WASHINGTON, D.C. - The White House is expected to take a stance on the controversy over the name of the sea between Korea and Japan after tens of thousands of people signed an online petition.

The White House’s official Web site promises an official response to any petition on it that receives more than 25,000 signatures within 30 days.

As of Wednesday, more than 25,000 people signed a petition urging the U.S. government to stop using the name Japan Sea and use East Sea.

The petition started on March 22.

“We have more than 25,000 people who signed the petition after less than 15 days,” said Hong Il-song, head of a Korean-American association in Virginia that posted the petition, “but we will continuously encourage people to sign,” he said.

Vietnamese-Americans recently collected 150,000 signatures on a petition regarding a human rights issue and the White House responded, Hong said.

The Korean petition claimed the East Sea was the original name of the body of water but Japan changed it to the Sea of Japan in 1928. Korea was colonized by Japan between 1910 and 1945.

“We are still teaching our children a FALSE history that was manipulated by the invader who attacked Pearl Harbor,” the petition read. “Our children have a right to learn a TRUE history!”

The Sea of Japan has been used since the International Hydrographic Organization, the worldwide authority on oceanic names, determined it as the sea’s name in its first edition of “Limits of Oceans and Seas” in 1929.

Historical documents show that Koreans called the waters the East Sea for around 2,000 years. The Korean national anthem has the name East Sea is in its lyrics.

The U.S. government reaffirmed its position in supporting the use of the Sea of Japan last August. The IHO is to hold a general meeting in Monaco on April 23-27 to discuss controversial oceanic names, including the East Sea.

The Korean government wants the use of both names simultaneously. Korean groups in the U.S. have also been getting signatures on a petition recommending the use of both names, separate from the White House petition.
 

한글관련기사

백악관 ‘동해표기’ 청원, 온라인 서명자 2만5000명 넘어

미국 백악관의 인터넷 민원사이트 ‘위 더 피플(We the People)’에 게재된 ‘동해, 우리 교과서의 잘못된 역사’라는 청원에는 5일(현지시간) 오전까지 2만5219명이 서명했다.

백악관은 이 사이트에 오른 민원 가운데 30일 이내에 서명인이 2만5천명을 넘으면 공식 답변을 내놓겠다고 밝혔다. 백악관이 동해 표기 문제에 어떤 입장을 보일지 이목이 쏠린다.

이 민원은 지난달 22일 버지니아주(州) 한인회(회장 홍일송) 중심으로 제출됐다. 민원에는 “미국은 여전히 진주만을 공격한 침략자들이 조작한 잘못된 역사를 아이들에게 가르치고 있다”며 “교과서에 실린 잘못된 역사를 바로잡아 아이들이 진실된 역사를 배울 권리를 가지도록 서명해 달라”고 명시돼 있다.

앞서 시카고 한인회 김종갑 회장과 워싱턴DC 한인연합회 최정범 회장 등은 지난 2일 워싱턴DC 의원회관에서 윌리엄 로건 미국지명위원회(BGN) 위원장, 캐런 개츠 국무부 동아태 의회담당 수석보좌관 등과 만나 동해병기에 대한 지지를 당부했다.