SUPER OT: S. Korean flag shown during N. Korea Olympic soccer match

Submitted by samber2009 on

During the Olympic prelims that started today for women's soccer, North Korea refused to play for over an hour because the jumbotron in the stadium put up the South Korean flag instead of the North Korean one. Oooops!

I'm not so secretly hoping this was intentional. This will probably be a better excuse as to  why North Korea doesn't win gold than their World Cup excuse...being struck by lightning. We can always count on the North Koreans for solid soccer hilarity.

Link

StephenRKass

July 25th, 2012 at 6:04 PM ^

Having spent six months in Korea, I'm not surprised. The animosity and pettiness definitely goes both ways between north and south, and it is really sad. If you go to the joint security area in the DMZ, the restrictions are ridiculous. There is genuine hostility, but sometimes, it seems as if both sides have more than they need of "Barney Fife" characters.

Having said that, I will observe that the parochialism, paternalism, and ignorance of the West towards much of the rest of the world can be grating and irritating. All too often, Japan, China, Vietnam, and Korea are all lumped together.

Here's an analogy anyone on this board would understand:  if UofM went to an NCAA basketball game without their pep band, and the fight song and flag for Michigan State were displayed, it would be irksome. On several occasions, not living in Michigan, I've had individuals assume that Michigan and Michigan State were the same. Think how you'd feel about that, and then multiply it 10 fold, and you've got an idea of how the North Koreans feel.