<2019.12.06>
VANK Youth Kim Hyun-jong Achieves Result 4 Months After Sending Protest Letter
On December 6, the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK) announced that the BBC has removed a misleading map regarding Dokdo from one of its news articles following a correction request submitted by a Korean student.
Kim Hyun-jong, a third-year student majoring in Political Science and International Studies at Yonsei University and an active youth leader at VANK, discovered the issue while reading a BBC article published on July 23, which reported that Chinese reconnaissance planes and Russian bombers had entered Korean airspace near Dokdo.
The article featured a map labeled “Dokdo/Takeshima,” accompanied by a caption stating,
“Both South Korea and Japan claim sovereignty over Dokdo/Takeshima, which has been occupied by South Korea since 1954.”
The map’s source was marked as South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, which misleadingly suggested that the Korean government endorsed the dual naming of Dokdo/Takeshima.
On August 1, Kim sent an email to the BBC, pointing out that:
- Citing South Korean government ministries as the map’s source was inaccurate,
- The map gave the false impression that the South Korean government recognized the Japanese name “Takeshima”,
- The article should use a map that reflects the correct territorial designation of Dokdo,
- And that, when reporting on issues related to South Korea, the BBC should refer to credible and appropriate sources.
He also explained why Japan’s territorial claim to Dokdo is unfounded, and urged the BBC to remove the term “Takeshima” from the map.
Over the next few months, Kim received four emails from the BBC stating that his inquiry would be addressed. Finally, on December 4, the BBC replied:
“We apologize for the delay. We believe your concern is legitimate, and after further review, we have decided to remove the map from the article.”
As of December 6, the problematic map has been removed from the article
(📎 BBC article link).
However, the caption stating,
“Both South Korea and Japan claim sovereignty over Dokdo/Takeshima, which has been occupied by South Korea since 1954,”
remains.
In place of the removed map, the BBC has added information regarding the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which was not part of the original article.
Park Ki-tae, Director of VANK, stated:
“Even though the BBC has not revised the entire article, the fact that they removed a misleading map citing South Korean government sources is a meaningful step.
We’ve made a sample English correction letter publicly available on our ‘21st Century Yi Sun-sin Project’ website (korea.prkorea.com/kor/iam/knowhow.jsp), so that anyone can take part in correcting distortions about Dokdo in the global media.”