OhKpop stars celebrity news and gossip

• IHO Puts Off East Sea Decision Until 2017
• Japan Fails in East Sea Bid at IHO
• Museum to display 49 maps to support East Sea, Dokdo
• Korea Faces Failure Over Naming of East Sea
• Japan repeats Dokdo claim in diplomatic document

By Chung Min-uck

South Korean delegates attending the general meeting of International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) are stepping up diplomatic efforts to add the name “East Sea” to the body of water separating Japan from Korea.

The IHO is an intergovernmental body in charge of naming oceans and seas. Currently, the IHO’s sea map refers to the waters only as the “Sea of Japan”.

A foreign ministry official said no agreement was reached on the contentious issue on the first day of the meeting.

The five-day meeting, held every five years, kicked off on Monday in Monaco with the attendance of more than 300 delegates from around 80 member states. They plan to have another round of discussions today to finalize the issue.

For the adoption of a new name, countries that are concerned and other member states need to come up with a consensus. In this case, the new name can be adopted without going through voting. However, if any of the member states disagrees with the proposal it needs to be put to a vote during the IHO meeting.

According to sources, the majority of member nations prefer the two countries to find a common solution without going through voting.

The IHO will revisit its document titled “Limits of Oceans and Seas”, also known as S-23. It has not been updated since the release of the third addition in 1953. The oceanographic chart, though not binding, standardizes oceanic boundaries and names over the world.

Against the backdrop, South Korea sent a delegation of 16 government officials and experts led by Paik Ji-ah, director-general for international organizations at the foreign ministry, to the crucial sea-naming meeting.

“We will try our utmost for the use of both names in the upcoming version of the document, and at the same time, prevent the single use of the name Sea of Japan”, said Paik, Tuesday.

South Korea has locked horns with Japan for decades concerning the name of the water the former calls the “East Sea”.

Seoul claims the original name “Sea of Korea” was changed after Japan colonized Korea from 1910 to 1945.

Japan registered the name Sea of Japan with the IHO in 1929 during the release of the first edition.

Seoul also insists that the second and third editions, published in 1937 and 1953 respectively, marked the same name “Sea of Japan” as Korea was unable to reflect its voice to the colonial situation and the 1950-53 Korean War.

It raised an objection to the single use of the name for the first time in 1992 and since then has campaigned for the adoption of the “East Sea” for the waters.

In previous IHO meetings, Seoul’s efforts on changing the name failed as Japan called for the organization to stick with the current name.

FT Island Successfully Launches Its Arena Tour in Japan
FT Island launched its arena tour with a bang.Member Lee Hong Gi tweeted, "I was so happy. Thank you so much," along with a photo from the Miyagi Sendai concert the band held on June 15. In the photo, the FT Island members are shown posing with sweaty and reddened faces onstage while their fans stand behind them.Leader Choi Jong Hoon said about the concert, "I still feel the emotions because the concert let the tour start off well.""I was happier because we cared for every little detail for this concert," Lee Hong Gi shared, while Lee Jae Jin and Choi Min Hwan said, "We became exhausted while preparing for the concert, but we feel great that we made our performance more exciting than any other we held before...

KARA Nicole Invited to 'MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2013' as Sole Korean Artist
KARA, Nicole, MTV, VMAJ KARA member Nicole has been chosen as the Korean representative for 'MTV VMAJ 2013'. KARA member Nicole has been chosen to be the representative for Korea for the 'MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2013'. She will also be holding a solo performance of her solo song, "LOST," which is part of KARA's special group album called 'KARA Solo Collection'. An official stated that after seeing the group as the Korean representatives from 'MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2012', theft felt that they had what it took to be the representatives for the 'MTV VMAJ 2013'...

TVXQ completes record 5-Dome concert tour in Japan
TVXQ recently completed their 5 Dome tour in Japan, officially making them the first Korean artists to do so.On April 27th, TVXQ began their Dome Tour "TVXQ LIVE TOUR 2013 ~TIME~" at the Sapporo Dome, which was followed up by a 3-day concert at the Nagoya Dome, a 2-day concert at the Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome, a 4-day concert at the Kyocera Osaka Dome, and finally a 3-day concert at the Tokyo Dome. From the Dome venues alone, TVXQ gathered at total of 700,000 fans. An official from SM Entertainment stated, "TVXQ showed an outstanding intense, colorful and live stage and fascinated the audience with their performance," regarding the group's last Dome performance on the 17th, where they performed 28 tracks in its 3-hour run...