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Japanese media described the reduced size of the South Korean delegation to this year's Paris Olympics as "symbolizing a sinking Korea."
On the 26th (local time), when the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics was held, South Korean athletes who completed the boat parade along the Seine River in Paris, France, entered the opening ceremony venue set up at Trocadero Plaza. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 28th, Katsumi Murotani (74), a prominent conservative figure in Japan, contributed a column titled "Korea with little coverage of the Paris Olympics, delegation at 60% of Tokyo Olympics, only women's handball in team events" to Shukan Fuji, a sister publication of the Sankei Shimbun.
On the 26th (local time), when the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics was held, South Korean athletes who completed the boat parade along the Seine River in Paris, France, entered the opening ceremony venue set up at Trocad?ro Square. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Murotani stated, "With the opening of the Olympics, the global media is extensively reporting on the performances of their own athletes," adding, "A country's performance at the Olympics symbolizes national power on a different level than economic or military indicators."
He continued, "However, the Korean media, which has prided itself as a sports powerhouse, is only giving minimal coverage of the Paris Olympics," mocking the South Korean delegation's size of 144 athletes as only 60% of the 232 at the Tokyo Olympics, calling it a "symbol of a sinking (침한) Korea."
On the afternoon of the 26th (local time), when the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics was held outdoors for the first time in history, a boat carrying the Korean delegation passed along the Seine River in Paris, France. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Furthermore, Murotani expressed dissatisfaction with Korean media coverage during the Tokyo Olympics.
He said, "Three years ago, during the Tokyo Olympics, Korean media were obsessed with visiting radiation-affected Japan months before the opening," and sarcastically added, "In contrast, this time there are no noticeable preview articles introducing the venues. Has the stage shifted from barbaric Japan, which must be defeated, to the culturally respected France?"
Murotani assessed, "The Korean Olympic team has set a goal of winning five gold medals," calling it "a strategy to create an atmosphere of victory by setting low expectations."
He concluded, "Even if Korea wins a few medals in niche sports like Taekwondo, Koreans themselves know well that they are no longer a sports powerhouse."
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