Dokdo in Korea - 독도학회

A controversy over the title to Tokdo (also known as Liancourt Rocks or Takeshima) arose between Korea and Japan in 1952 and has since continued to date. The Japanese government is laying claim to Tokdo and has brought the question before the International Court of Justice in 1954 and is trying hard to bring the island under its domination. Therefore, this controversy is expected to continue in the years ahead.

I have come to study the "controversy over the ownership of Tokdo" as part of my research on the history of modern Korea. Learning is a search for facts and truth, so I have examined the records and data available closely and have come to be convinced to which side Tokdo belongs.

Japan, while knowing Tokdo to be Korean territory, annexed it into its territory without consulting Korea in 1905. Today Japan is claiming the ownership of Tokdo. The grounds of its claim are examined here by a scholar free from prejudice and bias.

I have tried to make this book an easy-to-understand guide to the question of Tokdo on the basis of as many extant records and data as possible. I have scrutinized the entire span of Korean history relative to Tokdo. As a result, I am convinced that Tokdo is a Korean territory and not Japan's when viewed impartially and objectively. In this book, I have pointed out the unreasonableness of Japan's claim so far as the question of Tokdo is concerned.

I have said I have tried to make this book an easy-to-read guide for the English-speaking reader, but often found it unavoidable to use footnotes and references to corroborate my points as in an academic paper. This is for the sake of verification and I hope my readers will understand this.

The records and data I have used are explained briefly in the text and their sources are given in the footnotes. For further reading for interested readers, I have published a more specialized and elaborated book entitled A Historical Study on Tokdo as the Korean People's Territory (Tokdo i minjok yngt'o sajk yn'gu) by Chisiksanpsa Publishing Co. in Seoul.

I would like to extend my grateful appreciation to Presiden Young Suh Lee of Tonyang Magic Co. whose generous grant has made this translation possible, to Professor K. Jahng, formerly of Hanyang University for translating this book from the Japanese edition, to Mr. Teddi Bynam, a lecturer of English also at Hanyang University for proof-reading the English translation and providing valuable comments on it. My particularly warm gratitude goes to Tokdo Research Association of Korea for taking up the publication of this book, which, because of its nature, is not designed for commercial gain, but for the promotion of the understanding of the English-speaking andience of this little understood question.

December , 1997. Yong-Ha Shin

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Chapter I Introduction: The Origin of the Question of Tokdo

1. Tokdo as Symbol of Korean Independence and Sovereignty

It was more than 1,460 years ago in 512 A.D. that Tokdo became part of Korea's territory. Today, it belongs to Nammyn (myn being a subcounty or township), Ullnggun (gun, or kun: county), North Kyongsang province in Korea.

Tokdo is located 49 nautical miles southeast of Ullngdo (Ullng Island), 86 nautical miles northwest of Okinoshima (Oki Island), Japan in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at lat. 37°14' 18" N. and long. 131°52' 22" E.

Tokdo comprises East and West Islets and some surrounding reefs. These two islets are about 200m apart and a considerably large rock rises high in the sky on the East Islet so, when viewed from some angles at a close range Tokdo seems to consist of three islets.

The total area of Tokdo is 186,121m2 (45 acres). The highest point on the West Islet is 174m and on the East Islet 99.4m.

Except for Ullngdo, Tokdo is the only island in the mid-East Sea and its reefs provide a habitat for rich marine resources.

In the 21st century, it will become possible to tap its undersea and underground resources; it may provide a base point for an exclusive economic zone and extend the Korean territorial waters to 200 nautical miles in radius; thus, its potential value in the future may not be insignificant.

Also, when Tokdo is developed as a tourist site, it will provide a unique seascape tourist attraction.

2. The Origin of the Question of Tokdo

In February 1904 when the Russo-Japanese war started, Japan planned to construct a watchtower on Tokdo to keep an eye on the movement of the Russian Vladivostok fleet that began to harass Japanese transports. It was in February 1905 that Japan attempted to seize Tokdo clandestinely, keeping it from the knowledge of the Korean government and people.

Japan simply ignored the fact that Tokdo had been an inherent part of Korean territory ever since 512 A.D., claiming it as a terra nullius, and annexed the island into its territory of Shimane prefecture.

In August 1945 when Korea was freed from Japanese occupation, the Supreme Allied Powers GHQ issued SCAPIN No. 677 for "Governmental and Administrative Separation of Certain Outlying Areas from Japan" and restored Tokdo to Korea on January 29, 1946.

The Republic of Korea, following its establishment in 1948, promulgated a Presidential Declaration of Sovereignty over the Adjacent Seas, popularly known as the Peace Line, on January 18, 1952. Ten days later on January 28, the Japanese government protested: "... the Republic of Korea appears to assume territorial rights over the islets in the Sea of Japan known as Takeshima or Liancourt Island, but the Japanese government does not recognize such assumption by the Republic of Korea...." This marked the start of the Korea-Japan controversy over Tokdo.

Since then, the Japanese government has often repeated its claim and sent its memorandum of protest to the Korean Foreign Ministry every year to keep the matter on record.

3. New Japanese Offensive in Recent Years

In 1996 when the United Nations Law of the Sea that recognizes a 200-mile exclusive economic zone was expected to come into force, Japan's claim became louder. Apparently, this is presumed to be linked to its adoption of a line of policy for aggrandizing its national interests in the world community in the 21st century. The Japanese government has inherited the policy of the Japanese Empire toward Tokdo in 1905 and launched an expansionist diplomacy.

Japan's Foreign Minister, Ikeda Hayato, announced on February 9, 1996 that Tokdo was Japanese territory historically and under international law and demanded that the Korean government immediately withdraw the police garrison from Tokdo and remove the facilities constructed there.

This marked a turn from the passive posture that the successive Foreign Ministers had taken when it was interpellated by the representatives from Shimane prefecture, under whose jurisdiction Tokdo was placed in 1905, that they "thought Tokdo belonged to Japan." The Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned the Korean charge d'affaires on February 9 and requested that the Korean police unit be withdrawn from Tokdo and the facilities built there be removed.

Again in 1995, the Japanese government instructed that the Education Ministry-authorized maps attached to the geography textbooks for elementary and secondary schools show Tokdo as Japan's territory. Now schools are using these maps and pupils are taught as if the restoration of Tokdo were their duty.

Further, on February 20, 1996, the Japanese government decided on a 200-mile exclusive economic zone including Tokdo. This action was designed to include Tokdo in a joint exclusive economic zone of both countries or to keep Korea from exercising its sovereignty over Tokdo as its territory, thus making the world see that Tokdo is involved in a territorial "dispute." The Korean government has so far held the position that Tokdo, being an inherent Korean territory, cannot be an object of a "dispute."

On March 2, 1996, at the Korea-Japan summit talks held in Bangkok during ASEM, the Korean president stated that Tokdo cannot be an item of discussion since it is Korea's inherent territory, but the Japanese prime Minister persisted in his view that Tokdo is Japan's territory.

At this time, 57 representatives of the Shinshinto (New Progressive party), Japan's Opposition party, published a jointly signed statement that it was an act of aggression that Korea is stationing its police unit and constructed facilities on Tokdo, which is Japan's inherent territory in the light of historical facts and under international law. They thus backed up the highhanded government position.

It is this writer's view that Japan is carrying out an elaborately wrought long-range plan to seize Tokdo in the future. To cope with the situation, I suggest that Korea conduct more systematic research on this question and take more positive measures to protect its sovereignty over Tokdo and its territorial integrity.

