When Haitian athletes entered the stadium, an on-screen explanation said "the political situation is fogged by the assassination of the president." When Syrian athletes entered, it said "rich underground resources; a civil war that has been going on for 10 years."
For the Marshall Islands, it said "was once a nuclear test site for the US, and is composed of more than 1,200 islands." El Salvador was introduced with a picture representing Bitcoin.
MBC has issued apology: "In today's Opening Ceremony broadcast, inappropriate photos were used when introducing countries like Ukraine and Haiti. Also, inappropriate photos and subtitles were used for other countries. We apologise to the viewers of Ukraine and other countries."
Sweden: said it was the "developed country of welfare" but made a typo in "developed country" (선진국) and wrote "선지국" which is cow blood soup, a Korean delicacy.
One more thing: MBC also indicated the GDP and vaccination rate for each country, leaving netizens baffled.
*Just a note that Korean media carried a typo in the apology, which was actually directed to "the relevant countries (mentioned) including Ukraine and to (Korean) viewers" and not "viewers in Ukraine".
Not a first: For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, MBC introduced Cayman Islands as "famous as a tax haven for establishing offshore funds." Chad was "the dead heart of Africa" and Zimbabwe had "murderous inflation." Was cautioned by Korea Communications Standards Commission.
"Chernobyl" (체르노빌) and "national disgrace" (나라망신) are now trending on Twitter in South Korea re: MBC's geography lesson during the #Tokyo2020 Opening Ceremony.
Update: S. Korean broadcaster MBC has just issued a formal apology re: the "inappropriate" geography lesson which gave Chernobyl as a "representative" image of Ukraine during #Tokyo2020 Opening Ceremony etc. Is "deeply sorry" for the "inexcusable mistake". "Bows down".
Also, in an unprecedented move, MBC has published the English apology on the front page first screen of the MBC website.
Update: MBC is to hold a press conference at 3pm today where its president Park Song-je will apologise to the nation for the disaster coverage of the #Tokyo2020 Opening Ceremony. Will be followed by a Q&A. yna.co.kr/view/AKR202107…
Just in: MBC President Park Sung-je just held a presser where he apologised for the MBC's controversial Opening Ceremony coverage.
"Last weekend was the most painful and disastrous time since I took office as president of MBC" he said.
"Again, I bow my head down and apologise."
He also apologised for a controversial on-screen caption that appeared during the coverage of the South Korea vs Romania men's football yesterday.
MBC President Park Sung-je said apologies have been delivered to the Embassies of Ukraine and Romania in Seoul. Unable for Haiti as no presence.
Nutshell of press conference: MBC will make every effort to prevent recurrence of such incidents, strengthen broadcasting codes, creating an ethics committee and content adequacy screening system.
MBC will also improve corporate awareness so that all productions, no just sports, reflect and respect universal values, cultural diversity, human rights, and gender equality.
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1/ Meet Cho Kuk, the leader of S. Korea's newly formed Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP). Cho is a former SNU law professor, and former senior aide and justice minister under the Moon Jae-in admin. He has seen a surge in popularity since launching the RKP less than a month ago.
2/ Cho founded the RKP earlier this month with the aim of opposing what he calls the "prosecutorial dictatorship" under President Yoon Suk Yeol. The party has only nominated proportional representation candidates for the April 10 general elections.
3/ By focusing solely on proportional representation, the RKP aims to attract voters who are disillusioned with the two main parties, particularly with the Democratic Party, while also appealing to moderates and others who feel unrepresented by the current political landscape.
1/ An introduction to South Korea's electoral system, where major parties often create "satellite parties" to maximise their seat allocation in the proportional representation (PR) part of the election. Here's how it works:
2/ In the upcoming South Korean legislative election, the two main parties have created satellite parties: the Democratic Party has created the satellite party "Democratic Union" (더불어민주연합), while the People Power Party has created the "People's Future" (국민의미래). Why?
3/ The National Assembly consists of 300 seats, with 253 elected through single-member districts and 47 allocated through proportional representation.
1/ Today's shocking clash in Daegu not only highlights the struggle between intolerance and freedom but also raises serious questions about mayor Hong Joon-pyo's aptitude for his job and his motivations behind mobilizing 500 civil servants to serve his personal homophobic agenda.
2/ It is deeply concerning to witness the mayor of South Korea's third largest city using his position to try suppress an event that celebrates love, diversity, and equality. Such actions raise doubts about his ability to prioritise the well-being and rights of all citizens.
3/ They also indicate a questionable use of public resources, and whether this demonstrates a lack of understanding of the mayor's responsibilities to uphold the principles of equality and justice.
An unprecedented and absurd showdown between intolerance and freedom is unfolding in Daegu right now: 100s of civil servants (yellow) deployed by the homophobic mayor who wants to demolish small pride festival vs. 100s of police ready to protect event's assembly freedom.
This clash highlights the ongoing battle between regressive attitudes and the progress made towards greater acceptance and equality. It literally underscores the significance of events like pride festivals.
It's also a poignant reminder that progress often comes hand in hand with resistance. It challenges society and the country to confront its biases and choose between embracing diversity or perpetuating discrimination.
The question is, which path does South Korea want to take?
Crazy homophobia in South Korea: Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo has ordered the mobilisation of 450 people to *demolish* Daegu Pride that "disgusts people" if planners dare to setup booths tomorrow.
*But* major discord: Daegu police say they will protect pride's "freedom of assembly"
A court has already rejected the Christian right's injunction application to block Daegu Pride. Mayor Hong argues that Daegu Pride's occupation of the road is "illegal" and that citizens' "right to passage" should take precedence, has vowed to demolish the festival.
Daegu police, on the other hand, have promised to protect the festival and will assist with car/bus detours. It stated that the festival is in accordance with relevant laws and that freedom of assembly is guaranteed by the constitution. Will ensure no human or material damage.
Just unbelievable and disgusting. Seoul City has *REFUSED* to allow Seoul Pride to use Seoul Plaza on July 1 as organisers had planned, giving priority to a homophobic conservative K-Christian event instead.
My article from 2 years ago on "How religion spurs homophobia in South Korean politics" is just as fitting today, including under the leadership of openly homophobic Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Literally EVERY year, Seoul City needs to "deliberate" over whether to allow Seoul Pride access to Seoul Plaza. The K-Christian lobby group claim Seoul Pride is obscene and pornographic and corrupts children into becoming gay and get HIV.