"Sea of Japan" Before "East Sea"?... Controversy Over Google Weather Service Labeling

"Sea of Japan" Displayed First Even in Changwon and Changnyeong

"Strong Government Response to Google Needed"

There is growing controversy over the fact that Google, the world's largest search engine, displays "Sea of Japan" as the primary label instead of "East Sea" on its local weather services in Korea.

Seokyungduck, Professor at Sungshin Women's University, Facebook

On May 12, Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University pointed out on his Facebook page, "There has been controversy in the past over the primary use of 'Sea of Japan' in some regions along the east coast, but according to recent reports from online users, this practice is now appearing in areas such as Changwon and Changnyeong in the Gyeongnam region as well."

The screenshot released by Professor Seo shows Google's weather alert service labeling the body of water as "Sea of Japan (East Sea)." He stated, "Even though these are domestic locations, Google's weather alert service is increasingly using the label 'Sea of Japan (East Sea).' This goes against Google's own internal policy, which is to follow the naming conventions of the country where the user is located in cases of internationally disputed names."

He continued, "For the East Sea, Google's map service typically labels it as 'East Sea' when accessed from Korea and as 'Sea of Japan' when accessed from Japan, but the current labeling in Korea violates even Google's own policy. If Google is truly a global company, it should properly understand and respect the basic sentiments of each country, but this move disregards that responsibility," he said.

Professor Seo also mentioned the need for a governmental response. He said, "It is now time for our government to take strong action against Google. Google must correct this issue with the weather labeling without fail," he emphasized.

This is not the first time Google's labeling errors have caused controversy. Last month, Google mistakenly labeled Gyeongnyeolbiyeoldo, one of the baseline points for Korea's territorial waters in Taean, Chungnam Province, as "Gongnyeolbi-Yeoldo," but later corrected it. There was also controversy when Google Translate rendered "Dokdo" in Japanese as "Takeshima (竹島)," the name claimed by Japan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.