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Examples
of
Distortions
US:
Secondary School Social Studies, Two Centuries of Progress, Glencoe,
1992.
Secondary School Social Studies, The
Heritage of World Civilization, McMillan, 1994.
Comment
In most world maps and atlases used
internationally today, Korea¡¯s ¡°East Sea¡± is indicated as the ¡°Sea of Japan,¡±
and therefore an immediate correction is warranted.
Historically, Korea has been used
the term ¡°East Sea¡± in writings since 59 B.C.
Examples can be found in numerous records including the Monument of King
Gwanggaeto(411), the Samguksagi (History of the Three Kingdoms, 1145) and the
Samgungnyusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, 1284). Moreover, the still extant ¡°Atlas of Eight
Provinces¡± in the Sinjeung dongguk yeoji seungnam (A revised edition of the
Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea, 1530) uses the term ¡°East
Sea.¡±
A map of
Korea which was officially created in the mid-18th century also used
the name, ¡°East Sea.¡± Hence, there is
much evidence that ¡°East Sea¡± has been used for centuries.
China used
the term, ¡°East Sea,¡± during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), the Sung Dynasty
(960-1279), the Chin Dynasty (1122-1234), the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644), and the Qing (Cheong) Dynasty
(1644-1912).
As for Russian maps, in 1687, Nic
Witzen¡¯s ¡°Noord en Oost Tartarye¡± refers to the East Sea as ¡°Oceanus
Orientals.¡± N. Goman¡¯s 1725 map uses the
term ¡°Eastern Ocean,¡± and in a 1734 map, I. Kirilov refers to the East Sea as a
¡°Vostochnoe,¡± meaning ¡°East Sea.¡±
The ¡°Map of Asia¡± printed by the renown Petersburg Academy of Sciences in
1745 also refers to the East Sea as ¡°Koreiskoe Mope,¡± or ¡°Sea of
Korea.¡± Other famous maps printed in
Russia from 1745 or 1791 use the term ¡°Sea of Korea.¡± The Russians called the East Sea the ¡°Sea of
Korea¡± in their last officially published map of 1844.
Until 1870, even Japanese maps
referred to the East Sea as the ¡°Sea of Joseon.¡± All of the following maps refer to the East
Sea as the ¡°Sea of Joseon.¡± The 1810
¡°Sintei bankokuzenzu,¡± the 1838 ¡°Bankoku zenzu,¡± the 1850
¡°Chigaku seisozu,¡± the 1855 ¡°Chikyu bankokuzenzu,¡± and the 1870
¡°Meizikaitei bankokuyochibunzu.¡±
However, all maps published in Japan thereafter refer to the East Sea as
the ¡°Sea of Japan.¡± From this, it can be
inferred that the Japanese government directed, as a matter of policy, that the
name ¡°Sea of Japan¡± be used.
There are many European maps which
identified the East Sea as the ¡°Sea of Korea.¡±
These include a 1615 Portuguese map, a 1647 English map, a map published
in the 1744 and 1752 editions of a world atlas and a 1750 French map. Furthermore, ¡°Sea of Korea¡± appears in the
first edition of the 1771 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Historically speaking, the East Sea
has been used for a long time not only in Korea but also in neighboring
countries such as China, Russia, and Japan, as well as in
Europe.
In documents written since the
early 1970s, many citizens and scholars have pointed out the unreasonableness of
naming the East Sea the ¡°Sea of Japan.¡±
The Korean Government continues to contact renowned map publishers,
broadcasting companies, newspaper companies and magazine publishers throughout
the world and to request that they use the name ¡°East Sea¡± in lieu of ¡°Sea of
Japan.¡±
To change the ¡°Sea of Japan¡± to the
¡°East Sea¡± will not be easy. The term
¡°Sea of Japan¡± has been in use for a long time and such habits are hard to
break.
Nevertheless, the name ¡°East Sea¡± was in use
for a much longer time and ¡°Sea of Japan¡± is a legacy of Korea¡¯s colonial period
and perpetuates the injustice of the past and, therefore, is not acceptable to
Koreans. Hence, concerted efforts must
be made at both the government and private level to publicize the
appropriateness of the use of the name ¡°East Sea¡± which is a neutral
name.
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