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| In this photo, American Heritage Dictionary exclusively used the term "Sea of Japan," the term used in Japan, to describe the body of water between Korea and Japan, instead of concurrently using "East Sea," the term used in Korea. Screenshot from the American Heritage dictionary website |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), a civic organization promoting Korean culture and history online, has pointed out multiple errors and distortions in nearly a dozen English dictionaries and encyclopedias, Monday.
The organization, which searched for "Korea" in 15 well-known dictionaries online, found that 11 of them exclusively used of the term "Sea of Japan" to describe the body of water between Korea and Japan. Such dictionaries include the American Heritage Dictionary, Dictionary.com and Your Dictionary.
Korea and Japan have long been at odds over the issue of the sea's name, with Korea using "East Sea" and the latter calling it "Sea of Japan."
Following a resolution adopted at a U.N. Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names in 1977, which stipulates that "when countries sharing a geographical feature do not succeed in agreeing on a common name, it should be a general rule of international cartography that the name used by each of the countries will be accepted," the Korean government has been campaigning for both names to be used concurrently in official maps and documents.
Meanwhile, VANK pointed out that the U.K. Collins Dictionary contained factual errors about Korea, describing it as "an isolated tributary state of Manchu China for three centuries until the opening of ports to Japanese trade in 1876."
Lookwayup.com and Rhymezone.com incorrectly wrote that the country's Korean name is "Chosun," instead of "Daehanminguk" or "Hanguk."
"Following increased global interest in Korea thanks to hallyu stars such as BTS and Blackpink, or Son Heung-min, many foreign nationals are searching for information about the country on the internet. English dictionaries and encyclopedias that provide incorrect information will give them inaccurate knowledge about Korea," VANK said in a statement, adding that it will soon lodge official complaints with the dictionaries to rectify the errors.
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