■ Dokdo ProfileㆍHistory

   Dokdo has had several different names depending on who was referring to them and at what time in history.
  In the past, Koreans have variously used Usando, Sambongdo, Seokdo and Gajido ("-do" means "island"). The reason there was no continuity in these names was because, until this century, there was no residents on the Island. The first mention in official texts was as Usando in 512 in connection with a state known as Usanguk, which was incorporated into Korea's Shilla Dynasty (57 BC to 935 AD).
  Some historical texts describe Dokdo as having three peaks when viewed from a certain angle - hence the name Sambongdo, which means "island of three peaks" (even though now it's most known for two main craggy peaks). The "gaji" in Gajido comes from the old Korean word for seal. Seokdo and Dokdo is two different Chinese translations of the same Korean word - Dokseom - which means "rocky island" in the dialect used by the people of the nearest inhabited island, Ulleungdo.
  When translated from Chinese characters on the basis of pronunciation, Dokseom became Dokdo, and this name became commonly used around 1882.