“Dokdo (Dok-island) is an integral part of Korean territory, historically, geographically and under international law. No territorial dispute must exist regarding Dokdo, and therefore Dokdo is not a matter to be dealt with through diplomatic negotiations or judicial settlement.”
This is the statement that the South Korea government made to declare its position on Dokdo on the official website. There has been continuous conflict over Dokdo between South Korea and Japan.
Oct 25, 2020 is the 21st Dokdo Day. Dokdo Day was established to further strengthen the sovereignty of Dokdo internally and externally. It is the day when the Korean Empire Ordinance No. 41 was enacted in 1900. Ordinance No. 41 is an amendment that Ulleungdo (Ulleung Island), which contains Dokdo, was renamed Uldo-gun and became one of the 27 independent counties of Gangwon-do, included in the jurisdiction of Uldo-gun. It was declared to restrain Japan from coveting Dokdo. In other words, Korea has assigned Dokdo as a modern administrative system ahead of Japan. In particular, this year is meaningful as it has been 120 years since King Gojong, Ordinance No. 41 was established.
Every year, Dokdo Safeguard, a nongovernmental organization, and municipal governments commemorate Dokdo Day with various cultural and academic events. Koreans not only protect Dokdo by celebrating Dokdo Day but, through various ways, have been notifying the world that Dokdo is Korean territory. Koreans, including Kim Jang-hoon, who is well known as a singer, and VANK, a cyber diplomatic group, sent a letter of protest to global companies like Apple and Google to correct Takeshima (which Japan uses to describe itself) as Dokdo. Moreover, they created content on Dokdo and uploaded it on social media such as YouTube and Instagram to allow foreigners to recognize the fact.
Thus, why are the two nations constantly arguing over Dokdo? How much is Dokdo worth? The UOS Times will briefly introduce Dokdo to you in this article.
<What is Dokdo>
-Location
Dokdo is located in Dokdoanyongbok-gil, Ulleung-eup, Ulleung-gun, Gyeonsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea. Dokdo consists of two main islands, Dongdo and Seodo, and 89 surrounding islets, with a total area of 187,554m².
- Environment
Dokdo’s winter is milder than that of inland areas because it is surrounded by the sea. Summer is not very hot, and precipitation is even throughout the year. As Dokdo is located in the mid-latitude, the change in seasons is distinct. Because of these climatic characteristics, Dokdo has remarkable natural ecosystems, geographical or geological features, and natural environments. Thus, it is preserved as Korea Natural Monument No. 336.
-Plants and Animals
As the area of Dokdo is small and steep, it is not only deficient in plants but also difficult for soil to develop. Plants that grow in Dokdo are rather short, and it is difficult to grow large trees. There are dandelions, wood sorrels, foxtails among plants, and common camelia, and longleaf Elaeagnus.
In addition, the land animals in Dokdo are birds and insects; there is no record of amphibians and reptiles. There are globe skimmers, maritime earwigs, and grasshoppers among insects, and the birds include stormy petrels, black-tailed gull, and glaucous gull.
-Geography
Dokdo’s geography can be divided into historic geography, territorial geography, and economic geography. With regard to historic geography, Dokdo became a part of Korean territory after General Lee Sa-bu conquered Usanguk in 512 during the Silla period. However, it was incorporated into the territory of Japan and renamed Dakesima by Japan in 1905. Although Korea regained its rights, sovereignty, and territory after independence, Japan consistently argues that Dokdo is a territory of Japan. Regarding territorial geography, in 1900, the Korean Empire created Uldo-gun by integrating Ulleungdo, Jukdo, and Dokdo and reorganizing the local administrative system. The government strengthened the administrative management of Ulleungdo and Jukdo by the governor and declared this globally through the official gazette. The third is economic geography. Fisheries are the major industry of Dokdo. The sea near Dokdo, where warm and cold currents meet, is a rich fishing ground because of its abundant plankton. Further, the seabed reef is rich in algae, which is the fishermen’s main source of income.
<The Value of Dokdo>
1) Economical Value
First, the sea near Dokdo is rich in plankton and water resources, where cold and warm currents crossed.
Second, several submarine resources are deposited, including methane hydrate, the main component of natural gas, and deep seawater, formed by high pressure at the seabed.
