An Identity Aspect to the “Wars” of Maps in East Asia: Focusing on the East Sea/Sea of Japan Name Debate

Is there an identity aspect to the map wars of East Asia? As the issue of maps has often been discussed in terms of positive evidence in order to strengthen a particular point in an argument, identity is an unfamiliar topic in map discussions. Nonetheless, this article suggests that the status of the names East Sea and Sea of Japan in the map wars between Korea and Japan could be something more than mere positive evidence. In a sense, maintaining the name Sea of Japan may violate the identity of the Korean people. The history of cartography is not benign. By destroying non-Western identities, Western names on historical Western maps gave meaning to their cosmos that was both comprehensible and controllable. For Koreans, the loss of the name East Sea has a similar nuance.