"Ppiyagi" Shin Yu-bin to Carry the South Korean Flag! Nagoya Asian Games Open Today... South Korea to March 16th, North Korea 8th [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] The controversy-plagued 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will finally open. Shin Yu-bin, known as the nation's "Ppiyagi," and Kim Dong Yong have been selected as the co-flag bearers who will lead the South Korean national team delegation while carrying the South Korean flag.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said the South Korean national team delegation would enter 16th among the participating countries during the athlete parade at the opening ceremony, which will be held at 6 p.m. on the 19th at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan. The order was determined alphabetically according to the English names of the countries.
The South Korean delegation's most high-profile flag bearers are Kim Dong Yong and Shin Yu-bin, who will serve as the male and female co-flag bearers. KSOC explained, "The flag bearers were selected after comprehensively considering the events whose athletes had arrived at the athletes' village by the time of the opening ceremony, the organizing committee's transportation support, and the athletes' detailed competition and official training schedules." The delegation chose prominent athletes who can maintain peak condition without affecting their performance.
A total of 50 athletes from nine sports, led by the two flag bearers, will take part in the opening ceremony and join the start of the Asian sporting festival. The participating athletes come from women's 3x3 basketball, boxing, mixed martial arts (MMA), rowing, sailing, surfing, table tennis, soft tennis and wushu.
Meanwhile, the North Korean delegation will enter the stadium eighth, ahead of South Korea. Japan's delegation, representing the host country, will enter last among the participating countries and bring the opening ceremony parade to a close.
The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which had faced various controversies even before the opening over inadequate athletes' village operations and administrative disorder, will begin 16 days of competition with the opening ceremony and run through October 4.
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