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Chapter II Tokdo Became Korea's Territory in 512 A.D.

1. Ullngdo and Tokdo come under the Dominion of Silla.

It was in the Three Kingdoms period in 512 A.D. when a tribal state of Usan'guk was subjugated that Tokdo and Ullngdo became Korean territory.

The Annals of the Kings of Silla (Silla pon'gi) in the History of Three Kingdoms (Samguk sagi) records, in an entry in the 13th year of King Chijung, that Usan'guk surrendered in the summer of the year.

It reads:

In June in the 13th year, Usan'guk surrendered and has since paid a tribute of staple products each year. Usan'guk is an island country in the middle of the sea due east of Myngju and is also called Ullngdo. The area is 100 ri. [One ri is bout 2.44 miles.] The people were fierce and did not surrender, so Ich'an [Ich'an is the second highest rank in the 17-grade hierarchy] Isabu was appointed the lord of Asulnaju to subjugate them....the people of Usan'guk were terrified of him and soon surrendered.

Biographies of Celebrities (yljn) in the History of the Three Kingdoms also records that Gen. Isabu conquered Usan'guk as follows:

Isabu was a native of Silla with the surname of Kim and was a 4th generation descendant of King Naemul. During the beign of King Chijung (King Chidoryak) he became a border garrison commander and, applying an old ruse of an equestrian game first used by Gen. Kdo, took Kayaguk (also Kara). In the 13th year, he became the lord of Asulnaju and set out to annex Usan'guk. "They are benighted and fierce, and cannot be subjugated by forces alone. Better use a ruse," said he. Then he had a large number of wooden lions made and carried them in the warships. Arriving on the shore, he commanded in a loud voice: "Surrender, or we will let loose all these ferocious beasts to tear you all to shreds." Much frightened, the people of Usan'guk yielded.

What is clear from these records is the fact that Gen. Isabu of Silla was sent to conquer Usan'guk and brought it under the control of Silla. In other words, Tokdo has been Korean territory ever since 512 A.D., the 13th year of King Chiung.

Then it must be made clear whether Usan'guk comprised only Ullngdo or also covered nearby Tokdo. There is no doubt that a sea route was much more convenient in ancient times than a land route, and when a terra firma was occupied its adjacent islands were generally included in it. Since Tokdo is the object of contention between Korea and Japan, this point calls for more clearcut proof.

2. Documentary Evidence that Tokdo Was a Part of Usan'guk

The oldest record that Tokdo was a part of Usan'guk in 512 A.D. is the Gazetteer of the Annals of King Sejong (Sejong chiriji) compiled in 1432. The book describes how Usando (Tokdo) and Mulngdo (Ullngdo) could be seen from each other with the naked eye on a clear day and that both islands were called Usan'guk in the Silla period.

Another proof is found in the Handbook of State Affairs (Man'gi yoram), compiled in 1808, in its part on military administration. This book quotes the Gazetteer (Yojiji) that Ullngdo and Usando all belonged to Usan'guk and Usando was called Matsushima by Japanese.

If Usando refers to today's Tokdo, it was undoubtedly a part of Usan'guk. Japanese scholars admit that Japanese called Ullngdo "Takeshima" and Tokdo "Matsushima" in around 1808.

For example, Kawakami Kensaburo, an authority on the study of Tokdo in Japan, who maintains that Tokdo is Japanese territory, clearly states that the island Japanese once called "Takeshima" is today's Ullngdo and today's Tokdo was called "Matsushima."

Kawakami goes on to say: "The island that was called Takeshima or Isonotakeshima in our country [i.e., Japan] is Ullngdo today and today's Takeshima was called Matsushima as I mentioned already."

He cites the Records on Observations in Oki (Onshu shicho goki) compiled in 1667 by Saito Hosen, a retainer of the lord of Izumo (also called Sesshu: the eastern part of Shimane prefecture today) who inspected Onshu (Oki Island) on orders of his lord and recorded what he heard and saw during his inspection trip. Therefore, we can formulate an equation of Usando-Matsushima-Tokdo. This can also be formulated adding the records from the Handbook of State Affairs: Usan'guk = Ullngdo+Usando/Tokdo (Matsushima in Japanese).

In other words, Tokdo and Ullngdo were the territories of Usan'guk which were annexed by Silla in 512 A.D. and have since been an inherent part of Korean territory.

The Annals of King Sukchong of the Chosn Dynasty, which is a little older than this handbook, describes that what Japanese called Matsushima is Usando and Usando is today's Tokdo in the following way:

In 1693 [in the 19th year of King Sukchong], An Yong-bok and some of his fellow fishermen went to Ullngdo to find that many Japanese fishing boats were at anchor and the Japanese were trying to occupy the island. He shouted: "Ullng is our island from ancient times. How could you Japanese trespass on it from beyond the national boundary? You should all be arrested." Then the Japanese retorted, "We are living in Matsushima and happen to be here to fish. We are going back."

An cried to them: "Matsushima is Chasando [Chasando íß£Óö is a typographical mistake of Usand éÍß£Óö. Such mistakes are often noticed in the books of the day.] What on earth are you doing there?"

Two days later, An and party went to Usando at dawn and the Japanese were building a fire to cook fish. Armed with sticks, they came down hard on the Japanese, who accepted the situation and sailed back home.

From this record, we know Usando refers to Matsushima (in Japanese) and today's Tokdo.

The Chapter on military administration in the Handbook of State Affairs incorporates the main contents of the Augumented Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea (Chngbo tongguk munhn pigo) compiled in 1792. The Augmented Reference Compilation of Documents (Chngbo munhn pigo) published in 1908 has a similar record: "According to the Gazetteer (Yojiji), Ullng and Usan all belonged to Usan'guk, and Usan is what the Japanese call Matsushima."

Here again, it is clear that Tokdo (Usan) was a part of Usan'guk, and that Usan'guk covered Ullngdo and Usando (Tokdo) or Matsushima in Japanese. And these reconfirm that Tokdo was a part of Usan'guk.

3. Apellations Confirming Tokdo as Usan'guk Territory

Tokdo was called Usando and the very designation of "Usan" denotes that it derives from Usan'guk (guk stands for country.)

It is assumed that Usando originally referred to Ullngdo, but a number of different names and/or different Chinese characters were used for this main island, such as ê¦×Õ (Ullng). Ùë×Õ (Mullng), Ùò×Õ (Mullng), ê¥×Õ (Ullng), éã×Õ (Ullng) or éâ×Õ (Ullng); its adjacent islets of Tokdo were called by the name of Usando. This also proves that Usando belonged to Usan'guk.

From this, it is clear that Tokdo, along with Ullngdo, once constituted a part of Usan'guk and came under the dominion of Silla when Usan'guk was occupied, and that it has since been an inherent territory of Korea.

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Chapter III Koryo Dynasty's Administrative Policy for Ullngdo and Tokdo

1. Five-stage Administration

The dynasty of Koryo (918-1392), which followed the Unified Silla to rule the Korean Peninsula, inherited Tokdo (Liancourt Rocks, Takeshima) and Ullngdo as its territory and exercised its sovereignty over them. Its administration can be broken down into the following five stages.

