Olympic Gaffe: South Korean Athletes Introduced as North Korean at Paris Opening Ceremony

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has apologized for a mistake during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, where South Korean athletes were incorrectly introduced as North Korean. The error sparked displeased reactions in South Korea, a global cultural and technological powerhouse that is technically still at war with the nuclear-armed and impoverished North.

As the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine River in the French capital, they were introduced with the official name for North Korea, “Republique populaire democratique de Coree” in French, and “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” in English. The IOC apologized for the mistake, saying it was an “incomprehensible mistake” and promised to take measures to prevent a recurrence.

South Korea’s sports ministry expressed regret over the announcement, with Second Vice Sports Minister Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, requesting a meeting with IOC Chief Thomas Bach to discuss the matter. The country’s foreign ministry contacted the French embassy in Seoul, which also expressed regret over the mistake.

South Korea’s National Olympic Committee plans to meet with the Paris Olympics Organising Committee and the IOC to voice their protest, request measures to prevent a recurrence, and send an official letter of protest under the name of the head of its delegation. North Korea was correctly introduced with its official name during the ceremony.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with North Korea bolstering military ties with Russia and sending thousands of trash-carrying balloons to the South. In response, Seoul’s military has been blasting K-pop and anti-regime messages from border loudspeakers and has recently resumed live-fire drills on border islands and near the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean peninsula.