The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games opened in Japan on September 19, beginning a 16-day program that runs through October 4. The opening ceremony was held at Mizuho Park in Nagoya, with South Korea entering 16th among the delegations behind flag bearers table-tennis player Shin Yu-bin and rower Kim Dong-yong.
The Games bring together athletes from 45 countries, with 469 gold medals on the program. Japan is hosting the summer Asian Games for the third time, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994. For South Korea, the competition also carries a round-number milestone: the country enters the event 13 gold medals short of its 800th Asian Games title.
A milestone within the medal race
That milestone gives the early days of competition a simple national marker beyond the medal table itself. South Korea has been one of the Games' major sporting powers for decades, and reaching 800 golds would add another cumulative benchmark to that record.
The schedule also gives Korean viewers unusually convenient timing because Japan shares the same time zone. Many major finals will fall in the domestic evening without the overnight viewing problem that often comes with international competitions farther west. The immediate focus now shifts from the ceremony to the first medal events and how quickly South Korea closes the 13-gold gap.