First stage: The founder of the new dynasty, Wang Kn, (King T'aejo) received representatives from Ullngdo in audience and a tribute of staple products. In return, be awarded them titular official ranks. In this way, the monarch exercised his sovereignty over the islands:

Wang Kn founded the dynasty in 918, defeated King Kynhwn of the Later Paekche (892-936) at Koch'ang (today's Andong in North Kyongsangdo) in December 929, and unified the Later Three Kingdoms. Then in September 930 (13th year of King T'aejo), Ullngdo sent Paekkil and Tod as envoys who were received in audience by Wang Kn and were conferred titular ranks in return for their pledge of allegiance. In this way, the government exercised its sovereignty over these islands.

As many people on Ullngdo were engaged in fishing at that time it is not difficult to assume that they naturally went over to Tokdo for fishing, which was a part of the same tribal state, Usan'guk.

Second stage: This covers the period from 1009 to 1031 during the reign of King Hynjong, when the government tried hard to cope with the difficult situation Ullngdo faced due to the invasion of the Barbarians.

In 1018, in the 9th year of King Hynjong, Ullngdo and Tokdo were raided by a tribe of the Jurchen (also called the Yain or the Barbarians) in the northeast region of Korea. The farmland was ravaged and many took refuge in the mainland. In November of the year, the government sent Yi Wn-gu to Ullngdo and supplied farming tools to the islands. In July of the following year, the government ordered all the refugees to return to Ullngdo.

Three years thereafter, in July 1022, the 13th year of Hynjong, those who balked at going back to the island were settled down permanently in Yeju (Today's Tokwn, Wnsan in North Korea) and given food.

Third stage: During the reign of King Tokchong (r. 1031-1034), Ullngdo was called Ullngsng (sng: castle) and a castellan was appointed and the central government fortified and tried to promote the self-defense capability of the island against foreign invasion.

Fourth stage: This is the period when Injong (1122-1146) was on the throne. When the central government delegated its powers to Myngju province (today's Kangwndo). By that time, Ullngdo was free from invasion by the Jurchen, but its population decreased sharply, making it unnecessary for the central goverment to control the island directly and thus the islands were placed under the jurisdiction of Kangwn province.

Fifth stage: This is the period when King ijong (1146-1170) encouraged people to migrate to Ullngdo for resettlement. The King became aware of the fertile land on Ullngdo and of a government organ that once existed there to control the island, and planned on promoting migration. In 1157, Kim Yu-ip was sent to Ullngdo for inspection and he found the island covered by too many stones and rocks to farm, and the royal plan was discontinued.

Later, during the military-dominated government of Koryo, Ch'oe Ch'ng-hn once tried to settle the people living on the eastern coast of the mainland on Ullngdo, but the ships carrying them were often struck by typhoons, drowning many people and the plan was finally put to an end.

From these, it can be safely said that Koryo succeeded Silla and managed these two islands which once belonged to Usan'guk and its policy became more positive after the invasion by the Jurchen in 1018. But the population of Ullngdo decreased greatly and the migration policy by the central government was not successful.

However, the government did not prohibit voluntary migration of the people on the east coast, but encouraged it. Accordingly, the island continued maintaining a certain degree of population up to the end of Koryo dynasty.

There is no doubt that for these new and old residents, Ullngdo and Tokdo must have been their main area of fishing activities. Around the end of the Koryo dynasty (the end of the 14th century), however, Japanese pirates had become rampant and the east and south coasts of Korea as well as the southeast coast of China were subjected to their plundering. Naturally, Ullngdo suffered.

2. Ullngdo and Tokdo in Japanese Documentary Records in the 11th Century

From the mid-Koryo period on, records on Ullngdo began appearing in Japan. According to Gongki (權記) in the Documents on Great Japan's History (Dainihon shiryo), islanders from Ullngdo of Koryo had drifted to Japan in 1004, and the eleven repatriated to Korea included some from Silla's Ullngdo.

Also the documents refer to the same incident and state, "people of Uruma of Silla have drifted [to Japan]. Uruma is Ullngdo," and the passage is translated, "islanders of Uruma of Silla have come."

What is interesting here is that Japanese called Ullngdo "Uruma" and used Chinese characters in transcribing it: Uruma Island-宇流馬島, Uryoto-芋陵島 or 迂陵島.

The documents record what happened in 1004 (fourth year of King Mokjong of the Koryo dynasty) and clarify that Japan knew the islanders of Ullngdo were Koryo people.

It is also evident from this description that the Japanese knew the island of "Uruma" belonged to Silla before Koryo. Although these first Japanese documents do not mention Tokdo or Usan'guk, they clearly record that Ullngdo belonged to Silla first and then to Koryo.

However, as Tokdo was appended to Ullngdo, was associated with it and constituted part of Usan'guk, the documents reveal that the Japanese involved were cognizant that Usan'guk, comprising Ullngdo and Tokdo, belonged to Silla and then to Koryo.

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Chapter IV Chosn Dynasty's Policy toward Ullngdo and Tokdo

1. Administration of Ullngdo and Tokdo, and Japanese Marauders

The dynasty of Chosn, which came to govern Korea in the wake of the collapse of the Koryo dynasty, continued managing Ullngdo and Tokdo.

From the close of Koryo to the beginning of Chosn, waegu (Japanese pirates) invaded the coastal areas of Korea and sometimes made inroads into the mainland.

Yi Sng-gae, who had won popular support by pacifying the Japanese marauders deep in the heart of the southern province of Chlla, became the nation's hero and founded the new dynasty of Chosn in 1392.

As already stated, Ullngdo was also plundered by the Japanese pirates and the government sought to defend Ullngdo and Tokdo. T'aejong, the third King of the dynasty (r. 1400-1418), who was still facing the difficult situation coping with the remnant forces of the preceding dynasty, found it inevitable to safeguard the residents of Ullngdo. Just then the governor of Kangwndo reaqested the king to evacuate the people of Ullngdo to the mainland. The request was granted. The Japanese may have obtained this information and in 1407, Lord So Sadashige of Tsushima sent Tahirano Michitake to Korea. He brought a tribute to the king and requested that, in exchange for the repatriation of the Koreans abducted to Japan, Korea allow a mass emigration of Japanese to Ullngdo and that the lord of Tushima be authorized to control Ullngdo.

But the request was turned down by the king, who maintained that a people should live in their own country because conflict would certainly ensue if foreigners were permitted to settle down beyond the national boundary.

Attention must be drawn, in this connection, to the fact that the monarch was highly conscious of Ullngdo as Korea's domain while the lord of Tsushima readily recognized the island as Korea's. Here the King defined Ullngdo as his country's territory and regarded the coming of people of Tsushima as crossing "the national boundary."

Of course, Tokdo was not dissussed at this time, but both sides were aware that Tokdo consisted of rocky islets unfit for human habitation and that it was part of Ullngdo. Therefore, any discussion of Ullngdo is considered to include Tokdo implicitly.

Afterwards, mindful of Ullngdo, the king ordered the magistrate of Kangwndo to inspect the island.

According to the report from the magistrate of Kangwndo in 1412, the 12th year of King T'aejong, Paekamul and 11 other islanders from Yusan'gk (Usan'guk) came by boat to rajin in Kosng, Kangwndo and told the authorities that they were born and brought up in Ullngdo and that living there were over 60 people of 11 families on the island.

The local authorities reported to the royal court that they were accommodated separately in three different towns of T'ongju, Kosng and Kansng for fear that they might return home before the investigation was over.

King T'aejong instructed the government (ijongbu: State Council) to discuss the problem of the people of Yusan'guk to recommend government policies. This heightened the government interest in Ullngdo.

