Introduction
The Mystery of the World Map They Don't Teach You in School

Chapter 1: A World Map That's Outrageously Fun

01 Where is 'Arab' and who are 'Arabs'?
02 Where does the term 'Middle East' refer to?
03 Why is the North Pole centered on the UN world map?
04 Imperialist Europe still lives in America!
05 Four Corners: A Tour of Four US States at Once
06 Are there four colored seas on Earth?
07 Are there eight Mediterranean Seas in the world's oceans?
08 Is the Islamic country of Turkey part of Europe or Asia?
09 When did the distinction between 'East' and 'West' begin?
10 Why is the Pacific Ocean read as ‘Tae’ and the Atlantic Ocean read as ‘Dae’?
11 There is a country called 'UK', but there is no country called 'England'?
The "nation on which the sun never sets," united by the Commonwealth of 12 54 countries
13 What region in the Pacific Ocean does 'Oceania' refer to?
14 Brother Islands in the Bering Strait, divided by the international border and the International Date Line
15. Did they erase East and West Berlin from the map of West and East Germany?
16 Five African countries with the name 'Black'
17 Vatican City, twice the size of Dokdo, is the smallest country in the world.
18 What country is the 'principality' that remains on the map of Europe?
19 The Dutch called it New Amsterdam, the British called it New York!
20 There are 300 place names called 'Washington' in the United States?

Chapter 2: Earth's Amazing Phenomena and Secrets

21 Which country is the first in the world to welcome the New Year?
22. The absence of a time difference between China and Chile is a common feature.
23 The 0° longitude on the world map is in two places: London and Paris?
24 The story of the countries surrounding the Caspian Sea, debating whether it is a 'sea' or a 'lake'
25 The world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea, is disappearing.
26 Is there a mountain higher than Everest and K2 in South America?
27 Where is the 'Wadi', the fantastic river flowing in the desert?
28 What is the mystery of Lopnor, known as the 'Floating Lake'?
How was the Dead Sea, which is nine times saltier than seawater, formed?
30 The Amazon River, the 'lungs of the world', is the longest and widest river in the world?
31 The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, where even Mount Everest would sink
32 The Rias Coast of Spain and the Fjord Coast of Norway
33 Will the African continent split into two islands?
34 Where on Earth are the 'seven seas'?
35 The locations of the Earth's N and S poles are different from the North and South Poles.
The Secrets of Antarctica, Preserving 4.6 Billion Years of Earth's History
37 Where can I see the ‘white nights’ where the sun never sets?
38 200 million years ago, the Earth's landmass was one continent, 'Pangaea'!
39 A flat world map cannot tell the area of ​​the land.

Chapter 3: Interesting Land, Strange Climate

40 Even the desert countries of Turkey and Iran experience temperatures below freezing?
41 Why are there so many deserts near the Tropic of Death?
42 Death Valley in the United States, also known as the "Valley of Death"
43 What would happen to the Earth if the rainforests disappeared?
44 Where in Antarctica is there a desert without ice or snow?
45 Why isn't the ice at the North and South Poles salty?
46 Why are there more glaciers in the south of Alaska than in the north?
47 Is Northern Europe warmer than Seoul thanks to the Gulf Stream?
48 'Extreme Lands': The North Pole and the South Pole, which is colder?
49 Why do you need a padded jacket in midsummer in San Francisco?
50 Tornadoes in the Central United States are the world's strongest?
51 El Niño Affects Weather in Peru and Indonesia
52 Do ocean currents around the world regulate Earth's temperature?

