A South Korean national entering China was detained due to a map found in his belongings, which indicated Taiwan as a separate country.

The man in his 70s, arrived at the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport via a Korean Air flight from Incheon International Airport on Wednesday morning and was stopped by customs officials while passing through the security checkpoint.

The map in question measured just 30 centimeters wide and 20 centimeters in length and had Taiwan written in bold letters and the capital city Taipei written in red.

The South Korean man explained that the map was just part of his planner and did not know that the map indicated Taiwan as a separate country.

Airport officials tore out the map and released the South Korean national an hour later.