'East Sea' - the name of the present and for the future

By Yoo Euy-sang

Following a column on April 30, 2012, it was regretful to see yet another column on April 1, 2014, based on inaccurate information about the naming issue of the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago.

Mr. Andrew Salmon cited several cases ― including that of New York/New Amsterdam ― to depict the Republic of Korea's argument for the use of the name "East Sea" as an impulse to revert to the past, which prompts the question of how well informed he is on the naming issue.

The "East Sea" is not a name that has passed into history, nor has it fallen out of use. The reason South Korea is advocating the concurrent use of the name "East Sea" is not to revert to the past, but to widely announce to the international community the name of something currently used in Korea and to gain its due.

The well-known reality is that the Republic of Korea and Japan are, at present, each using different names for the body of water separating the two countries. Resolutions of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the United Nations Conference of the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) recommend that if more than two countries cannot agree on a common name for a geographical feature, both names should be used. The IHO Resolution 1/1972 and the UNCSGN Resolution III/20, adopted respectively in 1974 and 1977, aim to prevent conflicts that may arise from situations where bordering or neighboring countries persist in using only the name each prefers. These resolutions also advise such countries to agree on a common name and, if they fail to do so, to use both names concurrently.

South Korea's efforts have so far resulted in the concurrent use of the name "East Sea" by leading cartographic publishers around the world, as well as digital maps such as Google Map and Bing Map, the most widely accessed digital map services today.

Could this trend of concurrent use be considered merely as a means to return to yesterday? The reason for bringing up the past of having used a name other than the "Sea of Japan" is to highlight the characteristics of place names, which is to change along with the current of the times. This implies that the name "Sea of Japan" can also be replaced with a different name as circumstances change over time.

While efforts to gain due rights are carried on, authoring columns based on more accurate facts and information is what is expected of Mr. Salmon. We will always be willing to hold a grand debate on the naming issue of the “East Sea” whenever anyone wishes.

The writer is ambassador for geographic naming at the Northeast Asian History Foundation.