Pyeongyang has one letter too many
2024-05-22 11:41:01
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| The background on the briefing stage for the inter-Korean summit spells Pyongyang as"Pyeongyang." Yonhap |
By Oh Young-jin
Where has the third inter-Korean summit between Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un been taking place?
Is it Pyongyang or Pyeongyang?
According to the presidential office, it is the latter. The powers-that-be have put it in writing literally, not once but an accentuating twice, at the massive media center for the "Pyeongyang" summit in the DDP building in downtown Seoul.
Written in Korean and English on the backboard to the stage is 2018 Inter-Korean Summit Pyeongyang with the same English wording right behind the briefing podium.
But ask reporters at the media center ― those who write in English, or who communicate in English ― and the chance is they would never use Pyeongyang as the venue of the summit.
Are they different places? Of course not, they are the one and same.
But the presidential office insists on using Pyeongyang, explaining that it is spelt as such, according to the South's official Romanization system.
That begs a couple of questions.
First but least, are there people who would think Pyeongyang differs from Pyongyang?
For those who think LOL on this, it is worth remembering that one western media outlet referred to PyeongChang ― the site of South Korea's 2018 Winter Olympics ― as the North Korean capital.
On a more serious note, how would the North, to which the city belongs, think? The inter-Korean summit is the combination of two Koreas' efforts to present their case for peace to the world, so using Pyeongyang may have the North scratch its collective head wondering why their southern brothers have changed their capital's English name, without their permission. After all, Pyongyang has long been used and recognized by North Koreans and the rest of the world.
What lies beneath this is the obvious stubbornness of some Cheong Wa Dae officials who resorted to a dogmatic lack of flexibility. When everybody says apple, it is apple, so to speak. Besides, Pyeongyang has one letter too many.
（作者：汽车电瓶）
