The Last Interglacial (LIG), with its many reconstructions and simulations, provides an ideal analog for investigating the future warmer climate. However, there has been a persistent mismatch between simulated and reconstructed LIG climates in East Asia, with simulations generally indicating a colder and drier climate than reconstructions. In this study, utilizing the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM1-F), the authors investigated whether incorporating the global mean sea-level rise in LIG simulation experiments can reduce the model–data mismatch. The new experiments reveal a discernible, yet insufficient, warming and wetting effect in East Asia resulting from the sea-level rise. Therefore, the model–data mismatch remains unresolved. Based on these results, the authors explore alternative factors that may contribute to this mismatch, offering insights for future studies.