It has been confirmed that Swedish furniture and household goods company IKEA is also selling world map products in which the East Sea is marked only as the Sea of Japan in some overseas countries. Before the opening of its first store in Korea in December 2014, IKEA has caused controversy over the fact that it is selling world maps marked exclusively by the Sea of Japan in foreign countries. At the time, IKEA apologized and said it would cease selling the product worldwide in 2015. It is pointed out that it is not appropriate for IKEA to make and sell another controversial map product even after apologizing.
As of the 19th, it was confirmed that out of 50 countries in which IKEA has entered the market, BJÖRKSTA, a world map product for wall decoration, is being sold on official websites of at least 23 countries including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. In Beijing, China, it has been confirmed that IKEA offline stores are also selling this product. This product is not sold on the Korean IKEA website.
The East Sea is marked as the Sea of Japan and the West Sea as the Yellow Sea on the BJÖRKSTA world map, which Ikea is selling in some countries. / Correspondent Namhee Kim
IKEA introduced this product as a 1881 historical map in its product description. It was designed by IKEA of Sweden, who was in charge of developing IKEA products. It is composed of a large picture and a picture frame 200cm wide and 140cm long. The price of a picture and frame set is 698 yuan (about 120,000 won) in China.
On the map,’THE WORLD ON SIR J. HERSCHEL’S PROJECTION BY JOHN BARTHOLOMEW. The title of’FRGS’ is written. It was drawn by 19th-century Scottish cartographer John Bartholomew.
Korea is marked as’Corea’ on the map. The East Sea is written in English as the Sea of Japan, and the West Sea as the Chinese name, Whang Hai. The map reflects the era of the 19th century when the powers of the world were colonized all over the world.
A consumer is looking at a BJÖRKSTA world map product at an IKEA store in Beijing, China. / Correspondent Namhee Kim
It is criticized that global companies operating in more than 50 countries around the world are wondering about their intention to commercialize the colonial era map. It does not take into account the historical sensitivities of various countries.
Moreover, IKEA has already been controversial several times by selling inappropriate world map products. In November 2014, a month before the opening of Korea’s first store, Gwangmyeong, IKEA sold a world map product (Premia·PREMIÄR) that marked the East Sea as the Sea of Japan alone, resulting in consumer dissatisfaction.
At the time, IKEA Korea, a Korean subsidiary, apologized, saying, “(Before the controversy), we were seriously aware and discussing this issue at the global level of IKEA, and from the very beginning of discussions on products to be sold in Korea, we decided not to sell the product in Korea “The controversy grew further. This is because, although he decided not to sell it in Korea in anticipation that it would be a problem in Korea, he expressed a position that there was no problem with selling it abroad.
BJÖRKSTA world map product sold at an IKEA store in Beijing, China. / Correspondent Namhee Kim
As the controversy continued, IKEA Korea issued a statement on December 4 of that year, saying, “As a global company, IKEA respects the name of the country, borders, territories and territories, and does not take any political position.” At the same time, it announced that it will remove the product from the global product line in 2015. However, for that reason, it was pointed out that “about 20% of all product lines are changed to new products every year, and as part of this, Premia will be excluded from the global product line in 2015.”
Currently, IKEA operates four offline stores (Gwangmyeong, Goyang, Giheung, and Dongbusan) and an online mall in Korea. In fiscal 2020, IKEA Korea’s sales amounted to about 663.4 billion won, and the number of annual store visitors reached 12.32 million. IKEA has not officially disclosed the number of countries currently in operation. As a result of checking the official websites of each country, it is estimated that there are close to 60. According to the IKEA website, as of fiscal year 2020 (September 2019 to August 2020), the number of stores worldwide is over 500.
BJÖRKSTA world map for sale on the IKEA USA website. / IKEA USA website
Internationally, the number of single marks for the Sea of Japan is gradually decreasing. In November of last year, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), which sets the international standard for world sea names, decided to revise charts, and decided to indicate only unique identification numbers instead of geographical names such as the East Sea or Sea of Japan. The existing chart book (S-23) marked only the Sea of Japan from 1929, during the Japanese colonial period. If it is converted to the revised version (S-130), it is predicted that the Japanese logic that insisted on the exclusive marking of the Sea of Japan by the IHO standard chart book will weaken. Details of the revised edition are expected to be disclosed at the IHO General Assembly in 2023.
IKEA apologized for being found to have sold a map of the world minus New Zealand in the United States in 2019. The world map product name was also Bierxstar, but it was a different product from the Bierxta map currently on sale. At the time, IKEA said in a statement to the BBC that “we will take necessary steps and the products are being phased out of stores.”
![[단독] IKEA, a world map marked with the East Sea as’Sea of Japan’, continues to be sold overseas, including Beijing… Past apology is a lie](https://image.chosun.com/sitedata/image/202103/21/2021032100484_0.jpg "[단독] IKEA, a world map marked with the East Sea as’Sea of Japan’, continues to be sold overseas, including Beijing… Past apology is a lie")
