Organisers apologise as wrong anthem played at South Korea match

Asian Games organisers were forced to issue an apology after the North Korean national anthem was mistakenly played at a South Korean men’s hockey game.

South Korea had lined up on the field to face Bangladesh in their group stage match at the Asian Games in Japan when players were left puzzled by the anthem.

Players were seen shaking their heads and looking around to officials as the anthem echoed around the stadium, seemingly unsure of what went wrong.

“We are really sorry, terribly sorry,” the stadium announcer said.

“National anthem for the South Korea, we played a different song. I’m really sorry.”

The Bangladesh national anthem followed the North Korean anthem, which is banned in South Korea, before organisers then corrected their error.

Still, the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee (KSOC) wasted no time lodging an official complaint about the anthem mistake once the match had ended.

South Korean players, while confused at first, went on to win the match 5-0.

The KSOC requested organisers issue an apology and assure the national team that any future matches would not see the same incident unfold.

The team later confirmed that two officials from the Asian Games committee visited the team office and offered an official apology for the error.

KSOC president Ryu Seung-min made clear in a statement that the team will work to ensure South Korean athletes can stay focused on their competition without being distracted by the noise created by the mistake of organisers.

"It is absolutely unacceptable for the national anthem, a symbol of our nation, to be performed incorrectly at an international multisport event, and we view this matter with the utmost seriousness," Ryu said.

“We will continue to demand that the organising committee thoroughly investigate the cause of this incident and implement measures to prevent its recurrence.”

South Korea has also encountered other problems at the tournament, including basketball players being unhappy with their room size as well as transport issues disrupting the men’s football team, who are the defending champions.

South Korea’s next men’s hockey game will take place on September 22, where the team will face Indonesia.

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