Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jvalmer]

Most of the bodies of water in East Asia were traditionally named by the Chinese. I believe the East Sea and Sea of Korea were the most common names used before the Japanese went on their colonial quest. When Korea was under Japanese rule, western map makers just started calling it the the Sea of Japan. Now, I don't think the Chinese really care what they call the it. But, BOTH Japan and Korea or bickering over it. I think one Korean academic proposed calling it the Asian Sea, but Japan shot that one down pretty quickly.

[Dan]

I've noticed that whereas Koreans tend to be outspoken about patriotism, Japanese are subtle, but often times just as stubborn.

[rapier]

The Yellow sea (on the west side of Korea), goes to around 45m deep. The East sea (on the East side), goes to 3000m in depth. Bet you didn't know that, did you?.
Strangely the Yellow sea is colder than the East sea. So, you're better off hitting the surf in Sokcho than on Ganghwhado.
Just some interesting facts for you...

[matko]

I'm still in favor of calling it the Blue sea.

However, I read something somewhere (maybe it was here) that if Japan did not exist there would be no sea. It would just be the Pacific ocean. So in fact, it is called the sea of Japan for that reason.

[dogbert]

[rapier]

If they renamed it the" East Sea", the japs would be offended and call it the"west sea". How about "untitled sea"? or "oriental sea".

[Ya-ta Boy]

How about calling it the East Japan Sea, just to play with little Japanese kids' minds when they are learning their directions and geography?

[buddy bradley]

[lush72]

http://www.geocities.co.jp/WallStreet/4076/index.en.html

see my location line for the true name!

EDIT- Tokdo, does really belong to Korea- but the "east sea" is BS IMO!

[The Lemon]

Not more East Sea foolishness....!

According to today's Korea Times, the Korean government has commissioned a team of scholars to examing old maps in the US Library of Congress, the British Library, and other esteemed libraries, to find examples where "sea of Japan" is not used. The purpose of this exercise is to "promote the idea that the East Sea has a far more historical precedent and is neutral in sound, replacing Sea of Japan".

The Korea Times informs us that the "National Geographic... have decided to refer to the body between Korea and Japan as the East Sea". This would be news to the National Geographic, which continues to label the sea as "Sea of Japan" as its "commonly recognized" name, with the Korean title in small print and parentheses.

Who exactly are these people fooling? Doesn't the Korean government have anything better to do, like contend with their crazy cousins who have 200,000 cannons aimed at Seoul, only 70km away?

[rapier]

Alphaville, in their 80's hit "big in japan", called it the "east sea'.
So, its official.

*regarding water temperatures, the yellow sea is colder in winter precisely because it is shallower- yet conversely it warms up faster in the summer.
In winter the east sea is warmer due to the fact it holds its temperature longer, and is influenced by warm Pacific currents.
The yellow sea is shallow and has many large estuaries/tidal mudflats around its edges, because (in geographical time) it is an only recently-submerged sediment floodplain.

*The fertile mudflats around the coasts of the yellow sea are home and spawning ground to a vast reserve of seafood. Which is why korea is crazy, to be currently reclaiming all its estuaries on the west coast for building land. (Short-sighted emulation of japan knows no limits.)

[The Lemon]

[shakuhachi]

This "controversy" has to be one of of the most foolish that the Koreans could come up with (there is at least one other that is even worse though).

Except for South and North Korea, no country's maps refer to the "sea of Japan" as the "East sea". The Koreans display breathtaking ignorance in the naming conventions of seas. When seas are seperated from oceans, the name of the sea comes from the archipelago or peninsula that seperates them. The Japanese archipelago is the key feature that separates the North Pacific Ocean from this sea, and is therefore called "the sea of Japan".

The first reference to the "Sea of Japan" in 1602AD by european Matteo Ricci. No other country refers to that sea as the "east sea" because it is not east of any country except Korea.

The idea of foreigners taking this laughable ultra-nationalist chauvinism seriously beggars belief.

[wylde]

[The Lemon]