- Dokdo in the East Sea
- Dokdo in the East Sea
Dokdo in the East Sea
Table of Contents Open Contents
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Ⅰ. Dokdo in History
- 1) Dokdo: Korean Territory
- 2) Dokdo’s Name Changes
- 3) The State of Usan’s Tribute to Silla and Goryeo
- 4) Ulleungdo and Dokdo in the Joseon Period and the Retrieval Policy
- 5) Japan’s Recognition of Dokdo as Korean Territory
- 6) Ulleungdo Development and the “Imperial Ordinance No. 41 of the Great Han Empire”
- Dokdo’s Annexation, the First Signal of the Invasion of Korea
- 8) Dokdo’s Restoration after World War II
- Ⅱ. Dokdo Controversies
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Ⅲ Dokdo Educational Resources
- 1. Dokdo’s Location
- 2. East Sea Misnomer
- 3. Origin of the Name for Dokdo
- 4. Japan’s Recognition of Dokdo as Korean Territory
- 5. Imperial Ordinance No. 41 of the Great Han Empire and Dokdo’s Sovereignty under Modern Law
- 6. The Illegality of Japan’s Annexation of Dokdo under International Law
- 7. SCAPIN Order No. 677 Excludes Dokdo from the Japanese Domain
The Meiji Japan government clearly reaffirmed Ulleungdo and Dokdo’s Joseon sovereignty in 1877. While the Ministry of Home Affairs was compiling maps from all areas of Japan in 1876, Shimane Prefecture inquired about listing “Ulleungdo and Dokdo” under its jurisdiction. After five months of in-depth review, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared that as a result of the “matters from 1696,” Ulleungdo and Dokdo “have no relation with Japan.”
The “matters from 1696” refers to the An Yong-bok Incident and the subsequent recognition of Ulleungdo and Dokdo’s Joseon sovereignty by the Edo shogunate. The An Yong-bok Incident, and the territorial dispute that arose as a result, involved clashes between approximately 40 Joseon fishermen and Japanese fishermen who argued over fishing rights near Ulleungdo. This incident was recorded in Joseon sources as the Ulleungdo Border Dispute and in Japanese sources as the Takeshima Incident. An Yong-bok went to Japan on two separate occasions. The 1693 incident is known as the An Yong-bok Kidnapping Incident, and the 1696 incident is referred to as An Yong-bok’s visit to Japan.
After two years of surveys and disputes involving Ulleungdo and Dokdo, the Edo shogunate formally recognized Joseon’s sovereignty over the islands in the first month of 1696. The Japanese government issued the Takeshima Border Crossing Prohibition to restrict Japanese fishermen from fishing near Ulleungdo. This decision by the Edo shogunate effectively concluded the territorial disputes that had begun with An Yong-bok and the daimyo of the Japanese island of Tsushima in 1693 and indicated the recognition of Dokdo’s affiliation with Ulleungdo.
According to The Annals of King Sukjong, in 1696 An Yong-bok told Japanese fishermen in Ulleungdo that “Songdo is Jasando and Joseon territory.” He personally went to Japan and protested the intrusion to the local Japanese government. An Yong-bok’s statements can be further verified in the “Genroku 9 Year of the Rat Korean Coastal Nautical Scrolls,” which were discovered in the Oki Islands in 2005. This source contained interrogation records from An Yong-bok’s second visit to Japan.
The retrieval policy was established as a direct result of the An Yong-bok Incident, and in 1694, the Joseon government dispatched Jang Han-sang to investigate Ulleungdo. Jang and his subordinates verified Dokdo’s existence and recorded the results in Notes on Ulleungdo (1694). Thereafter, the Joseon government routinely dispatched inspection officials to Ulleungdo and its neighboring islands from the late seventeenth century until the end of the nineteenth century. Except for times of extreme famine, the retrieval policy continued in to the twelfth month of 1894.
Japan’s awareness of Dokdo’s Joseon sovereignty was recorded when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a survey committee to Joseon in December 1869 and compiled the Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korea’s Relations with Japan (1870). An excerpt from the report stated, “Takeshima (Ulleungdo) and Matsushima (Dokdo) are part of the Joseon domain.” In addition, a Daijōkan (Great Council of State) Order was issued on March 29, 1877. It stated, “The case of Takeshima and the other island have no relation with Japan, and you must bear that in mind.” Further, Dokdo is labeled as Joseon territory on the “Map of Joseon and the Coast of the East Sea” (1876, 1887) and the “Joseon Hydrographic Map” (1899) issued by the Japanese Navy’s Hydrography Department.
The “matters from 1696” refers to the An Yong-bok Incident and the subsequent recognition of Ulleungdo and Dokdo’s Joseon sovereignty by the Edo shogunate. The An Yong-bok Incident, and the territorial dispute that arose as a result, involved clashes between approximately 40 Joseon fishermen and Japanese fishermen who argued over fishing rights near Ulleungdo. This incident was recorded in Joseon sources as the Ulleungdo Border Dispute and in Japanese sources as the Takeshima Incident. An Yong-bok went to Japan on two separate occasions. The 1693 incident is known as the An Yong-bok Kidnapping Incident, and the 1696 incident is referred to as An Yong-bok’s visit to Japan.
After two years of surveys and disputes involving Ulleungdo and Dokdo, the Edo shogunate formally recognized Joseon’s sovereignty over the islands in the first month of 1696. The Japanese government issued the Takeshima Border Crossing Prohibition to restrict Japanese fishermen from fishing near Ulleungdo. This decision by the Edo shogunate effectively concluded the territorial disputes that had begun with An Yong-bok and the daimyo of the Japanese island of Tsushima in 1693 and indicated the recognition of Dokdo’s affiliation with Ulleungdo.
According to The Annals of King Sukjong, in 1696 An Yong-bok told Japanese fishermen in Ulleungdo that “Songdo is Jasando and Joseon territory.” He personally went to Japan and protested the intrusion to the local Japanese government. An Yong-bok’s statements can be further verified in the “Genroku 9 Year of the Rat Korean Coastal Nautical Scrolls,” which were discovered in the Oki Islands in 2005. This source contained interrogation records from An Yong-bok’s second visit to Japan.
The retrieval policy was established as a direct result of the An Yong-bok Incident, and in 1694, the Joseon government dispatched Jang Han-sang to investigate Ulleungdo. Jang and his subordinates verified Dokdo’s existence and recorded the results in Notes on Ulleungdo (1694). Thereafter, the Joseon government routinely dispatched inspection officials to Ulleungdo and its neighboring islands from the late seventeenth century until the end of the nineteenth century. Except for times of extreme famine, the retrieval policy continued in to the twelfth month of 1894.
Japan’s awareness of Dokdo’s Joseon sovereignty was recorded when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a survey committee to Joseon in December 1869 and compiled the Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korea’s Relations with Japan (1870). An excerpt from the report stated, “Takeshima (Ulleungdo) and Matsushima (Dokdo) are part of the Joseon domain.” In addition, a Daijōkan (Great Council of State) Order was issued on March 29, 1877. It stated, “The case of Takeshima and the other island have no relation with Japan, and you must bear that in mind.” Further, Dokdo is labeled as Joseon territory on the “Map of Joseon and the Coast of the East Sea” (1876, 1887) and the “Joseon Hydrographic Map” (1899) issued by the Japanese Navy’s Hydrography Department.