I am a high school student and on September 22, I was looking at the effects of global warming for a school paper and happened on your site https://www.kimkim.com/c/in-the-shadow-of-mountains-from-sea-to-sea-in-southern-japan-12-days and was deeply distressed to find that you have chosen to name designate the East Seas as ‘Sea of Japan.’ It seems extremely inappropriate and frankly appalling, that a site dedicated to traveling the world would be so ill informed to blatantly use such designation with complete lack of regard for the dispute between the Korea and Japan. Especially as this site is endorsed by not only BBC, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

I believe that a site dedicated to should be better informed of the political implications before posting such an itinerary; it is frankly offensive and greatly insensitive. Properly naming the body of water between Korea and Japan is not simply a question of naming a geographic area but is part of a national effort by the Korean Republic to erase the legacy of Japanese Imperialism and to redress the unfairness that has been resulted from that period. The way African-Americans were enslaved, so was the Korean people.

For more than 2,000 years, not just Koreans, but people throughout the world, viewed the body of water on the eastern boundary of Asia between Korea and Japan as the East Sea. In order to resolve the controversy, in 2019, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) reportedly urged Japan to negotiate with the Republic of Korea. The IHO was founded in 1921 to standardize the names of seas and oceans and support safe navigation of ships. The name the East Sea was on world maps, including old Japanese maps, until the publication of S-23 “the Limits of Oceans and Seas” by IHO in 1929. According to IHO and UNCSGN, in case of topographical feature shared with two or more countries, yet naming differently in their own languages, all the names in each language should be marked. Once Korea and Japan agree on a common designation that is in accord with the general rule of international cartography we will then follow the agreed-on designation.

Using the correct use of the names for the body of water between Korea and Japan is not simply a question of naming a geographic area but is part of a national effort by the Korean Republic to erase the legacy of Japanese Imperialism and to redress the unfairness that has been resulted from that period. The way African-Americans were enslaved, so was the Korean people. Therefore, I urge you to use 'East Sea' to describe the body of water in question or to use both Korean and Japanese designation simultaneously (e.g. 'East Sea/Sea of Japan') in your contents and maps.  

With a large number of influential Korean population in the United States, it seems extremely inappropriate and frankly appalling, that a company of your caliber based in California would be so ill informed to blatantly advertise your trips in this fashion. I believe that a company that caters to world travelers should be sensitive to the plight of countries. Even as the world is ravaged by not only by Covid-19, but racial injustice and discrimination, it is imperative that matters pertaining to national guidelines be meet more rigorously. I ask that you contact me with changes and look forward to visiting your site with the implemented change. You can email me at ashleylsylee@gmail.com with your response, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Sincerely,  

Ashley Lee