Listen up, students of Virginia, this question could be on your next geography quiz: What is the name of the major body of water is located between Japan and the Korean peninsula?
If you said Sea of Japan, you're only half right. It's also called the East Sea.
That's according to a new bill passed by lawmakers that hands South Korea a minor victory in a long-running battle over the naming of the stretch of water. After intense lobbying from both sides, the state's House of Delegates approved the measure by an 81-15 vote to include "East Sea" along with "Sea of Japan" in the state's textbooks.
The two-line bill states simply that, "all textbooks approved by the Board of Education ... when referring to the Sea of Japan, shall note that it is also called the East Sea."
As The Washington Post reports:
"The issue has drawn intense interest from, among others, Japanese diplomats, Korean Americans in Northern Virginia, and [newly elected Gov. Terry] McAuliffe, who promised to support the measure during his campaign but has been squeezed between that pledge and warnings that Japanese businesses in Virginia could react poorly to the move."