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The East Sea of Korea is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, Korea and Russia. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure.

Physical characteristics

The East Sea of Korea is bound by the Russian mainland and Sakhalin island to the north, North Korea and South Korea to the west, and the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō, Honshū, and Kyūshū to the east.

It is connected to other seas by five shallow straits: the Strait of Tartary between the Asian mainland and Sakhalin; La Perouse Strait between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaidō; the Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū; the Kanmon Straits between the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū; and the Korea Strait (genkainada) between the Korean Peninsula and the island of Kyūshū. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait, on either side of Tsushima Island.

• Deepest point: 3,742 meters below sea level
• Mean depth: 1,753 meters
• Surface area: about 978,000 km²

The sea has three major basins: the Yamato Basin in the southeast; the Japan Basin in the north; and the Tsushima Basin (Ulleung Basin) in the southwest. The Japan Basin has the deepest areas of the sea, while the Tsushima Basin has the shallowest.

On the eastern shores, the continental shelves of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about 30 kilometres wide.

The Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of Kuroshio Current, flows northward through the Korea Strait along the Japanese shore, and the Liman Cold Current flows southward through the Strait of Tartary along the Russian shore.

The East Sea of Korea was once a landlocked sea when the land bridge of East Asia existed.

Economy

The areas in the north and the southeast are rich fishing grounds. The importance of the fishery in the sea is well illustrated by the dispute between South Korea and Japan over Liancourt Rocks. The sea is also important for its mineral deposits, particularly magnetite sands. There are also believed to be natural gas and petroleum fields. With the growth of East Asian economies, the Sea of Japan has become an increasingly important commercial waterway.

Biology

The last documented observation of the Japanese Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus japonicus) was a sighting of 50 or 60 individuals on Liancourt Rocks in 1951. These animals bred in flat, open, sandy beaches and were indigenous to the Northwest Pacific shores of Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Hunted to extinction by fishermen, there is some disagreement as to whether the Japanese Sea Lion were a distinct species or a subspecies of the California Sea Lion.

Naming dispute

Although East Sea of Korea is the commonly used term to refer to the sea amongst most other countries, both North Korea and South Korea have advocated for a different name to be used. South Korea has argued that it should be called the "East Sea"; North Korea, the "East Sea of Korea". As a result of Korean objections to the name "Sea of Japan", some English-language publications refer to it as Sea of Japan (East Sea), incorporating a version of the Korean name. On August 27, 2007, the Ninth Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names elected to retain the title of the body of water as "Sea of Japan". F. J. Ormeling, chair of the session, stated, "I encourage the three countries concerned to find a solution acceptable to all of them, taking into account any relevant solutions, or else to agree to differ and to report the outcome of these discussions to the next conference."

See also

• Geography of Japan
• Geography of North Korea
• Geography of Russia
• Geography of South Korea

References

1. "Tides in Marginal, Semi-Enclosed and Coastal Seas - Part I: Sea Surface Height". ERC-Stennis at Mississippi State University. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
2. Totman, Conrad D. (2004). "Pre-Industrial Korea and Japan in Environmental Perspective". Retrieved 2007-02-02. {{cite web}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
3. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Zalophus japonicus". IUCN. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
4. Kyodo News, "Despite Korean efforts, geographic conference backs Sea of Japan name", The Japan Times, 29 Aug 07,

External links

Media related to Sea of Japan at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of Sea of Japan at Wiktionary

39°34′55″N 134°34′11″E / 39.58194°N 134.56972°E / 39.58194; 134.56972

• Sea of Japan
• Disputed waters