Pyongyang, September 8 (KCNA) -- Prof. and Dr. Jo Hui Sung, 59, director of the History Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences, contributed an article laying bare the injustice of changing the name of the East Sea of Korea into "Japan Sea." The following is the second installment of his article:

The designation of the East Sea of Korea has much longer history than the wrong designation of "Japan Sea."

Japan could form a unified state only in the 7th century with the help of Paekje people. For a long period afterwards Japanese called their country "Wae". It was until around 670 that they finally began to call their country "Japan". This means that a country name "Japan" came into being in the latter half of the 7th century.

But the name of Korea dates back 5000 years ago. It is quite clear that the sea east of Korea had been called "Sea of Korea" or "East Sea of Korea" in the light of its historical origin.

Japan began to call the Sea of Korea "Japan Sea" as the Japanese imperialists' ambition for aggression and domination over Korea began to surface. After the signing of the "Ulsa Five-point Treaty" in 1905, the Japanese imperialists began to mark "East Sea of Korea" as "Japan Sea" on maps. In 1929 when Korea was under its colonial rule, Japan began to mark the East Sea of Korea as "Japan Sea" in a crafty manner with a meeting of the International Hydrographic Organization as an occasion.

Historical facts prove that the controversial sea had been called "East Sea of Korea" longer than "Japan Sea".

The sea east of Korea had long been called either "East Sea of Korea" or "East Sea" worldwide.

Typical examples are a map attached to "Mongolian travelogue" (1245-1247) written by an Italian who traveled Central Asia in the 13th century, "Asia map" drawn by a Portuguese cartographer in 1615 and "East Asia map" published in Britain in 1647.

As the international relations became brisk through the oceans since the 16th century, seas began to have their peculiar names.

As there were many seas named east sea at that time, many countries began to call the sea east of Korea "Koryo Sea" (Korea Sea) according to practice. Maps published in Europe marked the East Sea of Korea as "SEA of COREA".

As Japan did not have its own sea name, the waters between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese islands were called "Korea Sea" or "East Sea" till early in the 20th century just as it was marked on geographic documents and maps made in Korea and several other countries.

Typical historical facts include "Complete Map of Asia" published in Japan in 1794, "Sketch of Japan" published in 1809, "Whole Map of Islands" published in 1810 and "Map of Great Japan" in 1872.

A map which was published with a copper plate by Kageyasu Takahashi, astronomer in the era of Edo, Japan, was put on display at the Haejong Museum in Kyonggi Province this year. On this map the East Sea of Korea was marked "Korea Sea". There are plenty other historical Japanese maps and data in which the East Sea is marked "Korea Sea".