| S Korea Tourism Ministry Rude to Japanese Tourists |
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| by Tom McGregor | Thu, Sep 30, 2010, 03:03 AM |
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The South Korean Tourism Ministry has failed to fulfill its mission of attracting tourists from all over the world, particularly those who hail from Japan. Yu-jin Lee, who works from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Korean culture and Information Service, has launched an anti-Japanese letter-writing campaign addressed to media outlets all over the world, which includes the Dallas Blog. Ms. Lee, in her official letter endorsed by South Korea’s tourism ministry, denounces Japan and she’s quoted as saying that, “when it colonized Korea for 35 years.” She’s demanding international journalists identify the Sea of Japan as the East Sea in news reports. She states, “Since South Korea got its sovereignty back, it has continuously taken countermeasures for the name, East Sea.” Apparently, she cites from the ‘United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names,’ to support her argument, which may infer that Seoul successfully promoted South Korean-born Ban Ki-moon as the United Nations’ Secretary-General to garner international support for naming the Sea of Japan, the East Sea. Certainly, her letter is more suited for South Korea’s foreign ministry in regards to this diplomatic matter. Yet, it’s not appropriate for the tourism ministry, since it may likely instigate a backlash of anti-Korean sentiments in Japan, which could spark renewed nationalism and boycotts by Japanese tourists. The Dallas Blog called the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Korean Culture and Information Service to request an explanation from Ms. Lee. But, her secretary answered the phone without asking the caller to identify himself. As she put the Dallas Blog on hold, it appeared as if a shouting match could be overheard in the background between Ms. Lee and an unidentified South Korean male. After 20 seconds, the secretary hung up the phone without providing an explanation for why Ms. Lee could not issue a statement. Perhaps, for the sake of world peace, the diplomatic corps of the South Korean government made the right decision by not hiring Ms. Lee into their service. She seems to suffer from rage issues and ill-suited for a diplomatic career. She may be causing harm to South Korea’s tourism industry and reputation, but what’s worse: a tourism boycott or an outbreak of World War III.? To read Yu-jin Lee's anti-Japanese letter to the Dallas Blog in the comments’ section, link here:
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Comments (7)
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written by J , October 01, 2010 What an exaggerated and pointless article! I wonder you have googled on this subject, at least.
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written by JJ , October 03, 2010 Don't be fooled by the arguments of the South Korean government: the use of the name "Sea of Japan" has nothing to do with Japanese imperialism. Studies have shown that the name "Sea of Japan" was already in wide use in the 18th century, long before Japan opened itself to the outside world, and long before there was any Japanese imperialism: Here is a calm and rational investigation into the issue: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmUVm-sRIWw The "East Sea" argument from Korea is ridiculous. They try to play on sympathy towards colonized people, when in fact the name of the sea has nothing to do with Japanese influence.
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written by Cryptnotic , October 04, 2010 In other news, the Irish Sea should now be called the Irish/English sea and the English Channel should now be called the English/French Channel. Maybe the Strait of Gibraltar should be called the Strait of Gibraltar / Morocco. I just checked and Google Maps doesn't name the Sea of Japan at all. It's just an unnamed body of water. Write comment
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