The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), reportedly, is likely to mark the East Sea, which it had labeled the Sea of Japan, with a number instead of a name in the future. This will conclude the conflict between South Korea and Japan, which had spanned for over two decades since the 1990s, on whether to call the body of water east of the Korean Peninsula the East Sea or the Sea of Japan in the international stage.

According to the International Hydrographic Organization on September 21, the IHO secretary-general will report to member states the results of informal discussions to revise the Limits of Oceans and Seas (S-23), an international map of oceans, at the second IHO assembly in November. At the center of the latest discussion results is the creation of S-130, a new international standard that will replace the names of seas with a system of numbers to indicate the bodies of water.

S-23 was an international standard that acted as a guideline in creating various ocean maps. Since its first edition was released in 1929, it has marked the East Sea as the Sea of Japan in its second (1937) and third (1953) editions. If the new standard is established, it will work to the interest of South Korea, which has engaged in a diplomatic battle with Japan on the name of the East Sea. The S-23 was the grounds on which Japan argued that the Sea of Japan was the only name confirmed by the international community, and with the establishment of the new standard, the S-23 will no longer be valid. This will remove an ‘obstacle’ that had worked to the advantage of Japan in South Korea’s campaign to mark the sea, the East Sea.

At the same time, since the IHO has decided to maintain the S-23 in print, the international organization would also be accepting Japan’s position against the abolition of the S-23. The IHO secretary-general suggested releasing the S-23 to the public in order to show how the marking of the boundaries of our seas and oceans has changed from an analogue to a digital format.

The South Korean government fiercely opposed marking the East Sea as the Sea of Japan since the fifteenth meeting of the IHO in 1997 and concentrated its diplomatic efforts to mark the body of water as both the East Sea and the Sea of Japan when revising the S-23. When revisions to the S-23 were delayed due to the different views of South Korea and Japan, the IHO had related countries--North and South Korea, Japan--hold informal discussions and reach a conclusion in April 2017. But despite two such discussions in April and October last year, they failed to reach an agreement as Japan refused to accept South Korea’s proposal to mark the body of water as both the East Sea and the Sea of Japan. Ultimately the IHO secretary-general suggested that all seas be marked with numbers instead of names fit for the digital age and led an agreement removing any cause of conflict.

The IHO plans to discuss this agenda at the IHO assembly, which will be held via videoconference on November 16-18. There has to be an agreement among member states for the new standard to be approved. At present, North and South Korea and Japan, all parties involved in the conflict, have expressed positive views on the new standard, so it is expected to pass the assembly smoothly.

The South Korean government expects to gain momentum in its international efforts to spread the name of the East Sea when the results of the informal discussions are adopted. In 2002, only 2.8% of world maps marked the body of water east of Korea the East Sea, but recently that figure has exceeded 40%.

However, the establishment of the new standard does not indicate that maps marking the body of water the Sea of Japan will automatically change the name to the East Sea and it will also take a significant amount of time for the S-130 to be developed and widely used. The government will continue its efforts, along with civil experts and groups, to persuade governments, the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), and map manufacturers to mark the body of water east of the Korean Peninsula the East Sea.