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Haiti: S Korean TV Channel Apology Over Olympics Stereotypes 'Didn't Go Far
Enough'

Sandra Lemaire

   WASHINGTON, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - HaitianForeign Minister Claude Joseph
   says an apology by the head of a South Korean television station after
   the broadcaster portrayed Haiti using stereotypical images "didn't go
   far enough."

   MunhwaBroadcasting Corp.(MBC)used videofootage of a riotin Haitias
   Haitian athletes marched in the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. The
   broadcaster is under fire for its use of stereotypical images to
   portray several countries,includinga picture of Count Dracula for the
   Romanian team and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to represent Team
   Ukraine.

   At a press conference Monday, ParkSung-jae, the president ofMBC,bowed
   deeply and promised a "major makeover," including installing an ethics
   committee and better screening system.

   The station also apologized to the embassies of Ukraine and Romania
   inSeoul,Parksaid.

   "Their apology didn't go far enough, but the incident shouldn't be
   allowed to distract from the athletes who have worked tirelessly for
   years to get to the Olympics," Joseph told VOA.

   "The Olympics are that unique, unifying global event: all nations come
   together, not for politics but for the beauty of sport," Josephsaid.

   Haiti has a delegation of six athletes participating in the Tokyo
   Games.

   MBC's coverage of the Friday opening ceremony quickly went viral on
   theinternet, with some users expressing outrage and otherslaughingat
   the simplistic, offensive images. For Norway, MBC used a picture of
   fresh salmon. For Italy: pizza. For Mongolia: Genghis Khan.

   In an English statement posted online, MBC said the images and captions
   were intended to "make it easier for the viewers to understand the
   entering countries quickly" during the ceremony.

   "However, we admit that there was a lack of consideration for the
   countries concerned, and inspection was not thorough enough," the
   statement read. "It is an inexcusable mistake."

   MBC has been [1]rebuked before for such behavior.During the 2008
   Beijing Olympics, it referred to Chad as the "dead heart of Africa" and
   spoke of "murderous inflation" in Zimbabwe.

References

   1. http://m.inews24.com/v/359671?fbclid=IwAR1YdCgyxHRfodslIi95x3fbGKh8euMyLNfJF_z8mk09v2zVRDtN2ZS5sj8#_DYAD

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