball? In Korea, it is said that when the annual salary is high, the skills improve, and that way young students flock to volleyball. Compared to Korea, it is a "messy" that cannot be explained or understood. There is only a way to explain it with the love and passion of volleyball by the players and officials.

Japan has more population and economic power than Korea. Still, volleyball is not a professional volleyball player. Even though Korea says it will become a professional starting this year, its success remains to be seen. The reason it has not become a professional is simple. The reason it does not become a professional is because it lacks popularity to become a professional. The first division of the V-League attracts more than 260,000 men and 200,000 women. The attendance is less than 250,000 men and 335,000 women in Korea. You cannot make money because there are not many spectators. You cannot give a lot of money to players. A "professional" is something like that. However, Korea, which does not have a big gap in the number of spectators, has become a professional for a long time.

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Unlike Korea, Japan does not have corporate charitable contributions. Public corporations struggling with deficits do not operate professional teams like Korea. Most large companies, including Toyota, do not provide large amounts of money under the pretext of not being able to prove their effectiveness, such as promotional expenses. This is impossible. Not only volleyball but also all sports. The same is true of the U.S. If the team makes up for the deficit, it is directly turned away from shareholders and consumers. This is because it has a negative impact on the economy.

Clubs established by individuals, hospitals, and local sports associations are in very difficult situation. Most of the men's club "Oita" was created by Miyoshi Hospital in 1994, and its players worked at the hospital. However, the club was suspended this year due to the death of its founder. Japanese volleyball has failed to create a professional team because it is difficult to establish a foundation for itself.

Managing professional teams with local government tax or corporate charitable funds is not only against the principle of professional baseball but also against economic common sense. Such a climate of professional sports deteriorates the skills of Korean players in soccer, volleyball, basketball and baseball. It makes them lose international competitiveness. They must meet their means and capabilities. Watch Japanese volleyball right away and learn from them.