A long weekend is coming up and it is a God-send opportunity to head out of Songdo...
And this time, we are heading out to Japan, a short hop across the Sea of Japan. I hope I don't kick up a diplomatic storm here. The naming of the sea between Korea and Japan has been the cause of a long-standing diplomatic squabble between the two nations, and yes North Korea is also a party to the dispute.
The nomenclature dispute first came up in 1992 when the Koreans objected to the name, the "Sea of Japan". South Korea supports the name "East Sea", and North Korea supports the name "East Sea of Korea".
South Korea had argued that the name Sea of Japan did not become common until Korea was under Japanese rule, at which time it had no ability to influence international affairs. Japan argues that the name Sea of Japan has been the most common international name since the early 1800s, long before its annexation of Korea.
Both sides have conducted research on historical maps, and the research hasn't yielded anything conclusive so far. Frankly, I feel that this dispute is the outcome of the pathological aversion that the Koreans have for anything Japanese, presumably and justifiably stemming from the atrocities committed during the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula during the early 1900s. But a dispute on the name of a sea? Is it a political move to cater to a domestic audience?
As they would say in India, bahut vehla time hai!
The nomenclature dispute first came up in 1992 when the Koreans objected to the name, the "Sea of Japan". South Korea supports the name "East Sea", and North Korea supports the name "East Sea of Korea".
South Korea had argued that the name Sea of Japan did not become common until Korea was under Japanese rule, at which time it had no ability to influence international affairs. Japan argues that the name Sea of Japan has been the most common international name since the early 1800s, long before its annexation of Korea.
Both sides have conducted research on historical maps, and the research hasn't yielded anything conclusive so far. Frankly, I feel that this dispute is the outcome of the pathological aversion that the Koreans have for anything Japanese, presumably and justifiably stemming from the atrocities committed during the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula during the early 1900s. But a dispute on the name of a sea? Is it a political move to cater to a domestic audience?
As they would say in India, bahut vehla time hai!
Crossing the Incheon Bridge to head to the Incheon Airport...
The parking lots are full - it seems as though everyone is headed out of Incheon and Seoul for the long weekend...
The departures board tells me that Korean Air KE663 (codeshared with Jet Airways 9W4651) is leaving for home, Mumbai, later tonight, and that makes me so homesick...
Checking in at the Peach checkin counters. Peach is a LCC established by ANA, the Japanese airline. The proliferation of LCCs in the region has made travel so much simpler...
Grabbing a snack before we board...
Oh darn, our flight to Osaka Kansai is delayed...
While Plane Spotting, I noticed something that was chaotic, weird, amusing, irritating and funny all rolled into one...
There was a mad rush of boisterous Chinese people - unpacking, segregating and repacking of stuff - mostly aloe vera skin gels - just outside the gates of all flights heading to Mainland China...
A closer inspection revealed something weird - apparently these guys were all "mules". They all come to Korea in big groups - they lay their hands on Korean cosmetics (besides Hyundai, Samsung and LG, cosmetics from Korea are said to be real high quality) wherever they can - whether in Myeongdong in Seoul or at the Incheon duty free shops. Whatever is bought in Seoul is checked in. However whatever is bought at the duty free shops here at the airport is removed from the transparent plastic bags is repacked into suitcases, which then "checked in" at the boarding gate itself. These would find their way to street-side stalls in cities of the Mainland in a few days...
Finally we boarded, feeling all fruity and peachy! Japan, here we come!
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