"Taekwondo as Ninja Training?"... Controversy Over Labeling by Major Canadian Sports Channel

Screenshot of the official TSN Instagram. Professor Seo Kyungduk

TSN, one of Canada's most prominent sports channels, has sparked controversy by posting a taekwondo video on its official social media account and introducing it as "ninja" from Japan. TSN, launched in 1984, is Canada's first sports channel and one of the country's two major sports networks.

Professor Seo Kyungduk of Sungshin Women's University stated on November 25, "I learned about this through reports from netizens," and added, "Upon checking, I found that the taekwondo video was introduced under the title 'NINJA TRAINING?'." This video has now garnered around 170,000 likes and is widely circulating on Instagram.

Last year, during the Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) caused significant controversy by posting a taekwondo-related video on its official social media account and introducing it as "judo."

Professor Seo and netizens jointly protested the mislabeling of the hashtag as "Judo" under the taekwondo video, leading to its correction.

Professor Seo commented, "The continued occurrence of such incidents shows that there are unexpectedly many foreigners who misunderstand the country of origin of taekwondo." He also emphasized, "In such situations, rather than simply responding with criticism and anger, it is most important that we correct these errors through legitimate protest."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.