Aegukga Played in Front of Chinese Athletes... Nagoya Bows Its Head Again

▲ Opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games

Following similar incidents during the Asian Games, another blunder involving the wrong national anthems occurred at the ongoing Asian Para Games in Japan.

According to Kyodo News and other reports today (October 21), Nagoya Vice Mayor Hirosawa Ichiro, who serves as the acting president of the organizing committee for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games, stated that three mistakes regarding national anthem playbacks occurred on October 19 alone.

During the women's sitting volleyball match between China and Iran, South Korea's national anthem, Aegukga, was played instead of China's national anthem before the match, causing the organizing committee to scramble and change the music midway.

At the taekwondo award ceremonies as well, Iran's national anthem was played instead of the anthems of Mongolia, the winner of the women's event, and Chinese Taipei, the winner of the men's event.

While the music was stopped midway during the women's ceremony to play Mongolia's national anthem, a re-ceremony for the men's event was held on October 21.

The organizing committee explained, "The cause was a setting error in the music playback software."

During the preceding Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, an absurd incident also occurred before the men's hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh, where North Korea's national anthem was played instead of Aegukga.

Vice Mayor Hirosawa apologized, saying, "I have no words to express after such a problem happened yet again."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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