South Korea accidentally introduced as North Korea in Paris Olympics opening ceremony

A couple of notable things happened during South Korea's introduction at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

The first was when its athletes were introduced as being from its rival country, North Korea.

The next was when K-pop group BTS was named as one of the country's crowning glory.

South Korea description

On Jul. 27 (Singapore time), the South Korean team floated down the River Seine in Paris, France, waving their flags excitedly.

They were introduced by both the French and English announcers as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" — North Korea's official name.

The subtitles displayed the correct name: "Republic of Korea".

The "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" was once again used (this time accurately) when North Korea's delegation made their round.

@kpop.worldgb #CoréeduNord #JO2024 #kpopfan #kpopstan #kpop_worldgb #pourtoi ♬ son original - 💜 Kwordactu 💙 🇰🇷

At odds since the end of World War Two, the tensions between the two states have further escalated recently, with North Korea sending trash and poop balloons into South Korea.

The last time North Korea took part in the Games was during the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Olympics organisers apologise

The South Korean sports ministry has revealed its plans to lodge a "strong complaint with France on a government level" over the incident, as reported by BBC.

Jang Mi-ran, the country's 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, was also said to have called for a meeting with Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) soon issued an apology on its Korean-language X account, on the same day.

개회식 중계 중 대한민국 선수단 소개 시 발생한 실수에 대해 깊이 사과드립니다.

— 올림픽 (@Olympic) July 26, 2024

It said: "We would like to offer a deep apology over the mistake that occurred in the introduction of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony."

BTS, kimchi, hanbok

In other news, South Korea was also introduced as being the land of "BTS, kimchi, and hanbok".

The three things — written in that order — were presented as the country's description during the ceremony's television broadcast.

@joan_kim30 Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony team korea #BTS #parisolympics2024 #teamkorea ♬ original sound - OT7💜인피니트🇰🇷🇵🇭

This comes after a member of BTS, Jin, took part in the Paris Olympics torch relay on Jul. 14.

Top images via @joan_kim30 and @kpop.worldgb/TikTok