UN Site Using Only 'Sea of Japan'... VANK Says "Violation of International Principles"

Published 16 Oct.2021 09:12(KST)

"Submission of Protest Letter... Global Petition Campaign to Also Be Launched"

UN site showing only the Sea of Japan [Image source=UN Geospatial Site]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The cyber diplomatic envoy group VANK announced on the 16th that it has launched a campaign to correct the United Nations' global site, which exclusively labels the Sea of Japan on its geospatial map.

On the main menu of this site providing regional and location information, under 'Maps & Geoservice,' clicking on the world map shows that the East Sea is labeled as the Sea of Japan.

Park Gitae, head of VANK, said, "Allowing the exclusive labeling of the Sea of Japan on a UN official geographic information site could cause significant problems," adding, "This gives the Japanese government an excuse to extensively promote the Sea of Japan worldwide using the UN site."

Park emphasized that this error by the UN must be corrected, especially as the international community currently uses dual naming of the sea between Korea and Japan as 'East Sea/Sea of Japan.'

Global map publishers such as National Geographic, textbook publisher Dorling Kindersley (DK), and travel publisher Lonely Planet have adopted dual naming of the East Sea and Sea of Japan. Thanks to efforts by Korean Americans, the state of Virginia in the U.S. declared a joint naming bill, and the New York Department of Education officially confirmed the dual naming.

VANK stated that the UN's use of maps exclusively labeling the Sea of Japan violates international principles. Previously, the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) announced in 1977 that when it is difficult to agree on a single name for geographical features shared by two or more countries, the respective names used by each country should be listed together.

VANK first requested an immediate correction of the maps exclusively labeling the Sea of Japan and sent a letter of protest. They also provided materials from their global East Sea promotion site (eastsea.prkorea.com).