| Sea Of Japan Naming Dispute |
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There is a dispute over the name of The Sea bordered by Russia , Japan , South Korea , and North Korea . The Koreas and Japan disagree over the sea's international name. The Japanese Government insists that it be called "Sea of Japan", which it claims has been the international de facto standard since the 19th century, and is currently the most widely used name. The Koreas contend that the name was unfairly standardized while Japan Forcibly Occupied Korea, and thus remains a symbol of Japan's Imperialistic Past . South Korea insists on the name "East Sea", claiming that the sea was known as "Sea of Korea/Corea/Joseon" or "East/Oriental Sea" until Japan's militant expansionism. South Korea proposes "East Sea" because it is one of the various English names found in historical European maps, and it claims that it is analogous to the North Sea . Some Koreans argued against the "Sea of Japan" name since the early 1970's {Link without Title} , and South Korea officially raised the issue at the United Nations immediately upon joining in 1991. Since the 1990s, South Korea has increased its efforts to change the sea's official international name. The North Korean government supports South Korea's position, but uses "East Sea of Korea" in its English publications. The United Nations Conference On The Standardization Of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) have so far neither accepted nor denied Korea's claims, but left the issue open to discussion while continuing to use "Sea of Japan". The United Nations confirmed its adoption of "Sea of Japan" in its official documents in March 2004. IHO and UNSCGN resolutions endorse the principle of the simultaneous use of different names when countries sharing a geographical feature do not agree on a common name. [http://www.mofat.go.kr/me/me_a009/me_b035/me09_01.jsp The dispute does not extend to each other's local language names. South Koreans generally do not object to Japanese maps calling the sea 日本海 (which translates as ''Japan Sea''), and Japanese do not object to Korean maps calling it 동해 (which translates as ''East Sea''). HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF THE DISPUTE According to Japan's count, this sea is mainly called "Sea of Japan" on most maps earlier than the 20th century, but some maps call it by various names including "Bay of Korea", "Chinese Ocean", "Sea of Corea", "Oriental Sea", or "Sea of Korea". According to South Korea's count, it is mainly called "Sea of Korea/Corea" or "East/Oriental Sea" on most maps of the same period.
"when countries sharing a given geographical feature do not agree on a common name, it should be a general rule of cartography that the name used by each of the countries concerned will be accepted. A policy of accepting only one or some of such names while excluding the rest would be inconsistent as well as inexpedient in practice."
RESPONSE BY MEDIA AND PUBLISHERS Some publishers and media outlets have responded to the dispute by either adopting both names on maps, or—in very rare cases—leaving the area blank, until a consensus can be reached between Japan and Korea. Though some have adopted the usage of both names or just "East Sea", most publishers and media outlets still use "Sea of Japan" alone.
ARGUMENTS Both sides in the dispute have put forward a number of arguments to support their claim. Many of these arguments are not supported by the respective governments, but rather by nationalist organizations. Around 2002, the volunteer Korean cyber-organization VANK began an aggressive E-mail Campaign targeting webmasters, with some success but also backlash from supporters of Japan's position. Geographical reasons Japanese groups argue that as a Marginal Sea of the Pacific Ocean separated by the Japanese Archipelago , the sea should be named for Japan. Of the nine other marginal seas, two are named for the marginal feature. South Korean groups argue that the sea is really located at the eastern end of the Asian continent, and thus should be called ''East Sea'', following the example of the North Sea relative to the European continent. Historical reasons Both sides use a selective sample of old maps to support their claim. South Koreans use old maps that show names other than "Sea of Japan", whereas the Japanese use maps to demonstrate that the said name was in use before their imperial time. Many old maps are ambiguous and some even do not include Korea or Japan. Japanese groups claim that the term "Sea of Japan" was originally named by Westerners and became the de-facto standard before Japan gained commercial and political influence in the region. Part of the dispute boils down to the disagreement over when "Sea of Japan" became the de facto standard. Japanese groups claim dates in the early 19th century, whereas Korean groups claim dates in the early 20th century when Korea was colonized by Japan. South Korean groups claim historical precedence of the names "Sea of Korea" and "East Sea", and argue that "East Sea" is a more neutral name that should be restored. They regard the dominance of the name "Sea of Japan" a reflection of Japan's imperial past. Korea even points out that a select few 19th century Japanese maps referred to the sea as the "Sea of Joseon (Korea)", including the 1855 Matsuda Rokuzan's Chikyubankoku zenzu, and the 1870 Meizi kaiteibankoku yochibunzu. Historical maps and studies
Ownership Some Koreans argue that "Sea of Japan" implies ownership over an international body of water. Japanese counter by saying that the name of a body of water does not imply ownership and is merely a name, mentioning some seas that contains a country's name such as Indian Sea , South China Sea , East China Sea and Korea Strait . Some Koreans argue that the name "Sea of Japan" is related to ownership because it was the Japanese delegates who submitted the name to the IHB when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule. Ambiguity Japanese groups claim that the name " East Sea " is not suitable as an international geographic name, because it could refers to various places including the neighboring East China Sea . Much of this argument is based on translations of local names into English. Commonly cited potential confusions are the Vietnam ese local language name for the South China Sea , "Bien Dong", which literally means "East Sea", or the Baltic Sea which in many European languages is called the equivalent of "East Sea". The Koreans state that this is irrelevant as there are other geographical places that share similar or the same name. It is sometimes also argued that "East Sea" is a mere translation of the Local Korean Name "Donghae", and thus not really an English name ''per se''. However, Both "Sea of Japan" and "East Sea" are found in older European maps, not a mere translation. Precedence Some Japanese groups insist that renaming or showing both simultaneously runs counter to the spirit of geographic standardization and will be a troubling precedent. Since the name "Sea of Japan" is the internationally established name, some people think renaming is an unnecessary complication. Koreans disagree stating that setting the name right is more important. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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