U.K. daily adds S. Korean name for sea area in naming row with Japan after Seoul request

▲ This image, captured from The Times' website, shows a map of South Korea with eastern sea areas labeled only as the Sea of Japan, before it was modified to include the South Korean name, the East Sea, on Jan. 5, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This captured image from The Times' website on Jan. 5, 2024, shows a map of South Korea corrected to include the East Sea, after South Korea requested the name be added to mark both names for the body of water between South Korea and Japan. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

foreign ministry-British daily

U.K. daily adds S. Korean name for sea area in naming row with Japan after Seoul request

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- A British daily has added the term "East Sea" on a map of South Korea in its recent travel article that had only labeled a sea area by its Japanese name, after the South Korean government requested both names be in the picture.

The London-based newspaper, The Times, published the article Wednesday (local time) introducing South Korea as an exciting place to visit this year.

The article showed a map of South Korea, with the sea to the east of the peninsula named the Sea of Japan -- the Japanese name for the body of water between South Korea and Japan.

The existing standard identifies the sea between them as the Sea of Japan, as registered by Japan in the early 1920s, when Korea was a Japanese colony. Sea naming has been a source of diplomatic friction between Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul has long campaigned for its own name, the East Sea, or the use of both names at the same time, arguing that the Sea of Japan is a legacy of Tokyo's imperialistic past.

The government "requested a correction and the map in the article has been modified to include the East Sea," a foreign ministry official said.

"We have clearly delivered our position on the legitimacy of using the name East Sea to the international community, including major foreign media outlets," the official said, adding that it will continue its efforts to make corrections when needed.

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