Hello, I am Hyunseo Lee from South Korea.

I'am happy to contact you, and thank you for sharing opinions. Recently I visited your web-site and I found your web-site label Korea’s ‘Mar del Este' as ‘Mar de Japo'n,' only, which is incorrect. So I am sending e-mail to correct some errors on your web-site about the name of "Mar de Japo'n. Even if your opinion is different with me please read it to the end.

The "Mar del Este" starting with the Korean peninsula, is bordering Japan, Russia, etc. so it is not just Japanese sea but the sea that many countries share. Korean call that sea "Mar del Este" but Japanese are calling 'Mar de Japo'n'. The term 'Mar del Este' is deeply related to the history of the International Hydrographic Organization. In order to have standard international titles of the sea and ensure safe voyage, the International Hydrographic Organization or IHO establishes these much needed international standards. In 1929, the IHO published a book titled “Limits of Oceans and Seas” in which the names of the ocean were internationally standardized. The 'Mar de Japo'n' began being widely used internationally from the release of the 1929 IHO released “Limits of Oceans and Seas”. At that time, Korea was under Japanese occupation and thus could not participate in the publication process. Therefore, it unilaterally reflects Japanese position in the international community. However, Koreans’ name 'Mar del Este' has been the name they have used for over 2,000 years and not only in Korea but on world maps and even on old Japanese maps. Also 'Mar del Este' has justification at the international level.The IHO and the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names or UNCSGN, the international organizations which determined the standard names of the seas in the world, suggests that in the hard case on the agreement of a name for a landmark shared by 2 countries, it is usually recommended to use both names of two countries not only the name of one country. Using a proper name for the body of water between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago is not simply a question of changing the name of a geographical feature. It is part of the national effort by the Korean people to erase the legacy of Japanese Imperialism and to redress the unfairness that has resulted from it.

It is an absolute mistake to hear just one side of the story and to blindly follow. If we leave these kinds of things alone, it causes serious problems that disturb the order of international society. According to IHO(International Hydrographic Organization) and UNCSGN(United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names), in case of topographical feature shared with two or more countries, yet naming differently in their own languages, all of the names in each language should be marked. As a member of Cyber Press I hope you to use ‘Mar del Este’ to describe the body of water in question or to use both Korean and Japanese designation simultaneously (e.g. ‘Mar del Este'/'Mar de Japo'n') in all of your contents and maps. Thanks for your time and I look forward to your reply as soon as possible.

Thanks & Best Regards,

Hyunseo Lee