2. King T'aejong's Vacant Island Policy

King T'aejong, the third sovereign of the Chosn dynasty, sought measures to safeguard the people of Ullngdo and from 1416 to 1417 enforced a vacant island policy for Ullngdo. This decision was finally made after undergoing two stages.

The first stage came in September 1416 when the government asked the former manho (garrison commander, originally in charge of 10,000 households) of Samch'ok, Kim In-u, for his advisory opinion on Ullngdo. He stated that as the island was far off across the sea, a man called Pang Chi-yong escaped to Ullngdo to dodge military service and was living there with his family of 15. He added if people settled down there, the Japanese pirates might plunder them, and build a base on the island for further inroads into Kangwndo.

King T'aejong accepted his proposal, appointed Kim In-u Commissioner of Pacification and sent him to Ullngdo with two men-of-war and an entourage to persuade the islanders to return to the mainland.

The main purpose of the vacant island policy was to defend the island from the invasion of Japanese marauders and keep military service dodgers from taking asylum there.

Commissioner Kim found 15 families of 86 people living there and persuaded them to return to the mainland, but only three came back. Most of the residents implored the commissioner to allow them to live there and asked him to petition the King on their behalf.

The second stage started four days after Commissioner Kim returned on February 9, 1417, when the royal court called an elder statesmen's conference and King T'aejong made his final decision on the vacant island policy.

At the conference, two options were discussed: one was to bring back all the residents to the mainland and the other was to allow them to continue living there.

The first option was put forth by Minister of Public Works Hwang Hi, who proposed the evacuation of the residents from Ullngdo.

Those who supported the second option proposed the provision of food and farming tools to promote agriculture, to dispatch troops to defend the people's lives and safety, and to levy taxes in kind.

The King adopted the first option and took the vacant island policy on the grounds that the prolonged stationing of a garrison force and the collection of taxes would eventually incur people's hatred. This is recorded in the Annals of King T'aejong.

3. Reconfirmation of Tokdo/Usando

In putting into action the vacant island policy, King T'aejong reconfirmed the existence of another island (Tokdo) which was officially called Usando. This can be confirmed from the following records.

In September 1416, Minister of Taxation Pak Sup, when recommending Kim In-u for the office of commissioner of pacification, told the king what he had heard about Ullng and an islet nearby when he was the magistrate of Kwangwndo: "Ullngdo is about seven sik [45 km] around and there is an island nearby." The official title of Kim In-u was Commissioner of Pacification for Mullngdo (Ullngdo) and Other Islands, apparently being conscious of Tokdo.

At the elder statesmen's conference held after Commissioner Kim In-u's return from his first inspection trip to Ullngdo, King T'aejong used "Usan and Mullng" or "Usan and Mullng and other islands" instead of "Mullng and other islands." It is not unreasonable to infer that the King took notice of the Commissioner Kim's report, which he had heard from residents of Ullngdo, that there was an islet called Usando nearby.

Although Commissioner Kim did not make a firsthand observation of the islet, he believed what he was told by the fishermen of Ullngdo who had been to the islet and apparently reported it to the King.

Therefore, it was in the 17th year of King T'aejong (1417) that the court of Chosn settled on the name of "Usando" for Tokdo today.

Commissioner Kim In-u made his second trip to Ullngdo, brought back all the residents from the island, and settled them in different places.

4. King Sejong's and His Successors' Policy toward Ullngdo and Tokdo

King Sejong (1418-1450), who succeeded to the throne, followed the policy of the vacant island policy of his father, King T'aejong. Under a feudalist system when the exploitation by the ruling class was severe, people would often be deprived of their land and escape to start new life elsewhere. And it is not difficult to infer that people escaped to Ullngdo, ignoring the vacant island policy and engaged in farming and fishing.

In August 1423 (5th year of King Sejong), of those who had been brought to the mainland from Ullngdo, 28 escaped to the island. In August two years thereafter, King Sejong reappointed Kim In-u Commissioner of Pacification for Usan, Mullng and Other Islands, reminded him that Kim Ul-ji and 27 other males and females had been evacuated from the island to the mainland, and ordered him to bring back the rest of people still living on Ullngdo.

The entry dated August 1425 in the Annals of King Sejong which records this incident refers to the two facts worth noting. One is the official title of Kim In-u: Commissioner of Pacification for Usan and Mullng and Other Islands, not for Mullng and Other Islands. This means that the government's consciousness of Usando (Tokdo) as its territory had become more pronounced.

Another point to be considered is that Mullngdo was twice mentioned as the "main island," and this implies that the government was aware of another island of Tokdo associated with the main island. In other words, the dynasty of Chosn perceived both Ullngdo and Tokdo as Korea's territory and managed them inseparably together.

When Kim In-u brought back 20 islanders from Ullngdo after his second trip there, the Vice Minister of Rites counseled the King to mete out punishment for them. But the king opposed it on the grounds that they had not gone to a foreign country, citing a past instance when the repatriates from Ullngdo were freed. Then he ordered the Ministry of Military Affairs to send them to the hinterland in Ch'ungch'ng Province to keep them from escaping again and to exempt them from taxation after three years.

An important point in the entry dated October of the 7th year of King Sejong (1425) in the Annals of King Sejong is the King's remark that "they had not gone to a foreign country," stating that Usan and Mullng and other islands were Korean territories and that a voyage there, even if made secretly, could not be subject to punishment.

The foregoing may be summarized in the following way: the entries in the Annals of King Sejong dated August and October 1425 are important because,

(1) the dynasty of Chosn appointed a Commissioner of Pacification for Usan and Mullng and Other Islands and confirmed today's Tokdo and Ullngdo as Korean territory, and exercised its sovereignty over them;

(2) Ullngdo is termed as "main island" and regards Tokdo implicitly as its administrative dependency;

(3) These two islands are not foreign territories.

Despite this, King Sejong continued enforcing the vacant island policy initiated by King T'aejong. As people crossed over to Mullngo and settled down again, the king appointed Nam Hoe and Cho Min roving inspectors for search and apprehension of dwellers on Ullngdo in April 1438. They brought back 66 people from Ullngdo, and presented staple products of the island to the king.

It merits our attention here that the vacant island policy did not mean dereliction of these islands, but was another mode of territorial management. At that time, Tokdo islets were rocky and uninhabitable, and fishermen from Ullngdo made a short stay there during their fishing operations. Thus the vacant island policy naturally applied to Tokdo.

5. Reconfirmation of Tokdo as Korean Territory in the Gazetteer of the Annals of King Sejong

There is a document exant that confirms Tokdo and Ullngdo as Korean territory even while the vacant island policy was in force.

The Gazetteer of the Annals of King Sejong (Sejong sillok chiriji) compiled in 1432 and 1454 records in its entry on Uljin county in Kangwn province as follows: "Two islands of Usan and Ullngdo are located on the sea due east of this county [Uljin county]. The two islands are not so far away and are faintly visible on a clear day. They were called Usan'guk during the period of Silla. Another name is Ullngdo. The distance between these two islands is 100 ri [39.3 km]."

The Gazetteer cited here is an official publication which defines and demarcates Korea's territory. That Mullng is referred to as Ullngdo is evident in the records about the eviction of the residents of the island in the 7th year of King Sejong (1425).

Then how can we ascertain that Usando is today's Tokdo?

