Defending the ‘Sea of Japan’ from Korean ultra-nationalist propaganda
It looks like Japan is striking out against the Korean ultra-nationalist campaign to change the name of the ‘Sea of Japan’ to ‘East Sea’ (A Korea-centric term). A series of videos in English, which appear to have been created by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tear apart the Korean ultra-nationalist agruments by presenting hard evidence to support the fact that the name ‘Sea of Japan’ is not a biproduct of Japanese imperialism.
The Video is divided into 3 sections:
Part 1: What is the issue regarding the name “Sea of Japan”? A brief introduction of the dispute. [Watch it here]
Part 2: History of the name “Sea of Japan”. This section clearly demonstrates that widespread international usage of the name “Sea of Japan” began in a period when Japan was still an isolated feudal state. [Watch it here]
Part 3: Officially recognized by international organizations. This section shows how major international organizations, such as the UN, have rejected usage of the term “East Sea”. [Watch it here]
I’m glad to see the Japanese government is fighting back against the attempts of the ultra-nationalist Korean group VANK, which has been spamming every foreign map maker with pro-”East Sea” e-mails. Unlike VANK’s mailings, the Japanese MOFA actually presents evidence to support its well-established claim. The three studies cited in part 2 of the video are particularly strong:
A study of old maps in France reveal that “Sea of Japan” had become the established term by the early 19th century (Japan did not end its isolation until the 1850’s).
A study of maps held in the United States Library of Congress also reveals that “Sea of Japan” was historically established well before Japan’s 20th century imperialism.
Cambridge’s holdings also seem to support this conclusion.
Are you convinced yet? Sadly, with each passing day, Korean ultra-nationalists are using their propaganda to convince the international community that the “Sea of Japan” is somehow an evil imperialist term. The fact that the Japanese government had to make a video defending the name usage shows the severity of the problem. I’m not sure how Japan will be able to win this argument without resorting to a counter-spam campaign aimed at getting companies that have adopted the usage of “East Sea” (under pressure from Korean spammers) to switch back to “Sea of Japan”.
Update: Korean commercial [in English] celebrates the “East Sea” spam campaign
Occidentalism has posted a link to a Korea Telecom commercial that celebrates the role of internet in Korea’s campaign to remove “Sea of Japan” from the world’s maps. I especially love the part near the end, when “Sea of Japan” is erased from a map and replaced with “East Sea”, finally teaching white children proper Korea-centric geographical names!
Here are some links about the Korean campaign to discredit the “Sea of Japan”:
Wikipedia: Sea of Japan Naming Dispute
Occidentalism: Google Earth adopts usage “East Sea”, then switches dual usage of “East Sea”/”Sea of Japan”
About.com: How VANK’s spam letter campaign made About.com switch its maps to say “East Sea”
VANK Homepage: Ultra-nationalist “East Sea” propaganda in English
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Homepage: Sea of Japan
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Yer obviously a Korea hater, or you’d admit what every sensible person knows – Korea is the center of the world, and that’s why it should be called the East Sea!
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Yer obviously a Korea hater, or you’d admit what every sensible person knows – Korea is the center of the world, and that’s why it should be called the East Sea!
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–_– It seems this blog is just turning into another Occidentalism. Boo on that.
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–_– It seems this blog is just turning into another Occidentalism. Boo on that.
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Eh? Whose fault is it that Korea keeps providing so much absurdist raw material to write about? You might as well condemn The Marmot’s Hole while you’re at it, ’cause these things get written about at least as often there.
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Eh? Whose fault is it that Korea keeps providing so much absurdist raw material to write about? You might as well condemn The Marmot’s Hole while you’re at it, ’cause these things get written about at least as often there.
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well, japs made a promotion video and stupid westerners have bought it as they buy Sony cameras. You can argue it but truth does not change. What koreans do not know is that world is more keen on Japan than Korea. But if you want to know the TRUTH, check out the below link. Westerners should grow up out of narrow view into Far East asia through a ‘peep hole’ called Japan. Japan was the last one up in Far East asia and the first one to accept westernised modernism. Nothing more than that.
http://www.prkorea.com/english/eastsea.html
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They were also, more or less, the only country to modernize hardly at all until the mid 20th century, continue to be the most technologically advanced, and they do not bitch every everything under the sun unlike China and Korea.
Japan is simply a lot easier to deal with and they don’t get angry about everything. They simply have more civility when it comes to getting their point across, which is why the west deals well with them.
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well, japs made a promotion video and stupid westerners have bought it as they buy Sony cameras. You can argue it but truth does not change. What koreans do not know is that world is more keen on Japan than Korea. But if you want to know the TRUTH, check out the below link. Westerners should grow up out of narrow view into Far East asia through a ‘peep hole’ called Japan. Japan was the last one up in Far East asia and the first one to accept westernised modernism. Nothing more than that.
http://www.prkorea.com/english/eastsea.html
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They were also, more or less, the only country to modernize hardly at all until the mid 20th century, continue to be the most technologically advanced, and they do not bitch every everything under the sun unlike China and Korea.
Japan is simply a lot easier to deal with and they don’t get angry about everything. They simply have more civility when it comes to getting their point across, which is why the west deals well with them.
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zaykim,
Did you actually watch the Japanese-produced video? What do you think of the map studies they cite?
The evidence in this argument is incredibly weak and does not hold up against the studies of French, American, and British antique map collections conducted by Japanese scholars. That Korean page seems to ignore the fact that over 90% of western maps were using the term “Sea of Japan” well before Japan opened to the world and increased its military power.
Even if Korea had not been under Japanese colonial domination during the 1929 Monaco Conference, what makes you think that a free Korea could have forced all the major western powers, which had been using the name “Sea of Japan” [in accordance with geographical naming conventions commonly used in Europe] since the early 19th century, to change their maps to say “East Sea” or “Korea Sea”?
If you actually believe the link you posted somehow refutes the argument the Japanese have presented, you are the one who should “grow up” out of a narrow-minded worldview.
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zaykim,
Did you actually watch the Japanese-produced video? What do you think of the map studies they cite?
The evidence in this argument is incredibly weak and does not hold up against the studies of French, American, and British antique map collections conducted by Japanese scholars. That Korean page seems to ignore the fact that over 90% of western maps were using the term “Sea of Japan” well before Japan opened to the world and increased its military power.
Even if Korea had not been under Japanese colonial domination during the 1929 Monaco Conference, what makes you think that a free Korea could have forced all the major western powers, which had been using the name “Sea of Japan” [in accordance with geographical naming conventions commonly used in Europe] since the early 19th century, to change their maps to say “East Sea” or “Korea Sea”?
If you actually believe the link you posted somehow refutes the argument the Japanese have presented, you are the one who should “grow up” out of a narrow-minded worldview.
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