Seo Kyoung-duk protests to Asian Games organizers over Toyotomi appearance at athletes' village welcome event

Sungshin Women's University Professor Seo Kyoung-duk has filed a protest with the organizing committee of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after a performer dressed as Toyotomi Hideyoshi appeared at a welcome event for the athletes' village.

Seo said Thursday that he sent a formal protest email to the Asian Games organizing committee via SNS, demanding an official apology and measures to prevent a recurrence, according to Yonhap.

"Toyotomi was a figure who invaded Joseon in 1592, triggering the Imjin War and shattering peace in East Asia," Seo said, criticizing the performance as "highly inappropriate given that the Asian Games is a competition held under the banner of peace and harmony across Asia."

He said the incident was "even harder to accept in light of Japan's past conduct," adding that he raised the same point in his protest email.

Seo also recalled the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when the South Korean delegation hung a banner at the athletes' village bearing a phrase attributed to Admiral Yi Sun-sin — "I still have twelve ships" — only to take it down after backlash from Japanese media and right-wing groups.

"It is an anachronistic double standard for Japan to bar Admiral Yi Sun-sin while allowing Toyotomi — a figure whose legacy of aggression left deep wounds on neighboring countries — to appear," he said.

He added that the organizing committee "must issue an official apology over this matter and take care to ensure it never happens again."

Seo said he would "consistently inform the world of Japan's wrongful conduct on matters of history."

The incident stems from a pre-docking ceremony held Tuesday at Kinjo Pier in Nagoya, where a stage performance featuring Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu marked the arrival of the Costa Serena, a large cruise ship serving as the floating athletes' village.