South Korea calls Asian Games accommodation ‘worst ever’ as athletes complain about short beds

South Korean officials have described accommodation at the Asian Games in Japan as the “worst ever”, raising concerns about short beds in temporary cabins and a wider shortage of rooms for visiting delegations.

Complaints from athletes and officials

With the Games officially opening on Saturday in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture, organisers are using a mix of a cruise ship, temporary wooden cabins and hotels instead of a single athletes’ village. South Korean basketball vice president Jung Jae-yong told AFP the cabins housing his team were inadequate, saying: “Based on my experience, this is the worst it has ever been.”

Jung also said of the beds:

“Athletes who are over two metres tall cannot even stretch their legs out on the beds. It’s unreasonable.”

A South Korean basketball player, Byeon Jun-hyeong, posted a social media video showing a leaking sink and a soaked floor in his hut with the caption:

“Please help us”

Temporary cabins and wider accommodation pressures

The huts described in reports as shipping container-style or wooden cabins are expected to house about 2,000 athletes and officials during the more than two-week Games. Organisers will also host between 4,000 and 5,000 athletes on the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena, due to arrive in Nagoya on Tuesday; the remainder will stay in hotels, including in Tokyo for events such as swimming, diving and equestrian.

More than 17,000 athletes and officials are expected at the Games, a larger number than the Olympics, while local organisers had initially planned for 15,000. The Olympic Council of Asia later said everyone would get a place to stay.

Delegations respond in different ways

Some delegations have taken extra steps: Indian sports officials built replicas of the cabins to prepare athletes, and Philippine officials used alternative accommodation. Abraham Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, told AFP that

all his country’s athletes had been given a room

but that “some officials, like coaches, were moved to different hotels and Airbnb.”

A South Korean Olympic committee official warned of broader strain on local accommodation, saying:

“At the moment there is a serious shortage of accommodation not only for the entire South Korean delegation to the Asian Games, but for delegations from around the world in the Aichi-Nagoya area. We are doing everything we can to resolve the issue and ensure there are no such problems.”

Weather and organiser response

Hundreds of athletes were briefly evacuated last week after record rainfall hit Nagoya, and reports say more rain was forecast in the coming days. Asian Games organisers did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment in the reporting.

What is changing for the Games

• There is no single athletes’ village; organisers are using a cruise ship, temporary cabins and hotels.
• Temporary huts will house roughly 2,000 people.
• The Costa Serena cruise ship is expected to host 4,000–5,000 athletes.
• More than 17,000 athletes and officials are expected across the event.

The Games had already begun for football and basketball at the time of reporting.