The glittering opening ceremony in the French capital city of Paris on Friday, July 26 was nothing short of an entertainer. While it was first of its kind in several different aspects, it also got into limelight for some unforgettable reasons. While the one being the controversy around the Olympic flag being raised upside down, in another instance, South Korea was mistakenly introduced as North Korea, sparking a new controversy.
This incident took place during the opening ceremony at river Seine when a French speaking presenter introduced the South Korean delegation using North Korea’s “republique populaire democratique de Coree,” followed by the English translation to “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Hours after this incident, the South Korean sports ministry expressed regret on the same.
“South Korea’s sports ministry expresses regret over the announcement during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team,” the Ministry was quoted as saying by AFP in a statement. Moreover, South Korea’s second Vice Sports Minister, Jang Mi-ran, has now requested a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Chief Thomas Bach to discuss the matter, it further added.
Moreover, the Sports Ministry has also sought help from the Foreign Ministry to “deliver a strong protest to the French side” in regard to the same. It is to be noted that South Korea and North Korea are technically at war since the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty in 1953.
Furthermore, things escalated after North Korea, which entered as 153rd nation at the 2024 Paris Olympics ceremony was correctly introduced with its official name.