Around Ullngdo there are several rocky islets such as Samsnam (am: rock), Kwanumdo, (do: island) and Chukso (literally bamboo islet), which are all distinctly visible with the naked eye. Tokdo is the only islet that can faintly be visible on a clear day, but since this is the only island in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), this record alone undoubtedly refers to Tokdo.

In addition, the Handbook of State Affairs (Man'gi yoram) in its chapter on military administration, the Annals of King Sukchong, and the Augumented Reference Compilation of Documents record that Usando is what the Japanese call Matsushima, i.e., Tokdo.

It should be added here that during the reign of King Sngjong (1469-1494), Tokdo was called Sambongdo. In December 1470 the magistrate of Yngan Province (today's Hamgyng province in North Korea) reported to the government that there were a number of people living in Sambongdo to evade labor conscription, but that it was difficult to pursue them as the sea was rough. Then Sngjong instructed him to investigate in detail the island as he knew about Tokdo and Ullngdo already but Sambongdo was heard of for the first time.

Kim Cha-ju in the investigation team that the magistrate of Yngan province dispatched reported in September 1476 (7th year of King Sngjong) and the following passage confirms that Sambongdo refers to Tokdo:

"On the 25th day, the boat was placed at anchor 6 or 7 ri [24-28 km] west of the island, and we looked around. On the north side of the island are seen three rocks in a row: on one side there is a small islet; then rocks continue; on that side too is seen a middle-sized islet, on the west side of the space between the islets tiny islets continue; the waves beat against the rocks and everywhere around them are some 30 rocks looking like men standing; somewhat awe-stricken, we could not land at the islet, so we made drawings of the islets and came back home."

The drawings mentioned here have not survived, but the description above concurs with the topography of Tokdo today.

"Sambongdo" was used among the peasants in Hamgyng province. The official records used "Usando" from the period of King T'aejong (1400-1418) and after the demise of King Sngjong, "Sambongdo" disappeared and only the unified name of Usando was used in the official records thereafter.

6. Definition of Tokdo as Korean Territory in the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea

After a long period of compilation, the dynasty of Chosn published the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea (Tongguk yji sngnam) in 1481, in the 12th year of King Sngjong; and in 1531, in the 26th year of Chungjong, its revised edition (Sinjng tongguk yji sngnam) appeared.

The former has not survived and its contents are unknown, but the latter in the section on Uljin county records, "There are Usando and Ullngdo. The latter is also called Mullng or Ullng (éÍ×Õ). These two islands are located on the sea due east of Uljin county."

Now, the nature of the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea should be examined. This is not simply an official publication on the geography of Korea and an expounder on the territory and geography of the government. In the book is arranged the information on the territory for promotion of public knowledge of the definition of Korean territory.

This publication lists Usando and Ullngdo under the heading of Uljin county of Kangwndo, to which they were assigned as administrative units.

Also, attached to the publication are maps, A Complete Map of Eight Provinces [of Korea] (P'aldo ch'ongdo) and the maps by province. The Map of Kangwn Province made in 1481 shows Ullngdo and Usando as two islands in the middle of the East Sea and marked as Korea's territory, although Tokdo is incorrectly positioned west of Ullngdo.

The Japanese government strongly argues on the question of Tokdo that on A Complete Map of Eight Provinces and the Map of Kangwn Province attached to the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea, Usando is shown as a large island between Korea proper and Mullngdo, and that Usando in the survey is a fictitious island that cannot be proven as today's Tokdo.

The Japanese government stretches this logic further to deny that "Usando" in the Gazetteer of the Annals of King Sejong is today's Tokdo. However, it fails to notice that some ancient Korean maps show Usando east, west, or south of Ullngdo due to the inadequate geographical knowledge on Tokdo of Korean officials of the day. Apart from these immature cartographical skills, if we focus our study on the question of the ownership of Tokdo, the description on the maps of Ullngdo and Tokdo as two separate islands alone show they are Korea's possessions.

At that time, Korean cartographers made maps without firsthand observation but based on the past records and secondhand reports, and the location of such far off island was often incorrect, showing Tokdo nearer to the mainland. Therefore, this is simply a matter of cartography, not of territorial ownership.

The Japanese government questions whether Usando refers to today's Tokdo, but the existence of only two islands in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) naturally leads us to conclude that the other island can only be Tokdo.

Above all, the Map of Korea (Tongguk chido) by Chng Sang-gi (1678-1752), the map called the Haejwa chondo of 1822, A Complete Map of Korea (Chosn Chndo) by Kim Tae-gn of 1846, and other maps are more accurate in positioning Tokdo, southeast of Ullngdo, and confirm Tokdo as Korea's.

The documentary records that use the Japanese name of Matsushima for Tokdo include the Handbook of States Affairs, the Annals of King Sukchong, and the Augumented Reference Compilation of Documents, wherein it is stated, "Usando and Ullngdo were territories of Usan'guk of yore, and Usando is what the Japanese call Matsushima."

7. Japan's Policy Immediately after the Hideyoshi Invasion of Korea

Ullngdo and Usando (Tokdo) were occupied and ravaged during the Hideyoshi invasion of Korea (1592-1598). The Topical Discourses of Chibong by Yi Su-gwang (chibong: his penname) in 1614 describes the situation of that time in a fragmentary way:

"Ullngdo is also called Mullng or Ullng (éâ×Õ) and is in the mid-East Sea opposite Uljin county. There is a high mountain in the middle of the island and it is 100 ri [393 km] round...After the Hideyoshi invasion (Imjin waeran) some went over to Ullngdo for settlement, but were plundered by Japanese. None dared go there twice. Recently, Japanese reportedly occupied Isonotakeshima, which is none other than Ullngdo."

During the Hideyoshi invasion of Korea, the government was quite at a loss for any action when Japanese troops landed at Pusan, occupied Seoul and marched up to the northernmost Hamgyng province. Korea could hardly afford to think even of defending Ullngdo and Tokdo, which must have fallen to Japanese.

Even after the war, the Korean government's capability for governing its people and defending its land and people was grievously cast down. Even those who went to Ullngdo could not settle down there in the absence of government protection and by the presence of pillaging Japanese. Only the people of the eastern and southern coasts went over to Ullngdo for fishing, lumbering and boat building.

Soon after the Hideyoshi invasion, not only Koreans but also Japanese joined in poaching and illegal felling of trees. From this time on, Japanese began to call Ullngdo Takeshima or Isonotakeshima, and Usando/Tokdo Matsushima, which was an island on the way to Ullngdo/Isonotakeshima.

Taking advantage of the vacant island policy, the Lord of Tsushima was tempted to take hold of Ullngdo.

In 1614, the 6th year of King Kwanghaegun (1608-1623), he sent an envoy to Tongnae in Korea to deliver an official note to the magistrate. The note reads in part: "On orders of the Tokugawa shogunate, we plan to conduct a survey of Isonotakeshima [Ullngdo], and as there is a danger of a typhoon, we request that your side show us the way to the island." This note may have been designed to fathom how resolute Korea's determination was to defend the island.

The Korean government wrote a reply in the name of the Minister of Rites, politely declining the request and had it sent to the Lord of Tsushima through the envoy. In September of the year, the Border Defense Council (Pibynsa), after clearing the internal formalities, sent a diplomatic note to the Tokugawa shogunate through the Lord of Tsushima. In the letter, the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea was cited in confirming that Ullngdo was Korea's territory, that the residents in the islands had been evacuated to the mainland and that Korea would take a strong counteraction if Japan sent such a note again in the future. The Korean government also ordered the governor of Kyongsang province and magistrate of Tongnae to ban Japanese entry into Ullngdo.

