Historically, Dokdo has been referred to by several different names. Although it was generally referred to as Usando, Dokdo was also known as Sambongdo during the reign of King Seongjong in the early Joseon period. During the reign of King Sukjong in the late Joseon period, An Yong-bok called it Jasando. And the islet also has been called Gajido because numerous sea lions (gajieo or gangchi) had inhabited the island in the past. During the development of Ulleungdo in the late nineteenth century, Ulleungdo residents, who had moved from the mainland, referred to the rock islands of Dokdo as Dokseom in their regional dialect. When expressing the Korean words
“dol” and
“dok” in written Chinese the pronunciations become
“seok” (石) and
“dok” (獨). Thus, the rock islets came to be known as Seokdo (石島) or Dokdo (獨島).
In 1667, Saitō Toyonobu, a Japanese government official, referred to Dokdo as “Matsushima” in “Records on Observations on Oki,” which was compiled after his inspection of the Oki Islands. The Japanese government effectively renamed Dokdo as “Takeshima” and Ulleungdo as “Matsushima” in 1905. In western countries, Dokdo has been called Liancourt Rocks, Seodo as Olivutsa, and Dongdo as Menelai and Hornet Island.