Hyun-jin Ryu is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. He has also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

Baseball is believed to have been introduced to Korea in 1905 by American missionaries during the Korean Empire, after which it gradually attained prominence. After the division of the Korean Peninsula into North Korea and South Korea in 1945 and the further destabilisation of the Korean War from 1950–53, baseball has become one of the most popular sports in South Korea. North Korea, under isolationist leadership, does not have the same level of investment in baseball as South Korea. There are 10 professional teams in South Korea's KBO League. Baseball season runs from March to October.