[Opinion] VANK

It has been decades since Korea and Japan first began to dispute over how to name the East Sea. At first it was the government that made our case against the Japanese claim, but now civic organizations are assuming the role. And they have been successful, producing more tangible results than the lukewarm government. Graphic Maps, the largest map publisher in the U.S., adds the following explanation to its maps showing the East Sea over its Web site. ‘In the late 1990s, VANK began to launch a comprehensive campaign targeting map publishers, travelers` organizations and geographical information Web sites across the world via mail and e-mail, asking them to use the name `the East Sea`. As asked, many of them are now using the term `the East Sea` along with the Japanese Sea. World Atlanta.com is not taking either side. It will continue using the two names until the two countries reach an agreement.

▷The decision by the leading map publisher, which provides maps to government agencies, educational organizations and portal sites worldwide, carries significance to some great extent. The decision is proof that the publisher recognized our claim that the name `the East Sea` is correct and must come first. The explanation also serves as an intermediary that tells a number of users across the world our part of the story. What is surprising is that the impressive achievement was made by a small netizen organization called VANK, not by the government commanding enormous amount of budget.

▷VANK stands for `Voluntary Agency Network of Korea.` It was first created by college student Park Gi-tae in 1999 as he made a Web site for pen pals. Finding that foreign students knew little about Korea, he organized the network with a small number of his friends. There are a slew of mistakes they have corrected since then. In August 2000, it sent a complaint to the renowned U.S. National Geographic via e-mail after finding that the association marked the East Sea only as the Japanese Sea. They got a formal apology and a promise to use the name `the East Sea` as well.

▷What is even more surprising is that 70% of some 12,000 VANK members are primary, middle and high school students. They are small and with few resources as individuals, but as a group, they are doing what even the government was not able to do. Their weapon is simple. They just send e-mail explaining with reason what has been wrong and how to correct the mistake. Knowledge, experience and pride they now have will be an invaluable asset for the whole country. VANK will launch next month `know the history right` campaign targeting popular Web sites and textbook publishers worldwide. And the little giant indeed deserves a praise and a big applause.

Mun Myeong-ho, Editorial Writer, munmh97@donga.com