Hello, I am Hunsung Kim, a high school student and a member of Dokdo Cyber Press of South Korea. Dokdo Cyber Press is students’ volunteer group organized to promote proper historical facts about Korea and correct the errors in the naming of Dokdo Island and East Sea.

While surfing the Internet, I found the sea between Korea and Japan was described as “Sea of Japan” in your site.

I understand that the name “Sea of Japan” has been used worldwide since the 19th century and is quite fixed as a standard name. However, have you thought that this name is an unjust vestige of Japanese imperialism and the lack of understanding and respect by west for the history and tradition of Korea and East Asia region?

The name “East Sea” has been used in Korea for more than 2000 years and I can name innumerous maps and documents for that regard. On the contrary, the name “Sea of Japan” was virtually non-existing till the recent past. By the 19th century even maps produced by Japan referred to the sea between the two countries as the “Sea of Joseon (Korea)”.

However, in the late 19th century, while Japan opened the door to the world and rose to a strong power in Asia, Korea secluded itself from western countries and became left behind. In the end, Korea fell prey to Japan’s aggressive imperialism. Japan deprived Korea of everything from sovereignty to various rights and interests, language, names etc. They destroyed the lives of a lot of innocent Korean people suppressing, harassing and killing them as well as sending young men and women to the war. You may have heard about comfort women who were virtually sex slaves for soldiers. After World War II, by the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Declaration, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, and the Treaty of Peace with Japan, Japan had to return the territories it had forcefully annexed to Korea. However, Japanese managed to grab some ambiguity and bit it like a bulldog claiming Dokdo as theirs.

You might ask what it has to do with the naming of “East Sea”. You might think the naming of the sea and the sovereignty over Dokdo are two different matters irrelevant to one another. However, I sincerely ask you to think one step further. Japan is showing seriously nationalistic and rightist turns nowadays. Japanese leaders openly par respect to the Yasukuni Shrine, the symbol of nationalism and militarism. The Japanese government constantly tries to justify its wrongdoings.

I sincerely ask you to change the name of the sea from “Sea of Japan” to “East Sea”. I believe it would be a more just and rightful name for the sea.

Please kindly consider my plea

Best regards,

Hunsung Kim