A South Korean television company has apologized after using offensive stereotypes to depict countries during the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday.
“We apologize to the countries concerned and our viewers. It is an inexcusable mistake,” the broadcaster said in its statement.
MBC displayed questionable photos and facts about each country as athletes walked out during the parade of nations, causing a stir on social media.
When Ukraine’s athletes walked out MBC displayed an image of the Chernobyl disaster. MBC used a photo of Dracula for Romania, pizza for Italy, and salmon for Norway.
South Korean broadcaster MBC used images to "represent" each country during the #Tokyo2020 Opening Ceremony.
Italy: pizza
Norway: salmon
Haiti: upheaval
Ukraine: Chernobyl pic.twitter.com/KpUXATuZld— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) July 23, 2021
They ran a picture of…Dracula alongside Team Romania last night. *facepalm* pic.twitter.com/7GYtZoo7iG
— Hyunsu Yim (@hyunsuinseoul) July 24, 2021
The Marshall Islands were described as “once a nuclear test site for the United States.”
MBC also said Syria was known for “underground resources and a civil war that has been going on for 10 years.”
Haiti’s introduction had a photo of men protesting in front of an explosion and the words “the political situation is fogged by the assassination of the president.” The president of Haiti Jovenel Moïse was killed at his home earlier this month.
The 2020 Olympics officially kicked off on July 23 and will run until August 8. The Games were originally supposed to take place in 2020, but have been postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