2) Psychological Value
Dokdo is an indicator of the integrity of Korea’s sovereignty. This was revealed on Oct 28, 1954, in an announcement by Pyun Yung-tai, the third Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea.
The Japanese government must well remember the fact that it deprived Korea of sovereignty for over 40 years through imperial Japanese aggression. In fact, Japan had seized the power to control Korea in 1904 when it forced Korea to sign the Korea-Japan Treaty and the Korea-Japan Protocol. Dokdo had been incorporated into Japan’s jurisdiction in 1905. Thus, Dokdo was the first Korean territory to fall victim to Japan’s aggression against the Korean peninsula. Now, with the Japanese government persistently making an absurd claim over Dokdo, the Koreans cannot help but have serious suspicion if Japan is going down the same path of aggression once again.
From this perspective, Dokdo means much more to the Koreans than merely a small island in the East Sea—it represents Korean sovereignty against Japan.
In fact, through old Korean literature, it is clear that Dokdo belongs to Korea. For example, in the early Joseon Dynasty observation book, Sejong Silok, Jijiji (Geography section of the Annals of King Sejong’s Resign) (1454) records Dokdo and Ulleungdo as islands belonging to Uljinhyeon, Gangwon-do. In addition, many official documents such as Sinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam (Revised and Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea) (1531), Dongguk Munheon Bigo (Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea) (1770), Man’gi Yoram (Manual of State Affairs for the Monarch) (1808), and Jeungbo Munheon Bigo (Revised and Enlarged Edition of the Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea) (1908) state that Dokdo is Korean territory. Further, in the 17th century, Ulleungdo and Dokdo were confirmed as Korean territories through negotiations between Japan and the Korean government. After Japan received confirmation that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were not Japanese territories, the Edo Shogunate ordered a ban on passage to Takeshima and officially acknowledged that Ulleungdo was the territory of Joseon. During the Meiji period, Taejeonggwan, the highest administrative agency in Japan, was also instructed to keep in mind that Ulleungdo and Dokdo were not affiliated to Japan. In other words, until 1905, when Japan attempted to annex Dokdo, there was no document from the Japanese government that recorded Dokdo as a Japanese territory.
During the war with Russia over the Korean peninsula, Japan forced the Korean Empire to sign the Korea-Japan Protocol to freely use Korean territory. They also wanted to incorporate Dokdo for military value in the face of a Russian-Japanese naval battle in the East Sea. Dokdo was the first victim of Japan’s invasion of Korean sovereignty, and it was an illegal act that did not affect international law. According to the Cairo Declaration in 1943, Dokdo was excluded from the scope of Japan administration. Even in 1954, Japan argued to refer to the case to the International Court of Justice. However, this was just another scheming attempt being disguised as judicial proceedings. Korea already has Dokdo sovereignty. Hence, there is no reason for the Korean government to prove this right in the International Court of Justice.
Currently, the South Korean police reside in Dokdo and guard it. In addition, the military protects the territorial waters and airspace of Dokdo.
However, Japan continuously tries to put Dokdo into a disputed territory problem to gain attention from global society. In particular, Japan Shimane Prefecture referred to Dokdo as Takeshima and established “Takeshima Day,” holding a ceremony on Feb. 22 every year. The absurd claim about Dokdo in Japan has been a constant obstacle in relations between the two countries.
As discussed throughout this article, it is clear that Dokdo is Korean territory. Yet, why does Japan continue to claim sovereignty? Japan probably has evidence that cannot be completely ignored by the international community. To deal with Japan, the government should inform the public about why Japan makes such a claim and devise new countermeasures based on this. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of such efforts in Korea.
In addition, Dokdo Day has not been designated a national holiday. This is due to the opinion that designating the day as the national day is in line with Japan’s scheme to place Dokdo into the disputed area. On the other hand, Japan has a big Takeshima Day celebration each year and nationally supports research on Dokdo by spending hundreds of millions of dollars in research funds. This is an effort to rationalize Dokdo as Japanese land.
Therefore, it is questionable whether taking no action against the Dokdo dispute is really an answer to this problem. To Koreans, Dokdo is not just an island. It symbolizes complete sovereignty and efforts to not forget the past. The Korean government should also take a more serious approach to the Dokdo issue.