By As I have been saying the North Koreans were going to respond in some way to the naval drills being held by the US and the South Korean navies and now they have decided to play the old kidnapping card:
A South Korean fishing boat in the Sea of Japan and its seven crew members are being held by North Korea, according to reports in South Korea.
North Korean state media is reporting that the crew was “detained.”
There are few details which have emerged from the incident; but it comes amid mounting tensions following the March sinking of a South Korean warship. Forty-six sailors died, and South Korea blamed it on a North Korean submarine attack. The North calls the accusation “a fabrication.”
The incident comes after South Korea’s military carried out five days of military exercises in the Yellow Sea. The South Korean navy, army, air force and marines are practicing techniques for detecting and evading North Korean submarines and guided missiles, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Saturday. The exercise involved 20 ships and 4,500 troops, according to Yonhap. [CNN]
The fact that the North Koreans had to turn to petty kidnapping as a response seems pretty pathetic and desperate to me. Look for the North Koreans to claim that the fishermen entered into North Korean waters and try their best to ransom them off. Interestingly three of the seven fishermen are Chinese nationals so it will be interesting to see what happens to them.
2:14 pm on August 9th, 2010 1
Seven crew members? My understading is that four were chinese, and the chinese government has already assured they would be well taken care of.
So South Korea protests and demands the return of the three South Korean fishermen. Wanna bet their future is less secure?
3:37 pm on August 9th, 2010 2
Dear GI Korea:
I'm writing this comment to ask for correction in this post.
The sea, which is written only as Sea of Japan, was called East Sea or several variations thereof throughout most of its history. However, when Japan had colonized Korea for 35 years (1910 -1945), Japan changed its name to Sea of Japan without any bilateral discussion with Korea. In that period, South Korea had its sovereignty taken by Japan, which led to no way to speak out against it. Since South Korea got its sovereignty back, it has continuously taken countermeasures fighting for the name, East Sea.
Since 1990, IHO(International Hydrographic Organization) and UNCSGN(United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names) have adopted a resolution that when adjacent countries do not reach an agreement on a term for a shared water, both names for the sea should be used at the same time. According to the resolution, world’s prestigious publishers and media, such as The Wall Street Journal, Rand McNally, Encyclopedia Britannica, the Los Angles Times, use the term, East Sea/Sea of Japan for the water.
Until South Korea and Japan come to an agreement on the term for the sea, we ask you to take a neutral stance in terms of its term by mentioning both East Sea and Sea of Japan for upcoming posts.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I'm looking forward to hearing from you on the matter.
Sincerely,
Yujin Lee
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Korean Culture and Information Service
11:35 pm on August 9th, 2010 3
Dear Yujin Lee,
It is a pleasure to read your well-written letter.
It is also good to see the Korean government is taking an interest in the thoughts of the foreign community and has taken the time to present this information directly to us.
I am in agreement that the Japan-centric name, Sea of Japan, is inappropriate for the body of water separating Korea and Japan.
Unfortunately, when I have pointed this out to other foreigners, the reply has always been that East Sea is equally inappropriate. The feeling is that, as Japan's western sea, East Sea is hypocritically Korea-centric.
For this reason, I have been at a loss to explain why East Sea is a more appropriate name and I have found there to be some ridicule within the foreign community of Korea's insistence that East Sea be made official.
Does the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have any official solution for this issue that Korea-friendly readers here can explain to support Korea's position when the naming of East Sea/Sea of Japan is discussed.
Thank you for your consideration.
8:50 am on August 10th, 2010 4
Middle Sea is a perfect name. Seriously. It's between Korea and Japan so who can disagree with it?
11:37 am on August 10th, 2010 5
Thank you for your reply and support.
Yes, it is true that both Korea and Japan have dealt with this matter for long, but with no fruitful result. Therefore, for the moment, the Korean government requests that those two names are mentioned at the same time on posts though it is still an argument of Korea that the the sea was orniginally called East Sea before Japan engineered to change the name into Sea of Japan in the late 19th century.
If you'd like to prove it to the foreign community interested in this matter, I'd be pleased to send you materials with the evidence proving it is not just Korea-centric argument that we ask for. So, feel free to ask us via e-mail with your address and contact information. Furthermore, I'd like once again to ask for the correction.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Yujin Lee
2:51 am on August 11th, 2010 6
GI Korea's use of "Sea of Japan" is a direct quote from a CNN story, to which he links at the end of the quote. That story appears on CNN's website at http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/08/south…
As of this post, CNN's story still refers to the location as the "Sea of Japan," with no acknowledgment of the naming controversy.
11:01 am on August 11th, 2010 7
Yes, UT VIDEAM, I have been aware of that the middle part is quoted from CNN. However, the title still contains the name which I intended to point out. Thank you for clarifying it for all.
Sincerely,
Yujin Lee
6:13 pm on October 2nd, 2010 8
Fairly or not, the "Sea of Japan" appellation is the body of water's de facto name, as recognized by an overwhelming majority of people across the world. Japan's MoFA surveyed publicly available maps and public school books across the world (excluding those from Japan, RoK or DPRK), and found that 97.2% of maps used only 'Sea of Japan', with the remaining percentage using both 'Sea of Japan' and 'East Sea' and not a single map using 'East Sea' alone*. The MoFA also surveyed historical maps archived by the governments of France, the United Kingdom and the United States, concluding that the majority of ancient maps also used the 'Sea of Japan' term.
Now, the Japanese MoFA is hardly a neutral source, but it is indisputable that the 'Sea of Japan' designation is the most commonly recognized term. While Korea has enjoyed limited success in getting their preferred name added to maps as a secondary designation in parentheses, the ROK would be better advised to pursue the joint adoption of a neutral, mutually acceptable term. Letter-writing campaigns, email bombardments, and comment postings are an inefficient way of implementing government policy, and actually work to Korea's detriment by contributing to its image as an overly nationalistic and combative nation. Work with the Japanese government (or Japanese NGOs if the government is unwilling to compromise) to find a name that the peoples of both nations can rally behind– it is unacceptable for the relationship between these two important nations to be hindered by such trivial issues as the name of a body of water.
*http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/effort0303.html
12:00 pm on October 3rd, 2010 9
East Sea is a stupid name. East by itself has no reference point (East of what?). If they're going to change it, they should change it to the Korean East Sea.
Keep posting, Mr. Lee. Eventually all of the internets will hear you and will know the power of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
By the way, Dokuto does not belong to Korea. It belongs to the Chinese, just like the Senkaku Islands. If there is oil or natural gas or fish there, don't get in the way of China. You will lose.
3:51 pm on October 3rd, 2010 10
Brendan, I'm with you. This is only East Sea in the minds of coreans. Everyone knows the Sea of Japan. This kind of silly stuff actually give corea less respect because people are like "huh, is this really the top of their agenda?".
It is the Sea of Japan, and the Yellow Sea, period. In light of this silly stuff, I decree that Dokdo know and forever take its true and rightful name: Takeshima.