In the following year of 1615, 7th year of Kwanghaegun, two Japanese ships came to Korea and requested that they be allowed to survey the topography of Isonotakoshima (Ullngdo).

Magistrate of Tongnae, Pak Kyong-p replied: "As stated in the Korean goverment note delivered to Japan last year, Ullngdo is Korean territory as described in the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea. Also, since the days of Silla and Koryo, the Korean government has received tributes of staple products from the island. There are documentary records that residents of Ullngdo were brought back home many times during the Chosn dynasty. At present, a vacant island policy is being enforced, but comings and goings of foreigners are strictly forbidden." He prepared a note to this effect and sent it to Japan through the representative of the Japanese.

However, the Tokugawa shogunate, without consulting the Korean government, issued a permit of voyage to Otani Jinkichi and Murakawa Ichihei, merchants of Yonago in Japan, in 1618 (10th year of King Kwanghaegun; 4th year of Genwa in Japan).

This was a license to go to a foreign country for trade, implying that the Tokugawa shogunate acknowledged Ullngdo as an alien territory, but under the pretext of being an vacant island, the shogunate authorized two merchants to fish and fell trees on and off Ullngdo. It is assumed that if the Korean government had protested, the shogunate might have feigned ignorance and have insisted that a permit of voyage was a license to trade with a foreign country.

Thus, Otani and Murakawa encroached on Ullngdo without the permission of the Korean government and indulged in fishing and lumbering on and off Ullngdo. They may have made a stopover at Tokdo on their way to and from Ullngdo.

Further in 1656, the Otanis received a permit of voyage to Tokdo from the Tokugawa shogunate, and in the intervening 38 years, they ignored the Korean government and infringed on the Korean territories of Ullngdo and Tokdo.

After the controversy arose over Tokdo in 1952, the Japanese side, in a memorandum sent to the Korean government, distorted and used the foregoing fact as evidence that Tokdo was its territory.

From the beginning of the dynasty of Chosn, the Korean government adhered to the vacant island policy and, as a result, Japanese voyages to Ullngdo increased, and for about 100 years, the island provided the fishing grounds for Japanese. This is what Japanese claim today.

The Japanese government also stresses that Otani and Murakawa were formally issued a permit of voyage to Ullngdo by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1618 and managed the island, and that Tokdo was "bestowed" on them by the shogunate in 1656 and the Otanis and Murakamis monopolized fishing and managed the island. It goes on to argue that the shogunate decided to abandon Ullngdo in January 1696,but did not ban voyages to Tokdo, and that Tokdo was always perceived as Japanese territory.

However, this argument of Japan is wholly based on the erroneous interpretation of the expression of "hairyo." The Japanese government puts emphasis on "hairyo" as a permit of voyage to Takeshima, but this is mistaken and misleading. According to the two standard Japanese-Japanese and English-Japanese dictionaries, the Kojien by lwanami shoten and The Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, hairyo (ÛÈÖÅ) is "an expression of humility for [receipt] of a thing from a lord or a high personage." Its verbalized form "hairyosuru" is translated as "be bestowed on."

However, the second part in this two-character sinitic expression, "ryo: ÖÅ," has the second meaning of "estate." Therefore, "hairyo" is erroneously interpreted as "receipt or bestowal of an estate" or even "enfeoffment." In fact, the shogunate permit was not the bestowal as gift or enfeoffment of Tokdo, but simply a license of voyage to Tokdo.

The letters of Kameyama Shouemon in 1660 and thereabouts, the documents on the issuance of a permit of voyage to the Otanis, contain such expressions as "Matsushima within Takeshima," "an islet near Takeshima" and "Matsushima near Takeshima," denoting the close relationship between Matsushima/Tokdo and Takeshima/Ullngdo. These letters also show that the permit for voyage to Tokdo was identical in nature to that for Ullngdo issued in 1618, i.e., a license to go over to a foreign country.

If Tokdo had been Japan's territory, a permit to make passage to the islet should not have been issued. Therefore, the issuance of a permit was the admission that Tokdo was a foreign territory. However, as mentioned already, the Korean government enforcement of the vacant island policy was taken advantage of by the Tokugawa shogunate. The shogunate's action taken without the consent of the Korean government was a flagrant violation of Korea's sovereignty.

8. Tokdo as Territory of Koryo (Korea) in Japanese Documentary Records

Research by the Japanese side reveals that the oldest Japanese document wherein Tokdo is mentioned along with Ullngdo is the Records on Observations in Onshu (Onshu shicho goki) compiled in 1667. The author Saito Hosen was a retainer of Izmo (Sesshu) domain and inspected Onshu (Oki Island today) in the atumn of 1667 on orders of his feudal lord. The book records what he had seen and heard in Oki. It contains the following passage:

Onshu is in the middle of the North Sea, so it is called Okinoshima...If one sails one night and two days in the

direction of northwest, one arrives at Matsushima [Tokdo]. Another day's voyage and one will reach Takeshima

[Ullng]. Another name for the island is Isonotakeshima where bamboo, fish and sea lions abound. These two

islets are uninhabited, and face the land of Koryo as Onshu does vis-a-vis Oki. Therefore, it is thought Onshu

marks the northwesternmost boundary of Japan.

This book states Tokdo is two days' voyage in the direction of northwest from Japan's Oki and that Ullngdo is another day's sail. Reasoning from the location and distance, Tokdo is called Matsushima and Ullngdo, Takeshima. In terms of distance, viewing the mainland of Koryo-Korea is likened to observing Oki Island from Sesshu (today's Shimane prefecture), Japan. And Oki Island was regarded as the northwesternmost boundary of Japan. This oldest Japanese book on Tokdo confirms Tokdo as Korean territory beyond the boundary of Japan.

Even while infringing on Tokdo and Ullngdo, the 17th century Japan was aware that these islands were owned by Korea.

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Chapter V Dispute over Ullngdo and Tokdo and An Yong-bok's Activities

1. Japan's Attempt to seize Ullngdo and Tokdo around the End of the 17th Century

Korean fishermen on the coast of the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and the Southern parts of Korea, often went over to Ullngdo clandestinely for fishing and shipbuilding. On the other hand, the Tokugawa shogunate issued a permit of voyage to Ullngdo to the Otanis and Murakawa in 1618. This put Koreans on a collision course with Japanese fishermen.

In 1693, the 19th year of King Sukchong, about 40 Korean fishermen from Tongnae and Ulsan clashed with Japanese while they were engaged in fishing. The numerically superior Japanese approached with ostensible kindness the Korean leaders, An Yong-bok and Pak -dn, and proposed to talk amicably over the matter, and hauled them to Oki Island.

There An Yong-bok appealed to the Lord of Oki that Ullngdo was Korea's territory, and protested against the abduction. The lord transferred the two Koreans to his superior, the magistrate of Hoki domain. An squarely faced the magistrate and asserted the Korean ownership of Ullngdo and demanded that Japanese be kept from trespassing on the national border for fishing. The magistrate was aware that Ullngdo belonged to Korea and handed them over to the shogunate.

