At the Paris Olympics, the opening ceremony, held outside the stadium for the first time, was marked as impressive by many. However, a few major blunders came to light, sparking outrage. Notably, South Korea’s 143 athletes, who are in Paris to compete in 21 events, were mistakenly introduced as representing North Korea.
Big Blunder at the Paris Olympics 2024
The incident occurred when the South Korean team made their entrance on a boat, and a French-speaking presenter mistakenly announced them using the official name of North Korea in French: “République populaire démocratique de Corée.” While non-French-speaking people might have struggled to understand, when English speakers translated it as “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the mistake became clear. The correct name for South Korea is “Republic of Korea,” not the former.
South Korea’s second vice sports minister to meet with the IOC
After this giant mistake, reports indicate that South Korea’s Second Vice Sports Minister, Jang Mi-ran, who was also an Olympian and the 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, is looking to meet with International Olympic Committee Chief Thomas Bach.
The sports ministry has also asked the foreign ministry to “deliver a strong protest to the French side” over the error. It is important to note that during the opening ceremony, North Korea was introduced correctly with its official name. Returning to the Olympic Games arena for the first time since Rio 2016, Korea has sent 16 athletes to participate in 7 events.
