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작성일 : 20-09-17 15:07
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Reply from makemeaware.com
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글쓴이 :
세화진영
 조회 : 1,871
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Lewis Baston <lewis@makemeaware.com>
Dear Jin-young Heo
Thank you for your interest in Make Me Aware and for writing to us. We
appreciate your thoughts.
There are numerous cases in which different names are used in different
countries for the same geographical feature. This is particularly the
case with seas, in which there is no local population whose preferences
can be taken as the ‘last word’. In Europe, for instance, the sea
generally known to English speakers as the Baltic Sea is more frequently
called the East Sea (Ostsee etc) in countries such as Germany, Denmark
and Sweden which border this sea.
Shipping, like air traffic control, is by its nature international and
there needs to be some standardisation so that people know that they are
referring to the same thing. The name ‘Sea of Japan’ has been used for
many years by governments, international organisations and shipping
companies while the term ‘East Sea’ is not used except in Korea. The
United Nations Secretariat has confirmed that as far as that
organisation is concerned the name of the sea is ‘Sea of Japan’ (March
2004) and as an educational organisation we believe that unless there is
a particularly good reason we should use the international standard as
established by the United Nations. This is in line with our preference
for clear communication. Our audience is currently primarily western and
English-speaking, and we need to use language that is understood by
young people who might read what we write.
The use of the international standard term ‘Sea of Japan’ does not imply
endorsement of any claims relating to sovereign rights over the sea
itself or islands in that sea, other than those as specified under
international law. Similarly, using the standard term ‘South China Sea’
does not imply any support of China, should that country infringe the
sovereignty of other states around that sea. By analogy, using the term
‘English Channel’ does not imply that the channel belongs to the UK or
invalidate the French usage ‘La Manche’.
Nor does using the standard English-language name for the sea between
Japan and Korea prevent people in Korea from using their traditional
name for this body of water. The Korean names for seas, I note, are
simple but based on having Korea at the centre of the compass – the
East, South and West seas are sensibly named from the point of view of
Korea but are very non-specific (or inaccurate) for any other country.
We are grateful to you for raising the issue. It may be that we shall
write a piece on the situations in the world where there are disputes
over the naming of geographical areas. If we do, please rest assured
that the Korean perspective on the issue will be fully covered.
Kind regards
Lewis Baston
Political Maps and Boundaries
Make Me Aware
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