Korea's sea on its eastern side has for a number of centuries been called the East Sea by maps made all over the world. Not just the ones made in Korea in the olden times, but other maps from the past centuries that were made outside of Korea call the sea the Sea of Korea (Sea of Joseon)."

A workshop that traces this cartographic history which takes place with a joint exhibition has been organized by the National Geographic Information Institute under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea to take place on August 2, 2013.

There have been numerous workshops in the academic circle about the historical proof the East Sea having been a territory of Korea and having the name of the East Sea for many centuries, but it's quite rare to see an exhibition and a workshops organized by a government institution.

A person related to the National Geographic Information Institute commented, "From the Three Kingdoms period of Korean history, the East Sea was called by this current name, which means that the Sea has over 2000 years of history of being part of Korea's territory. Thus, it is a legitimate argument to say that the East Seat is a Korean territory. We'll continue to amass various historical resources that corroborate this claim to promote the term East Sea to the international community as a legally correct name."

At the exhibition of the National Geographic Information Institute, which is organized in conjunction with the workshop, one could see the proof of historical maps that call the East Sea by such names as the Sea of Korea or other such variations, pointing out the legitimacy of Korea's argument with respect to the East Sea.

In particular, a 19th century map of Japan also calls the East Sea by the Sea of Korea, meaning that this term has been in use for quite a long time throughout the past centuries, as Japan published this map back then based on imported maps from the West. A total of 40 historical maps from different countries in the past will be on display at the exhibition.

The National Geographic Information Institute, as the flagship institute of Korea spearheading the country's efforts to promote correct geographical names to the international community, is actively working on various fronts, especially regarding Dokdo for which a bilingual website where both English and Korean are served has been set up, while participating as a member in the UN Conference on Standardization of Geographical Names.