A post criticizing MBC's broadcast coverage. [Photo by Social Networking Service (SNS) Twitter capture]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seo-young] The controversial broadcast screen of MBC during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has spread not only domestically but also overseas, intensifying the controversy.
On the 23rd, MBC was criticized for airing inappropriate reference photos and subtitles while introducing the entry process of each country during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. On that day, MBC showed photos from the Chernobyl nuclear accident when Ukrainian athletes entered, and attached photos of local riots related to the assassination of the president when introducing Haiti.
On the same day, MBC described the Marshall Islands as "the United States' nuclear testing site," and when introducing Syria, it also showed content related to the civil war. This led to criticism for using tragic events experienced by those countries as reference footage in the broadcast. There were criticisms that the photos were inappropriately selected as representative images of each country.
In addition, MBC showed information such as GDP per capita and COVID-19 vaccination rates while introducing each country. This was also criticized as unnecessary information unrelated to the sports event broadcast.
MBC's Olympic opening ceremony broadcast caused controversy due to inappropriate photo selection. [Photo by MBC, screenshot of the opening ceremony broadcast]
As the controversy grew, MBC added an explanatory subtitle at the end of the live broadcast stating, "In the opening ceremony broadcast, inappropriate photos were used when introducing countries such as Ukraine and Haiti. In addition, inappropriate photos and subtitles were used in the introduction of some other countries. We apologize to viewers from the affected countries including Ukraine."
However, the criticism did not subside easily. Domestic netizens continued to criticize, saying, "This is no different from inserting photos of the Sampoong Department Store collapse or the Sewol ferry disaster when introducing our country," "This is an extreme insult to a country," and "Isn't this a level where not only the staff but also the management should apologize?"
MBC's broadcast screen is known to have spread overseas through various social networking services (SNS), further intensifying the controversy. On Twitter, an image of MBC's broadcast screen was posted with a sarcastic comment saying, "Korean broadcaster MBC used images to 'represent' countries at the Olympic opening ceremony. Italy is pizza, Norway is salmon, Haiti is catastrophe, Ukraine is Chernobyl."
Another user who shared this post added negative reactions such as, "MBC completely ruined the Olympic opening ceremony," and "Why show GDP figures or vaccination rates? It was an act with no respect at all."
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