Wrong anthem plays before South Korea hockey match at Asian Games
North Korea's anthem was mistakenly played before South Korea's hockey match against Bangladesh, prompting a formal protest
A serious organisational lapse at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan has drawn the attention of the sporting world. The error occurred just before the men's hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh on September 18. As is customary before international sporting events, both countries' national anthems were to be played before the match, but when it was time for South Korea's anthem, the stadium speakers suddenly played the anthem of its political rival North Korea instead. A video of the incident quickly went viral on social media.
South Korea's players, coaches and officials, lined up for the anthem, were startled as soon as the tune began. Within moments, the players realised it was not their country's anthem but North Korea's. Surprise and unease were clearly visible on the players' faces. It took the organisers a few minutes to realise the mistake. Once they caught the error, they immediately stopped the North Korean anthem, and South Korea's correct anthem was played a short while later. Because of this mix-up and the technical error, the match started later than scheduled.
The deep political and military tension between the two neighbouring countries, North Korea and South Korea, over the past several decades is well known. In such a sensitive atmosphere, playing North Korea's anthem instead of South Korea's is being seen not as a minor technical glitch but as a serious international lapse. This sparked considerable anger among South Korean sports officials.
Taking the matter seriously, the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) immediately lodged a written complaint with the Asian Games organising committee (AINAGOC). The complaint calls the mistake an insult to South Korea's national anthem and to the players' identity, and strongly demands a public and formal apology from the organising committee. It also seeks assurance that proper safeguards and checks will be put in place to prevent such a sensitive error from recurring in future matches.
Amid the uproar over the anthem, another strange incident occurred on the field. Before the organisers could correct the mistake and finish playing the right anthem, the umpire present on the field hurriedly signalled the players to shake hands and start the game, adding to the confusion. However, the stadium's main announcer quickly expressed regret over the microphone, saying the wrong recording had played due to a technical reason, and apologised to all spectators and both teams.
Despite the major controversy off the field and during the anthem, South Korea's hockey team did not lose focus. The players responded to the entire episode with their best performance on the field. In this Group A match, South Korea dominated Bangladesh from the start and won the match by a wide margin of 5-0.
This group also includes strong teams such as India, Japan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia alongside South Korea and Bangladesh, making every match crucial in terms of the semifinals. Meanwhile, South Korea's women's hockey team also began its Asian Games campaign with a win, defeating Chinese Taipei 3-1 in its first match.
Sports fans around the world are now asking how such a careless error over something as sensitive as the national anthem could happen at a major, world-class sporting event like the Asian Games. Japan's local organising committee has not yet issued any official statement on the formal complaint. But the incident has raised a major question mark over the organisers' handling of matters right at the start of the 2026 Asian Games.
