What were they thinking? Was it just an Olympic-sized gaffe or something else?

That’s the question South Koreans are asking after the République populaire démocratique de corée was announced as the boat carrying an exuberant South Korean Olympic team, waving its national flag, cruised by at the opening of the Summer Games in Paris. Then the voice intoned, in English, “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” 

The great show, on a rainy day on the Seine, got mixed reviews from commentators who saw it live on TV worldwide, some finding it overly elaborate, even boring, others loving it for its spectacular views of Paris. For Koreans nothing could have been worse than confusing the formal name of the Communist North with that of the staunchly capitalist, anti-Communist South, “la République de corée.”  

A telephone call from the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, was promptly put through. The hapless fellow offered a “sincere and heartfelt apology”  to the South Korean leader, President Yoon Seok-yul in Seoul. He called the incident “inexcusable.” The words are unlikely to assuage the hurt feelings of Koreans to whom the announcement was basically unforgivable. 

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News, the president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, Lee Kee-heung, said “having our country called North Korea in both English and French is so preposterous I could never have imagined that.” He hoped the incident wouldn’t affect the psyches of South Korean athletes. A pro forma “sorry” was posted by the International Olympic Committee in Korean on X.

It wasn’t in English, though, and did little to improve matters.  “We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,” was all the IOC had to say. So far, they’re not revealing how such a mistake could have occurred. The South Koreans want a thorough explanation.

Who was responsible for confusing the names in such a display that had to have been meticulously organized far in advance? Two South Korean ministries are eager to find out. South Korea’s vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, Jang Mi-ran, is asking the IOC president, Mr. Bach, for a full accounting. The foreign ministry is protesting to the French on top of a complaint filed by the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee.

“But the worst disaster occurred at the level of diplomatic discourtesy, misleadingly calling the name of the Republic of Korea twice,” said the influential Korean financial newspaper, Maeil Kyungjae, “The worst disrespect of calling South Korea North Korea was committed.” It will not be easy to undo the damage.