Chapter 4: Surprising Inside Stories from Around the World

53 Memorizing is also a task! The circumstances surrounding the change of place names in Russia
54 Is there a country that pays taxes to both France and Spain?
55 Why is Munich, Germany called 'Monaco' in Italy?
56 Castilian in Spain and Spanish in Central and South America are different!
57 There are no Italians in Italy?
58 The source of the Seine River in Burgundy became property of the city of Paris!
59 There is a Belgian railway line passing through German territory!
Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, nicknamed the "60-foot log fence"
61 Islands in Finland where Swedish is the only official language
62 Geographical reasons why Peru's capital was moved to the coastal city of Lima
63 What is the origin of the name 'America' for the new continent?
64 Niagara Falls, the twin waterfall city of the United States and Canada
65 The longest city name in the world is Bangkok, Thailand?
66 'Lion City' Singapore is the richest country in Asia

Chapter 5: The Spark of Regional Conflict: Territory and Ethnicity

67 Why the Baltic States Turned Anti-Russian
68 Will Russia's Kaliningrad become a spark of war?
69 The geopolitical environment of Switzerland, which maintained permanent neutrality for 200 years
Belgium's 'language war' that has continued since its founding in the 70s
71 Is Quebec, with 80% of its French-speaking population, an independent country within Canada?
72 The border between Tanzania and Kenya changed by Mount Kilimanjaro
73 The Senegal-Mauritania Conflict: Whose River Is It?
74 The Arab world of the Middle East was part of the Ottoman Empire!
75 The struggle between India and Pakistan, the religious conflict in Kashmir
76 India, a multi-ethnic country, has over 800 languages!
77 What is the geopolitical appeal of the Spratly Islands?
78 The Strange Conflict Between Himalayan Neighbors Nepal and Bhutan
79 Why did the island nation of New Caledonia remain French territory?
80 Why are there so many Indians in Fiji in the South Pacific?
81 Why did Tuvalu remove the Union Jack from its flag?

Chapter 6: A Geography Story That Overturns Common Sense

82 The southernmost tip of the African continent is not the 'Cape of Good Hope'!
83 What are the identities of the two kingdoms in South Africa?
84 Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco, which remained Spanish territory
85 Why are there diamonds buried in the African continent?
86 A village in the Netherlands has lands of two countries?
87 The world's longest station name that even locals can't remember
88 How high is Mount Kosciuszko, the highest peak on the Australian continent?
89 Where does the Arctic Circle, a landless region, begin and end?
90 Why is President Trump interested in Greenland?
91 Bolivia in South America has no sea, but has a navy?
92 Why did Charles Darwin, author of “The Origin of Species,” go to the Galapagos?
From deserts to glaciers, Chile is a global climate showcase.
94 Why do the flags of Puerto Rico and Cuba look similar?
95 A wealthy country in the South Pacific is on the verge of bankruptcy?
96 What are the concerns of a small Southeast Asian country where the world's richest people live?

“Why is the International Date Line so crooked?”
“Why are there so many deserts around the Tropic of Cancer?”
“Why do wars always break out in the same places?”
“Where is the border dividing Europe and Asia?”

If you look closely at the world map, you will find that Kiribati in the South Pacific, which can only be found by looking closely, passes through the International Date Line, and that the Republic of Brunei, located at the tip of Borneo Island, is an oil-producing country.
And what are the countries called principalities, dotted across the European continent like Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg? It's fascinating.

The secrets of the world map, including geography, climate, history, ethnicity, and religion from all over the globe.

This book will satisfy your curiosity about historical facts and geographical phenomena that are not taught in school.
The true nature of the various intertwined stories of humans and the land unfolding on Earth is gradually revealed.
The sorrow of a weak country due to geopolitical factors and the reason for the conflict between the United States and China are understandable.
And through the amazing phenomena and secrets of the land and climate, you will realize that the Earth is still a living organism.

Studying world maps broadens our perspective beyond geography to encompass science, history, and even international affairs.
Like this, there are many bizarre and exciting stories about the world hidden within the world map.
There are countries with names I've never seen before, like Nauru and Tuvalu in the Pacific, and I can learn about the true identity of Kaliningrad, a Russian territory on the Baltic Sea coast.
And the more we look at world maps, the more curious we become about things like why Antarctica is colder than the North Pole, and how America's "Death Valley" became "Death Valley."

