Ikea forced to recall ‘Sea of Japan’ poster worldwide after Korean backlash
Ikea will from next year stop selling a controversial decorative map in which the body of water between the Korean peninsula and Japan is labelled only as “Sea of Japan”.
South Korea has long demanded the waters be also called “the East Sea” on the grounds that the term “the Sea of Japan” only became popular globally during Japan’s colonial rule of the peninsula.
Ikea’s local unit announced the halt two weeks before the opening of its first showroom in South Korea, where the international water is referred to as the East Sea.
“We acknowledge that Ikea has made a mistake in underestimating the sensitivity of this issue and for this, we sincerely apologise. In accordance with our plans the Premiar wall decoration in question will be taken out next year worldwide,” the press release said.
“As a global company Ikea respects that the naming of countries, territories, borders and seas can be a sensitive topic and we do not take any point of view when it comes to these political topics,” the company added.
The controversy erupted last month when the company’s Korean-language website was launched. A map posted on the site used “Sea of Japan” instead of “East Sea”, drawing stinging criticism from online commenters.