Korean Claim Firmly Rooted

Throughout history, Dokdo has been a feature of Korea's territory.

The Island was first recorded as part of Korea in a document generated during the Shilla Dynasty in 512. An official publication called the "History of the Three Kingdoms" (Samguksagi), written in 1145, refers to the conquest of Usanguk, an area that included Dokdo.

Dokdo is also mentioned in the "Annals of King Sejong" (Sejong Sillok Jiriji), a series of historical texts from the king who ruled from 1418 to 1450. The geography portion gives generalized locations for Dokdo and Ulleungdo: "Usan (Dokdo) and Muleung (an older name for Ulleung Island) are located in the middle of the sea, due east of this province."

A later version, titled "The Revised and Augmented Version of the Survey of the National Geography of Korea" (Sinjeung Donggukyeojiseungnam) and published in 1531, indicated the Island as Korean territory.

An interesting later version of the "Annals of King Sukjong" (Sukjong Sillok), reads that Japanese fisherman were rebuked for staying on Ulleungdo and Dokdo. In the spring of 1696, Ahn Yong-bok gathered a group of 10 fishermen and traveled to Ulleungdo, confronting Japanese fishermen who were claiming it and Dokdo.

According to the story, Ahn and crew booted the Japanese out and chased them to Oki Islands. In 1697, Ahn obtained a letter from Japanese authorities acknowledging that Ulleungdo and Dokdo belonged to Korea and banning Japanese fishermen to approach the islands. The Japanese government eventually banned ships from sailing to the Ulleungdo area. Korea then dispatched inspectors every three years to ensure Ulleungdo and Dokdo were not occupied.

In 1900, Korean Imperial Decree No. 41 placed Dokdo under the jurisdiction of the Ulleung County office.

The historical fact that Dokdo belongs to Korea was confirmed over the centuries by numerous other documents and maps published in Korea and abroad, and even in Japan. For example, in 1870, Japanese officials dispatched to Korea submitted a report to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the reasons why Matsushima (Ulleungdo) and Takeshima (Dokdo) belonged to Korea.

The modern dispute has its roots in a request in 1904 by a Japanese seal fisherman from Oki Islands, Yozaburo Nakai, for exclusive rights to fish and hunt sealions in the area. (Nakai is later alleged to have said that he planned to petition the government in Seoul, believing the Island to be Korean, but was put off this idea by a Japanese fisheries official).

Nakai's request led to the adoption on Feb. 22, 1905, by Japan's Shimane Prefecture of a municipal ordinance incorporating Dokdo as part of its territory. The move had no legal foundation under international law.

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Furthermore, the context of this step shows that, far from being an isolated incident, it was part of broader strategic interests that led to Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910. Consider:

• In January 1904, the Russo-Japanese war breaks out and Japanese troops are stationed in Seoul.
• In February, the "Korea-Japan Protocol" is signed to allow Japan to arbitrarily expropriate Korean territory necessary for Japan's execution of war.
• In March, the railroad from Seoul to Shineuiju on the Chinese border is laid to facilitate transportation of military goods and troops to the battlefields.
• In May, Japan extorts the forestry rights in Ulleungdo.
• In June, Japan unilaterally exploits concessions in fisheries along the western coast of the peninsula and wrests away the title to all undeveloped land in the country.
• In August, Japan forces the "Korea-Japan Agreement" upon Korea, under which foreign consultants selected by Japan are appointed as financial and diplomatic "consultants" to the Korean Emperor.
• In September, Japan expropriates a part of Ulleungdo as its military territory, sets up watchtowers to monitor the movements of Russian fleet.
• Japan then sets its sights on Dokdo: a frigate called Niitaka surveys the Island in September.
• In November, another military vessel, Tsushima, affirms the feasibility of erecting watchtowers on Dokdo after an on-land exploration.
• January 28, 1905: the Japanese cabinet decides to incorporate Dokdo into Japan's territory under a deceptive pretext of responding to a fisherman's petition.
• February 22, 1905: Shimane Prefecture announces Dokdo is Japan's.
• In August, 1905, Japan constructs watchtowers.
• In October and November, submarine cables are laid.
• In November, the "Eulsa Treaty" is foisted on Korea, under which the country is forced to become a protectorate of Japan.

As this chronology indicates, the primary objective of Japan's encroachment on Dokdo was to secure its military strategic interest vis-a-vis Russia. As such, the Island represent the first piece of Korea's territory to be taken away by force in a process of Japanese aggression that can be traced back to the 1894 Sino-Japanese war and which culminated in formal annexation in 1910.

Japan's unpleasant 35-year rule over Korea ended with its defeat in World War II in August 1945. Japan unconditionally agreed to the Potsdam Declaration, which granted it sovereignty over four main islands and small islands to be determined. The declaration did not mention Dokdo.

Subsequently, occupying Allied powers in Tokyo issued mandates directing the administration of post-war Japan. Supreme Commander for Allied Powers Instruction No. 677 specifically excludes the Liancourt Rocks - the European name for Dokdo - from Japanese jurisdiction.

In September 1951, the San Francisco Peace Treaty resolved Korea's post-war territory claims with Japan. The treaty gave back Ulleungdo, Jejudo and Geomundo to Korea. Dokdo, along with most of Korea's 3,000 or so other islands, was not mentioned, because enumeration of all Korean islands was not considered necessary. Although Korea has about 3,000 islands, the three major ones were the only ones mentioned. Since Ulleungdo (referred to as Dagelet in the treaty) is included, the treaty would imply that smaller islands nearby also fall under Korea's jurisdiction.

The Republic of Korea's first president, Syngman Rhee, established a "Peace Line" cutting across the East Sea in January 1952 that included Dokdo. Several Japanese boat crews intermittently landed on the island, and in April 1954 volunteer guards, led by Korean War hero Hong Soon-chil, kept watch over Dokdo.

During the Korean War, on June 27, 1953, the crews from two Japanese coast guard vessels drove six Korean sentries from their base on Dongdo (East Island) to Seodo (West Island) while also erecting a territorial marker. At the time, the Korean government was more focused on the armistice negotiations that would end the Korean War a month later.

But in 1954, President Rhee sent a letter to North Gyeongsang Province police chief Kim Jong-won promising to provide mortars for use against encroaching Japanese ships. It was no idle threat: when three Japanese ships came close in November that year, Korean forces fired the mortars, and it's believed the Japanese lost one boat and may have suffered fatalities.

Since its establishment in 1948, the Republic of Korea has exercised effective jurisdiction over Dokdo by stationing a police unit and operating a manned lighthouse, deploying warships and other government vessels with the mission of guarding Korea's territorial waters and contiguous zone surrounding Dokdo, and taking measures for the preservation of its natural environment.

Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo is so complete, both de jure and de facto, that it cannot be undermined by any unfounded foreign claims.