The shogunate in Edo interrogated the Koreans and found their statement coherent and true, and prepared to instruct the magistrate of Hoki to write an official note stating that Ullngdo was not Japan's territory and to send An and Pak back to Korea from Edo via Nagasaki and Tsushima. Upon their arrival in Nagasaki, however, the Lord of Tsushima detained the Korenas, sent them to Tsushima, took the shogunate note away, and treated them as if they had invaded the Japanese territory of Ullngdo. Finally, in November 1693, the Lord of Tsushima surrendered them to the magistrate of Tongnae, Korea, and sent him a diplomatic note through an envoy named Tachibana Saneshige for transmittal to the Korean government.

In the letter, the Lord of Tsushima wrote as if there existed a Takeshima, apart from Ullngdo, in the East Sea, which belonged to Japan, declared that any Korean boats would not be allowed to enter "Takeshima" thenceforth, and demanded that the Korean government keep Korean fishermen strictly from going there.

It is apparent from this that the Lord of Tsushima, taking advantage of the incident, attempted to seize uninhabited Ullngdo, acting as if he represented the Tokugawa shogunate on this matter. He knew that Takeshima was Ullngdo, but schemed to secure an official letter from the Korean government admitting Takeshima to be Japanese territory in order to start a dispute over Ullngdo/Takeshima and finally annex Ullngdo to Tsushima.

2. Countermeasure by Moderate Politicians

In the Korean government the moderate and hardline groups hotly debated the question. First, the moderate politicions headed by Minister Mok Nae-sn (second highest state councillor) and Minister Min Nam (third highest state councillor) prevailed. They cautioned against a head-on clash with Japan as they were still haunted by the nightmarish Hideyoshi invasion (1592-8), and the government adopted their proposal: to clarify only that Ullngdo was Korean territory and feign ignorance of the "Takeshima" that was claimed as Japan's in the note, and to send a reply that Korean fishermen would be banned from crossing to Takeshima. Although they knew that Takeshima was Ullngdo, they sent the following letter to the Lord of Tsushima through

Tachibana:

"Whereas our fishermen on the eastern coast are not allowed to go out to an ocean, and are even prohibited to travel at will to Ullngdo, which that is our territory but is thought to be rather far off, how could they be authorized to go over to other places? Now that this boat had ventured into your territory of Takeshima and your side has taken the trouble of remanding them to us and dispatching an official letter from afar, we should like to express our gratitude to your amities of good neighborliness.

This reply reveals the moderate politicians' easy-going expediency to patch things up for the moment: they clearly stated Ullngdo was Korean territory, but pretended not to know that Takeshima was Ullngdo, though they indeed knew it was, and used the expression "your country's territory of Takeshima."

Envoy Tachibana Saneshige, who was waiting for the reply at the Japan House in Tongnae, thought his mission had been half-accomplished when he read the Korean reply stating "your territory of Takeshima," but found objectionable the words "our territory of Ullngdo." He protested and persistently requested for a fortnight the deletion of the words "our territory of Ullngdo" from the letter, but to no avail. Abiding by the inevitable, he returned to Tsushima.

Had the Korean government yielded to his request and expurgated the words in question, this might have sown the seeds of a dispute over the ownership of Ullngdo itself.

3. Hardliners Take Power and Thwart Japan's Design.

As the news reached the court that envoy Tachibana was discontented with the Korean government's reply, had stubbornly persisted in its revision, and had gone back home, the hardliners headed by Nam Ku-man rose, impeached the moderate politicians, and took over the government.

The court historians of the day point out that while Takeshima was another name for Ullngdo, the Japanese tried to remove the name of Ullngdo first and occupy Takeshima alias Ullngdo then on the strength of the Korean government's note.

They maintain it was why the hardliners demanded that the Korean government ban Koreans from going over to Takeshima. They think the note prepared by the moderates was indiscreet, outrageous and tantamount to giving up a Korean territory to the other country. In this way, they censured the weak-kneed diplomacy by the moderates.

New Prime Minister (Yngijong) Nam Ku-man thought the previous note to the Lord of Tsushima was equivocable and proposed to send a new envoy to Tsushima, retrieve the first note, punish those who wrote the note, and control Japanese fishermen coming to Ullngdo. He predicted that Kangnng and Samch'k would suffer greatly if Japanese occupied Ullngdo, so beseeched the king to take a resolute position toward Japan. King Sukchong accepted the proposal and ordered the first note recovered.

After the Korean government turned to the hardline policy, the Lord of Tsushima sent Tachibana Saneshige again to Tongnae with the reply to the previous Korean note in August 1694. The reply asked for the deletion of the words "our territory of Ullngdo."

The government interrogated An Yong-bok and others to analyze the situation and found out: they were received courteously in Edo; the shogunate was aware that Ullngdo was Korea's possession; the Japanese attitude toward them suddenly changed in Nagasaki and Tsushima; and it was not the view of the shogunate that "Takeshima" was a Japanese territory but the view of the Lord of Tsushima born of his personal ambition.

Accordingly, Nam Ku-man proceeded to revoke the first note and write the revised one, stating that Ullngdo was none other than Takeshima and was Korean territory. The letter pointed out that the Japanese entry into Ullngdo was an act of gross infringement on the Korean territory and that the abduction of the two Koreans from the Korean land was a glaring fault. Then it demanded that this fact be brought to the attention of the shogunate and a strict measure be taken to keep Japanese from trespassing on Ullngdo again.

The Japanese envoy requested that "gross infringement" and "abduction" be deleted and replaced by more moderate words and that the reply be given to the second note of the Lord of Tsushima. Both of them were rejected by the Korean government.

The Korean government sent Chang Han-sang, associate commander of Samch'ok, to Ullngdo for inspection from September to October 1694. Upon the receipt of the report from Chang, the Prime Minister proposed that it would be wise not to resettle the island, but to inspect Ullngdo once every year or two. This was sanctioned by the king and from 1694 on, an annual or biennial inspection of the island was conducted.

4. Tokugawa Shogunate's Reconfirmation of Korea's Ownership of Ullngdo and Tokdo

So Yoshitsugu was never content with the Korean government, continued calling Ullngdo/Takeshima and persisted in his design to seize the island.

He was thus in head-on conflict with the Korean government and soured Korea's relations with the shogunate.

But after his death So Yoshizane assumed the lordship and went to Edo to pay his respects to the shogun as new Lord of Tsushima in 1696 (22nd year of Sukchong in Korea; 9th year of the Genrok in Japan).

There in the presence of the four elder statesmen including the daimyo of the Hoki domain, the shogun asked him questions on Ullngdo. Afterwards, he discussed the matter with his aides and reached the conclusion that Ullngdo was a Korean territory and decided to prohibit any Japanese from crossing to Ullngdo for fishing.

The main points of the question-answer session, the final decision of the shogun and his instruction to the Lord of Tsushima are as follows:

(1) Ullngdo is 160 ri from Shimane prefecture while it is about 40 ri from Korea proper, and as the island is nearer to Korea, it is natural to regard the island as Korea's.

(2) Japanese voyages to Ullngdo should be banned.

(3) The Lord of Tsushima should communicate the decision to Korea.

(4) The Lord of Tsushima, when he has returned home, should send the Osakabo daisuk (the judge of Tsushima) to Korea, and inform this decision to Korea and report back to the shogun.

This decision reached in January 1696 put an end to the claim to Ullngdo started by So Yoshitsugu. At that time, Tokdo which was called Matsushima in Japan and regarded as an administrative dependency of Ullngdo, was included in the shogun's decision. This can be confirmed by the records related to An Yong-bok to be discussed in the following section.

