This might be a sensitive topic, but let me try.

One of the issues of debate and disagreement between JK is about naming of the sea enclosed by Japan and Corea.

Japan's name is "Sea of Japan" and Korea's name is "East Sea". Both names are from their one-sided perspective, ignoring the sentiment of the other.

Using such names internally is no problem. Non of others' business. The problem arises in agreeing to a name to be used internationally.

Some Japanese advocate that "Sea of Japan" is already internationally acknowledged and so should be used as such. Coreans, of course, don't agree to that.

(Curious. Are there any other example of naming a sea by the name of a country?)

Now that both of the names are rather one-sided, why not agree to a third name instead? For example, "Blue Sea".

The Yellow Sea between China and Corea has been called as such for so many years, and there's no CK dispute on the name. Why not then call the JK sea as "Blue Sea" for example. Or even another neutral one, for that matter.

How do you think, AF friends, especially JK friends?

It's gotta be Sea of Japan. oh and after that, rename the Pacific Ocean to the Ocean of Japan. After that rename Korea to the Peninsula of Japan. After that... i guess its only logical to rename Asia to the Continent of Japan. Pangea of Japan. Earth of Japan. Solar System of Japan. Galaxy of Japan.

Well, this is how I look at it, there is Gulf of Mexico and the Indian Ocean which are named after countries. The Pacific has its origin in Portugese, but why is Sea of Japan controversial? Unlike these bodies of water, which was first discovered and subsequently named by the explorers or after the first civilization in the area, both Korea and Japan have been existent for quite some time. The only problem is this name arosed during Japan Imperialism, hence the problem...

The Koreans are trying to rename the Yellow Sea as the 'west Sea' now. There are media articles - all Korean - that use 'West sea' as oppose to 'Yellow' sea these days. Check this out

http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&am...&q=west+sea

So you have the West Sea, Korea and the East Sea. lol.

it's funny how there's two whole continents named after some italian dude.

Well, East Sea has justification and Korea is pushing to officially name it as such. As for West Sea, it's pretty much just an name used internally, so rest assured.

Well, obviously you are not Korean, because dismissing a complex historical tragedy like Imperial Japanese invasion is not something as easy as dismissing something as controversial as Sea of Japan vs. East Sea as a trivial debate.

Gulf of Mexico - Native Americans probably would have asserted a Native name for this water body just like they have a Native name for North/South Americas. However, European colonialism killed them and wiped the Indians all out.

Indian Ocean - Natives in the region probably had their own Native names, but would agree to Indian name because of the cultural superiority and cultural dominance of India. The possibility of military enforcement of this name is secondary. That is not the case of Japan. Japan was never a respected civilization before it took up Western arms and began raiding her neighbors. Surely, India could have done this to her neighbors, but her CULTURE is the reason for the respect for India's name on ocaen. Japanese respect? They are barbarians.