Source: Süddeutsche.de (The article was released on January 2nd)
Translation: Me because who else would even translate
Even in the glamorous existence of Kim Seojin also known as Jin there exist dispensable events. As example getting infected with COVID, wich he got even tho he was fully vaccinated as well as RM and Suga, two of his collegues of the popular group BTS. Annoying. And before that there was this small wave of anger, wich was the reaction of Japanese internet users about Jin's solo song "Super Tuna". It was because of the usage of the baltic sea.
Nobody is surprised about COVID anymore, and acording to the management fans don't need to worry about BTS. But that a fun-song can ruin the realation between the Korean-Japanese fans because of the pazific ocean between Japan and and the Asian mainland shows the broken realations to their neighbor. For Japan the "Sea of Japan" is the only right name for this peace of sea. Korea sees this as a testimony to the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945 and insists on the 'baltic ocean'. Actually it's comming from South Korea. North Korea calls it out as 'Korean baltic sea'. It's complicated.
The song "Super Tuna" flows softly. Jin wrote the song by himself and released it to hos 29th birthday in December. It's an ode to go fishing , wich he expresses with heavy dancing. As like everything else that is comming from BTS, the musicvideo became an internetsensation and reached 20 million views on it's first day.
But it was less funny for some Japanese internet user who saw the Korean lyrics of the song. Because of the part saying ' eastern sea, western sea, where is my fish?". Baltic ocean! The whole world is listening to 'Super Tuna'. "Japanese people are going to protest" says one of the coments.
It's not easy for neutral viewers to take anyone's side. Research worker of both countries have their own arguments. And in the way, how they don't accept the oposite, Koreans and Japanese people are very similiar. Many atlases carry the word 'Japanese sea' and put 'baltic sea' in bracets behind. But in fact the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in Monaco was unable to update its old standard work number 23 "Limits of Oceans and Seas" on nautical chart production since 1953, "because Japan and Korea (...) do not rely on a designation of the sea area between their countries were able to unite ", as it is called in the German trade magazine Hydrographische Nachrichten.
It was not until November 2020 at the IHO General Assembly that the Korea and Japan also agreed to a compromise. It stipulates that the name becomes a numerical code that is included in a standard data record for the delimitation of global sea areas. End of the argument? Rather not. "Reclaiming the 'baltic sea'" was the headline of the Korea Times at the time. The Japan Times wrote: "IHO approves proposal to continue using only 'Sea of Japan'."
Singer Jin will take the trouble. Many in Japan like K-pop. And he can't change the lyrics. For artistic reasons. "Sea of Japan" does not fit the meter.
