Summer is almost over, but there is one more huge football tournament left for the Taeguk Warriors: the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games! Both the men’s and women’s sides will be competing so we want to get you ready for that action to start this week! The organization of the men’s tournament has been a little hectic (2 group re-draws?) but the schedule for the men and women is finally set so now it’s just a matter of waiting for these matches to kick off!
For the men:
Wednesday, August 15th, vs. Bahrain, 9PM KST, 8AM EST, 7AM CST, 5 AM PST
Friday, August 17th, vs. Malaysia, 9PM KST, 8AM EST, 7AM CST, 5 AM PST
Monday, August 20th, vs. Krygyz Republic, 9PM KST, 8AM EST, 7AM CST, 5 AM PST
For the women:
Thursday, August 16th, vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), 5 PM KST, 4 AM EST, 3 AM CST, 1 AM PST
Sunday, August 19th, vs. the Maldives, 5 PM KST, 4 AM EST, 3 AM CST, 1 AM PST
Tuesday, August 21st, vs. Indonesia, 8:30 PM KST, 7:30 AM EST, 6:30 AM CST, 4:30 AM PST
Now that we have our schedule set, the next question is simple: how do we watch these matches? After that first match this morning, I have some recommendations about the best way to get a good stream! This morning, MBC Sports, the Korean broadcaster, and the official Asian Games Twitter had links to free streams that I was able to watch without a hitch! The link to the official Asian Games Twitter is here and when a football match is on, they’ll have streaming links and score updates! If you want the unbridled enthusiasm of a Korean broadcast, take a look at that group stage schedule . All of the major Korean broadcasters will rotate for the matches so I’m going to list the official websites so that you can get a stream there too. Here are the links to the Korean Broadcasters: MBC Sports, KBS2 (looks like VPN to Korea will be needed), and SBS (VPN needed, we’ll get to that!). In that schedule above it lists the channel for each match, men’s and women’s, so if you head over to their websites on matchday there should be a broadcast for you. We’re going to make sure to post links to streams on our main Twitter so check us out there too: Tavern Twitter.
Another really good option could be Naver TV. This app, available on both the iTunes and Google Play app stores and on their website as well, usually has streams for football (KNT and K League), KBO baseball, and other sports. However, I have heard from friends in the UK that Naver TV is geo-blocked there so we have some other options. It’s always great to check Reddit Soccer Streams to see if your match shows up there, but I have 2 Korea-specific streaming sites that have also served me well in the past! I recommend http://btalktv.com/ and http://bwintv.net/ as the two best sites for Korean football streams!
Finally, Tim also has a specific VPN which has served him well over the years, though a simple Hola browser installation could also do the trick. SoftEther VPN always works out for him. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, and slightly more tedious than other VPNs, but the fact that it’s 1) free 2) effective 3) gives you options makes it worth the few extra clicks. It’s also workable on mobile. On desktop/laptop, install SoftEther VPN.
Hopefully these options work well for you, but if you’ve got some tips and tricks, leave them in the comments below! Enjoy the Asian Games and as always, Daehanminguk Hwaiting!
Doing the Lord’s work
Happy to help my friend!