Organizers at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games played North Korea's anthem instead of South Korea's before the South Korean men's hockey team's group-stage opener on September 18. The error occurred at the Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture. Organizers recognized the mistake, but the match began without South Korea's anthem being properly played, according to Maeil Shinmun.
South Korea went on to beat Bangladesh 5-0 in the Group A match. The anthem error did not alter the sporting result, but it became an unusual organizational failure at the start of the team's tournament. The incident is separate from the game itself: Korea opened with a comfortable win, while organizers were left with the protocol mistake surrounding the pre-match ceremony.