History of the East Sea and the Sea of Japan

Jeongbo SHIM was born in Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea in 1969. He holds an M.A. and a B.A in Geographic Education from Chungbuk National University in Korea. He received his doctorate in Geographic Education from Hiroshima University in Japan with the dissertation titled “Geography Education in National Schools of the Chosen Governor Seat During the Pacific War.” He was a high school Geography teacher at Gwacheon Girls' High School and Research Fellow in Northeast Asian History Foundation. He is currently a professor at Seowon University in Korea. His current research interest is the history of geography education in modern Korea and Japan. His research has appeared in The New Geography, The Journal of The Korean Association of Geographic and Environmental Education, The Journal of Cultural and Historical Geography, and others. His major publications are:-  Educational thought of Pestalozzi in the elementary geography textbook of Tanaka Keiji published by the Japanese Government-General of the Joseon, The Korea Association of Geographic and Environmental Education, 2014    - Japanese Geopolitical Thought and Geography Education for Elementary Schools in the Pacific War, The Korea Association of Geographic and Environmental Education, 2015   - Recognition about Dokdo described in geography textbooks of Korea and Japan before and after the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Journal of Cultural and Historical Geography, 2019    - Deep Understanding for the East Sea and Dokdo, Minsokwon, 2021

“The book is an exciting source of information about the historical geography of toponymic changes in the East Asian oceanic subregion. It is also largely successful in providing comprehensive historical analysis based on … a variety of cartographic sources. The volume can serve primarily academicians and students in geography, history, onomastics, and cognate fields of social sciences, as well as everyone interested in the (geo)politics of place names.” (Sergei Basik, Erdkunde, Vol. 78 (1), 2024)

• Foreword.- Preface.- Chapter 1 ‘The Story of Geographical Names and Disputes’.- Chapter 2 ‘Beginning of Discomfort and Dispute’.- Chapter 3 'East Sea, an Endonym of Korea'.- Chapter 4 'Endonym and Exonym of Japan'.- Chapter 5 'Various Exonyms Used in the West'.- Chapter 6 ‘Sea of Japan and East Sea in Geography Education of the Modern Period’.-  Chapter 7 ‘The Unfinished Story of Geographical Names’.- Bibliography.- Sources of Maps and Pictures.- Chronology of the Names of East Sea/Sea of Japan.- Epilogue.