The image of the 2024 Paris Olympics has taken a significant hit among South Korean netizens following a series of alleged discriminatory actions by the organizers, which have been widely discussed across various online communities on July 27 (KST).
The controversy began on July 26 when the official Instagram account of the Paris Olympics posted photos of various national teams arriving by boat on the Seine River during the opening ceremony.
The post celebrated the arrival of athletes from 206 participating countries, waving their national flags to the crowds along the riverbank.
However, the photo of the South Korean team stood out for its poor quality compared to those of other nations. While athletes from the 스포츠 United States, Japan, China, and Canada, among others, were clearly visible with their flags in high resolution, the South Korean team’s photo was blurry, with indistinguishable faces and barely recognizable flags.
This discrepancy sparked outrage, especially since even teams with only a few athletes, like Cyprus and Bhutan, had clear and sharp photos.
Multiple online communities in South Korea shared side-by-side comparisons of the South Korean team’s photo with those of other countries.
This incident compounded existing frustrations, as the organizers had previously misidentified the South Korean team as North Korean during the ceremony.
Netizens expressed their anger, with comments such as, “Why do they keep doing this to us?” and “Calling us North Korea was definitely intentional.”