This book vividly presents the extraordinary stories hidden in every corner of the world map using color 3D maps, drawings, and photographs.
As you turn each page of the book, the secrets of the world map that we have always wanted to know, such as the topography, geography, climate, history, customs, ethnicity, and religion of every corner of the globe, are gradually revealed.


They say the world is as visible as you know it.
This book will help you develop a perspective on international affairs through geopolitics, as well as a knowledge of geography, including the correlation between geography and history, and the territorial and ethnic issues that serve as sparks of regional conflict.
In this way, world maps provide clues and knowledge to understand other worlds connected to the one we live in.
The joy of reading people and the world on a world map is perhaps the greatest gift readers can experience from this book.

What are the amazing phenomena on Earth and the surprising inside stories from around the world?

This book is comprised of interesting and diverse stories related to world maps.
Each story, including geography, history, and nature, vividly explains the secrets and knowledge of world maps that we are not familiar with but absolutely must know.
The greatest feature and advantage of this book is that it contains a wealth of color, three-dimensional maps that combine illustrations and text for easy understanding at a glance.
And it helps readers understand through various photos, pictures, and graphs.
Through this book, readers will be able to feel closer to the 'Earth and the world', which used to be a vague space.

Chapter 1: A World Map That's Outrageously Fun

Is Turkey part of Europe or Asia? Turkey, a unique country with a majority of its territory in Asia and a member of NATO but not the EU, has a unique history and background. Furthermore, the UN-designed map addresses questions that arise when you open a world map, such as why the North Pole is the center, unlike typical world maps; how can you circle four US states in just a few seconds; and why there's no country called "United Kingdom" on a world map.

Chapter 2: Earth's Amazing Phenomena and Secrets

It is common knowledge that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
On the other hand, some argue that new measurements show that K2 is higher.
But how is it that there are mountains higher than Everest and K2? Furthermore, the book provides detailed maps that explain the true nature of China's "floating lakes," mysterious desert rivers called "wadis," and the moving North and South Poles, among other surprising and previously unknown phenomena on Earth.

Chapter 3: Interesting Land, Strange Climate

Near Los Angeles, California, there is a terrifying valley called 'Death Valley'.
This valley, which has claimed countless lives, is said to have been formed due to the region's unique topography and climate. But what explains this? Furthermore, this book delves into the reasons why Antarctica, a continent seemingly dazzling white, has a desert devoid of snow and ice, why the central United States produces the world's highest tornadoes, and why the ice at the North and South Poles is not solid. This book delves into these issues, using detailed illustrations and maps.

Chapter 4: Surprising Inside Stories from Around the World

Niagara Falls, a magnificent sight that overwhelms those who see it.
There are cities in the United States and Canada across this waterfall that seem like twins, with identical populations, industries, and even names.
What are the true circumstances of a city like this, despite no border disputes? Other surprising stories from around the world pique our curiosity, such as the Principality of Andorra, which pays taxes to France and Spain, the reason there are no Italians in Italy, and the Finnish islands where only Swedish is spoken.

Chapter 5: The Spark of Conflict: Territory and Nation

Tuvalu, a new country in the Commonwealth.
Like many Commonwealth countries, it includes the Union Jack in its flag, although it is said that it was once removed.
It's said to have been due to an explosion of discontent with Britain, but could there have been other reasons? Furthermore, the book explores why France couldn't give up New Caledonia, the fact that over 800 languages ​​are spoken in India, and the complex story of how Kaliningrad became a "European island," each presented with maps, photos, and diagrams appropriate to the topic.

Chapter 6: A Geography Story That Overturns Common Sense

There is a town in the Netherlands that has more than 20 Belgian territories.
It's said to be a complex town where you can only tell which country it belongs to by the flag displayed in front of the door. What is the historical background that led to the creation of this unique town? The book also details geographic stories that defy common sense, such as the name of the world's longest station, which even the locals can't remember, the country's navy despite being landlocked, and the reason Darwin, author of "The Origin of Species," went to the Galapagos.