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South Koreans slam Games organisers’ ‘personal grudge’ in social media backlash over blunders
- Users feel their region has been on the end of various blunders, starting with the North Korea gaffe during the opening ceremony
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South Koreans social media users have accused the Paris Olympics organisers of discrimination, over what they called a “personal grudge” against the country, after repeated blunders within days of the Games’ opening.
South Korea were introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony, after which the name of the country’s first gold medallist at the Games was misspelt, leading netizens to criticise organisers for their “disgraceful” mistakes.
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At the opening ceremony on Saturday, as the South Korean delegation rode down the Seine, the in-house announcer referred to the athletes as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, which is North Korea’s official name.
The speaker repeated the same introduction for the North Korean team.
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Mark Adams, spokesman of the International Olympic Committee, said at a press briefing that the error was “clearly deeply regrettable”.
“We can only apologise, in an evening of so many moving parts, that this mistake was made,” he said.
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