On Sepetember 15, I was looking at the effects of global warming for a school paper and happened on your site

https://www.us-ocb.org/unexpected-acidification-deep-waters-sea-japan-global-warming/ 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 educating the world about global warming would be so ill informed to blatantly use such designation with complete lack of regard for the dispute between the Korea and Japan.

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. 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. 

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 Se  a. 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. 

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. 

I am researching global warming for a reason.  As the world is ravaged by not only by Covid-19, but racial injustice and discrimination, I feel that any research paper should pay particular attention to the injustices around the world. They say Covid made the world cleaner, but it doesn't seem to have a great impact on global warming. The same way that the misinformation you spread will have implications throughout generations. 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. Thank you. 

Sincerely,  

Ashley Lee