"North Korean Anthem Played Instead of South Korean? Korean Sport & Olympic Committee Sends Protest Letter to Asian Games Organizers"

North Korean Anthem Played Before the Match
Protest Lodged by Delegation Chief Lee Sanghyun

An incident occurred at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games where the North Korean national anthem was played instead of the South Korean national anthem before the men’s hockey match between Korea and Bangladesh, prompting the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee to lodge an official protest.

During a men's hockey game, the North Korean national anthem was played instead of the South Korean national anthem. Provided by Korea Sports Council, Yonhap News Agency

According to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee on September 18, during the men’s hockey Group A preliminary round match between Korea and Bangladesh held at the Kakami-Gahara Green Stadium in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, the North Korean anthem was played instead of the South Korean anthem.

With both national teams lined up before the match and the national anthem expected to be played, the North Korean anthem was broadcast for about one minute. The surprised Korean players removed their hands from their chests and pointed out the mistake to officials. The organizing committee urgently stopped the North Korean anthem and played the Bangladeshi anthem instead. The South Korean anthem was eventually played at an inappropriate moment, during the handshake between the two teams in the interest of proceeding with the match.

An official from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee stated, "At the men’s hockey Group A preliminary match between Korea and Bangladesh held at Kakami-Gahara Green Stadium in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, there was an error in which the North Korean national anthem was played instead of the South Korean anthem." The official added, "Immediately after recognizing the incident, we discussed response actions and sent a letter of protest to the organizing committee on behalf of delegation chief Lee Sang-hyun." The protest letter from the committee reportedly included a request for clarification on how the incident occurred, an official apology from the organizing committee, and measures to prevent any recurrence.

This is not the first time that an organizing committee at an international competition has confused the Korean national team with North Korea. At the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the announcer mistakenly introduced the Korean team as North Korea when their boat entered the venue. Following the controversy, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the Paris Olympics issued an official apology to the Korean team.

This Asian Games organizing committee has continued to draw complaints from athletes, as mistakes have occurred throughout the event: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who instigated the Imjin War, appeared at the athletes’ village welcoming ceremony, and on the previous day, airport authorities interfered with the Korean delegation’s large national flag as they entered Nagoya.

Meanwhile, on this day, the Korean team defeated Bangladesh with a commanding 5-0 win. Baek Seongmin, Oh Seyong, and Lee Gangsan scored consecutive goals in the second quarter, followed by Yang Jihoon in the third quarter and Shim Jaewon in the fourth quarter, securing the victory.

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