ZARA, H&M, GAP, Forever 21, MANGO and other SPA brands here have come under fire for using a Google Map that refers to the East Sea as the “Sea of Japan,” and Dokdo as “Liancourt Rocks.”
Critics say ZARA Retail Korea is using an online map which shows Japanese place names in the Korean language. The map has been provided for customers to search for locations of ZARA stores.
The company declined to clarify its own opinion to the media, saying the Korean branch should follow the global policies of ZARA headquarter in Spain.
The company’s response angered Korean customers, who have already been irritated by the chief of ZARA Korea making statements ridiculing the candlelit rally participants.
However, The Korea Times found out that other Korean branches of SPA are using the same map as ZARA, which may enrage Korean customers even more.
On the map, Sea of Japan is shown as East Sea in parentheses, only if a user zooms in on the map. Moreover, Dokdo is shown as Liancourt Rocks, even if the user zooms in.
At the bottom of the map three firms are credited ― Google, SK Telecom and Zenrin. They are headquartered in the U.S., Korea and Japan, respectively. Zenrin is a Japan-based map publisher.
An SK Telecom official said that “It seems Google received detailed data of streets and buildings from our T map and received overall geographical data from Zenrin.”
Google currently offers online maps following cultural and historical emotions of each country. After a series of disputes, the map’s Korean version (maps.google.co.kr) shows Dokdo and East Sea as they are in Korea.
Most global firms are using different versions in each country as well. However, global SPA brands have used the Zenrin-based global version.
UNIQLO alone could avoid the controversies as it is using Naver Map on its official website of its Korean branch, even though the brand is headquartered in Japan.
Meanwhile, ZARA Korea seems to face a larger boycott of its products because of the map matter.
The company chief Lee Bong-jin has come under criticism after he said during a public lecture, “When you took to the streets (to protest), 49 million people who didn’t join the rally were doing something for themselves. Your future will be shaped based upon what you do now,” referring to the mass anti-Park rally in Seoul. His statements have gone viral as one of the lecture attendants posted his words on social media.
“My intention was, that in this chaotic situation, we should be more dedicated to what we are supposed to do ― studying for students and working for workers,” Lee apologized. However, Korean customers likened his apology to the warning about the 1919 Independence Movement made by a infamous pro-Japanese collaborator Lee Wan-yong.
Customers have begun an online boycott against ZARA and some of them sent emails of complaints to its headquarters Inditex Group, in Spain.