Correspondent
Effort to mark the East Sea correctly
I am a mother of two living in Epstein, a city near Frankfurt, Germany, and I came to Germany when my husband was stationed as a sojourning employee in 2014. My children attend Frankfurt International School Wiesbaden Campus.
Because it is an international school where lots of students from various countries study, the school itself focuses on educating children so that they recognize and respect the diversity. Like many other people in Europe, however, lots of people still know the East Sea as the Sea of Japan. Moreover, in almost all world maps in Europe, the East Sea is marked as the Sea of Japan.
When Koreans living abroad see this, they try to request changing the mark and so on. Since there are no replaceable maps, however, it would just be delayed for days and days, with the authorities concerned frequently failing to replace such maps.
At my children's school, there was also a large world map covering the entire section of the wall. The map is located in the hallway where every child must pass by, and approximately 200 students and parents look at the map dozens of times a day. Unfortunately, the map marks the East Sea as the Sea of Japan. Since the map was too large and directly printed on the wall, I couldn't just ask the principal to change the map. So, I gave him two suggestions instead. I asked him to change the “Sea of Japan” mark on the map or mark “East Sea” and “Sea of Japan” at the same time. I brought him a printout that fits the size of the map. (I checked the size using post-its and took a picture. One version of the printout was photoshopped to have the “East Sea” mark, and another version included both “Sea of Japan” and “East Sea.”) The principal willingly accommodated my request and painted the wall a week later.
Because it is an international school where lots of students from various countries study, the school itself focuses on educating children so that they recognize and respect the diversity. Like many other people in Europe, however, lots of people still know the East Sea as the Sea of Japan. Moreover, in almost all world maps in Europe, the East Sea is marked as the Sea of Japan.
When Koreans living abroad see this, they try to request changing the mark and so on. Since there are no replaceable maps, however, it would just be delayed for days and days, with the authorities concerned frequently failing to replace such maps.
At my children's school, there was also a large world map covering the entire section of the wall. The map is located in the hallway where every child must pass by, and approximately 200 students and parents look at the map dozens of times a day. Unfortunately, the map marks the East Sea as the Sea of Japan. Since the map was too large and directly printed on the wall, I couldn't just ask the principal to change the map. So, I gave him two suggestions instead. I asked him to change the “Sea of Japan” mark on the map or mark “East Sea” and “Sea of Japan” at the same time. I brought him a printout that fits the size of the map. (I checked the size using post-its and took a picture. One version of the printout was photoshopped to have the “East Sea” mark, and another version included both “Sea of Japan” and “East Sea.”) The principal willingly accommodated my request and painted the wall a week later.
Because there are children from various countries at the school, Japanese students also go there. Nonetheless, I explained the background as to why Japan particularly had to print out the world map marked with “Sea of Japan” and told him that international schools should recognize the difference and face the facts objectively. So, I wrote to the principal saying that the map must be replaced, and the principal responded saying that he understood the situation.
Many Europeans think that Japan is an advanced country with polite people and believe that China is a rising powerhouse. They do not know Korea well, however. They just think Korea is a country located between Japan and China. As such, they are not that interested in the East Sea and Sea of Japan dispute.
There are already lots of maps printed in many areas in Europe, and Koreans living abroad want to replace the incorrectly marked section. Nonetheless, we are not able to replace them since there are no replaceable maps. Since many Europeans are open-minded if we prepare the explanation and means to replace them, however, it is not an impossible task.
Many Europeans think that Japan is an advanced country with polite people and believe that China is a rising powerhouse. They do not know Korea well, however. They just think Korea is a country located between Japan and China. As such, they are not that interested in the East Sea and Sea of Japan dispute.
There are already lots of maps printed in many areas in Europe, and Koreans living abroad want to replace the incorrectly marked section. Nonetheless, we are not able to replace them since there are no replaceable maps. Since many Europeans are open-minded if we prepare the explanation and means to replace them, however, it is not an impossible task.
Yoo Inyeong
(Country of Activity: Germany)
(Country of Activity: Germany)
