‘Terribly sorry’: Wrong Korean anthem played in Asian Games hockey

REPRESENT. Athletes of South Korea in the athletes' parade during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Asian Games at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.

Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS

Lined up before their match in Asian Games men's hockey, South Korean players look around in confusion as the North Korean national anthem rings out at the stadium

NAGOYA, Japan – The South Korean men’s hockey team was left bemused before its Asian Games match against Bangladesh on Friday, September 18, when North Korea’s national anthem was played instead of its own.

Lined up before the match, the South Korean players looked around in confusion as the anthem rang out at Green Stadium in Gifu, Japan.

The stadium announcer was quick to apologize for the mistake.

“We are really sorry, terribly sorry. National anthem for the Republic of Korea, we played a different song,” he said.

“I’m really sorry.”

South Korea won the match, 5-0.

The North Korean national anthem is banned in South Korea along with other symbols of its wartime foes.

The 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, meaning the North and South are still technically at war.

The Asian Games organizing committee did not provide immediate comment on the anthem mix-up.

South Korea has complained of a number of organizational problems at the Games, with basketball players unhappy with the size of their rooms and transport issues disrupting preparations for the men’s football team, the defending champions. – Rappler.com