Angry Russian library returns globe gifted by South Korean diplomat for depicting Russian-occupied regions as Ukrainian

A Russian library said it will return a globe gifted by a South Korean diplomat, arguing that it inaccurately depicts Russia’s borders and still marks territories seized in the war against Ukraine as Ukrainian territory.

A photo provided by the Nogliki Municipal District Administration's Telegram channel shows the globe at the center of the dispute, which the library is returning due to its depiction of Russian borders [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A Russian library said it will return a globe gifted by a Korean diplomat, arguing that it "inaccurately" depicts Russia’s borders and still marks territories seized in the war against Ukraine as Ukrainian territory and constitutes a diplomatic discourtesy, reported Russian state media.

According to Russia's state news agency Tass on Monday, the Vladimir Mikhailovich Sangi Central Library in Sakhalin recently received the globe donated by Park Sang-tae, head of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Chancellery of the Consulate General of Korea in Vladivostok.

The head of the library, Olga Rozhnova, took issue with the gift, pointing out that it depicts Crimea and parts of eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed as Ukrainian territories.

She described the actions of Park as "unacceptable," arguing that a diplomat should be aware of the “deliberate distortion” of Russia’s borders. She added that keeping such a globe in a municipal institution could be seen as an “expression of separatism.”

The library opted to return the globe to Park, deeming it "the only possible action," and has contacted Russia’s Foreign Ministry, claiming that the diplomat's gift "clearly violates the host country's laws," according to Tass.

Korea’s Foreign Ministry defended the globe, saying that it was produced in accordance with international cartographic standards.

"The globe was produced based on the cartographic practices of international organizations and major map publishers and has been commonly used to promote the labeling of the East Sea," the ministry said in a statement to the Korea JoongAng Daily on Tuesday evening.

Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014 and, following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, took control of parts of eastern Ukraine, including large chunks of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Moscow now claims these territories as part of Russia and has held referendums in the occupied areas.

However, Ukraine, the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and most of the international community do not recognize these claims, condemning the annexations as illegitimate. Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also stated that it does not acknowledge Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian land.

UPDATE, Feb. 11:Added Korea's Foreign Ministry's statement.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]