When So Yoshizane returned to Tsushima, he summoned the official Korean interpreter-translator in Tsushima, briefed him on the shogunate's decision and handed him an official note addressed to the Korean government, reporting the shogun's decision.

5. Activities of An Yong-bok

Now, An Yong-bok, who was convinced that the Lord of Tsushima was still trying to seize Ullngdo, decided to make good use of his past experience and to go over to Japan for the second time and negotiate personally with the the magistrate of Hoki province.

According to the Annals of King Sukchong, An Yong-bok spread the word among fishermen that they would make a fortune at Ullngdo with rich marine resources, and recruited Noehyn, a monk-trader of the Songgwang Buddhist temple in Sunch'n, and 15 other boatsmen and fishermen.

Then they sailed for Ullngdo to find many Japanese boats at anchor. An roared at them: "Ullngdo is our island from of old. Why have you Japanese crossed the border? You should all be arrested."

They said that they were originally living on Matsushima (Usando, Tokdo) but had strayed into the place while fishing, and that they would soon return to their place. To this, An retorted, "Matsushima is Usando. This island too is ours. How could you say that you live on that island?"

The following day, An and his company went to Usando and found the Japanese fishermen cooking fish in a cauldron. They chased them with sticks and the Japanese all took flight to Japan.

An and the Korean fishermen followed them to Oki island. Asked by the Lord of Oki why they had come over the sea to his place, he angrily answered: "Several years ago when I came to Japan, Ullngdo and Usando were confirmed as Korean territory in a shogun's note, but Japanese have indiscreetly trespassed on our territory."

The Lord of Oki promised to convey his protest to the magistrate of Hoki (Shimane prefecture today). An waited but no reply was forthcoming. Angered at this delay, he asked for a meeting with the magistrate. The request was granted and Hoki authorities sent him horses and ushers.

Impersonating a Revenue Supervisor for Ullngdo and Usando, An Yong-bok attired himself in the official outfit, wore the black cap and leather shoes, and was carried stately in the sedan while others mounted horses and followed him. In the castle of the magistrate, An sat at the head table while the others were in waiting.

To the magistrate's inquiry about the purposes of his visit to Japan, he replied: "Last time, the shogun sent me a note on the settlement of the question of the two islands, but the note was taken away from me by the Lord of Tsushima, who doctored it and sent his emissaries many times to Korea. On the other hand, Japanese fishermen trespassed on our island. Therefore, I would like to have an audience with the shogun and explain everything to him. This is the purpose that has brought me here."

The magistrate accepted his plea, and An Yong-bok had an appeal written by Yi In-sng, one of his company, for delivery to the shogun.

At this time, the father of the Lord of Tsushima happened to be there for a visit to the magistrate. "If this appeal reached the shogun," he intervened, "my son would certainly be punished and might not escape from a death sentence." He entreated the magistrate not to accept the appeal. The magistrate gave in and the appeal did not reach its destination.

However, the magistrate arrested 15 fishermen who had intruded into Ullngdo and meted out a penalty. He assured An: "These islands are the possessions of Korea already; if any one crossed the border or trespassed on the islands, or if the Lord of Tsushima attempted to take the islands illegally, you could send an official memorandum of the Korean government to Japan through an official interpreter-translator. They will be punished severely without fail."

Here again, the magistrate of Hoki talked with An Yong-bok and reconfirmed that Ullngdo and Usando/Matsushima/Tokdo was Korea's territory in 1696.

6. Settlement of the Controversy over Ullngdo and Tokdo around the End of the 17th Century.

If the dates in the Korean and Japanese records are correct, it is assumed that the parley between An Yong-bok and the magistrate of Hoki took place within several months after January 1696 when the Tokugawa shogunate reconfirmed Ullngdo as Korean territory and issued an injunction forbidding Japanese voyages to the islands.

At this point of time, the Japanese government recognized Tokdo as a dependency of Ullngdo and the shogun's decision and order covered Ullngdo and Tokdo as its associated island. This fact was written down in the shogun's letter due to An Yong-bok's activities.

The new Lord of Tsushima, in accordance with the decision and instructions of the shogun, made or given in January 1696, summoned an official interpreter-translator from Korea and handed him a note in 1696, but it was in January of the following year that he sent Judge Tahirano Naritsune to Korea and formally communicated this to the Korean side. Since then diplomatic memoranda were exchanged several times and in 1699 (25th year of King Sukchong and 17th year of the Genroku in Japan) the matter was finally settled when Judge Tahirano Yoshizane of Tsushima sent a memorandum to Councillor Yi Sn-bu of the Korean Ministry of Rites.

The contention over Ullngdo and Tokdo that started in 1693 when the Lord of Tsushima tried to seize the two islands was solved in principle in January 1696 when the shogunate confirmed Korea's title to the two islands, and was finalized procedurally with the exchange of instruments in 1699.

7. Japanese Maps of the Edo Period

Since the reconfirmation of Korea's title to Ullngdo-Tokdo around the end of the 17th century, Japan continued to respect this as a fact.

For example, there is a typical map of the Tokugawa shogunate period; The Map of Three Adjoining Countries (Sangoku setsujozu) by Hayashi Shihei (1738-1793), an eminent scholar of the day, published in 1785 shows national boundaries and territories in color: Korea in yellow and Japan in green; not only are Ullngdo and Tokdo accurately positioned, but they are colored in yellow as Korea's territory. Alongside the two islands they are identified as Korea's possesions (Chosn no mochi ni [ ò¥ ªË ]).

Also, another map published in the 18th century, A Complete Illustrated Map (Soezu) distinguishes national boundary and territory in colors: Japan in red, Korea in yellow, and Ullngdo and Tokdo in yellow in their accurate positions. Moreover, to one side of the islands is also written "Korea's possessions" on the map.

Ullngdo and Tokdo are not recorded as "Korea's islands," but as "Korea's possessions" (mochi), and reflect the decision of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1696.

Up to the beginning of the Meiji government in 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate and Japanese were conscious of Ullngdo and Tokdo as Korea's possessions and recognized them as such.

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Chapter VI Reconfirmation of Ullngdo and Tokdo by the Meiji Government

1. Reconfirmation by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Council of State

In the course of the controversy on Tokdo that has continued since 1952, the Japanese government once asserted that there was an instance in the early days of the Meiji government, in which leading officials of the Japanese Foreign Ministry perceived Tokdo as Japanese territory.

But this is not true. The early Meiji government was well cognizant of Tokdo as Korean territory and reconfirmed the fact several times.

The Meiji government, which came into being after the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, sent a study team of high-ranking Foreign Ministry officials including Sada Hakubo, Moriyama Shigeru, and Saito Sakae to Pusan to investigate the situation in Korea in 1869 (6th year of Kojong, 2nd year of Meiji). The items of study drafted by the Foreign Ministry and sanctioned by the Dajokan (Council of State), the highest government organ, included the territorial question of Ullngdo and Tokdo.

The report by the study mission is entitled "Report on the Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korean Foreign Relations (Chosenkoku kosaishimatsu naitansho) made in 1870 (3rd year of the Meiji period).

In the report is found the following passage that confirms Ullngdo and Tokdo as Korean territory:

Circumstances under which Takeshima and Matsushima have become Korean possession:

Regarding this case, Matsushima is an island adjacent to Takeshima and there has been made no document on it to date; concerning Takeshima, Korea sent people to settle there for a while after the Genroku period. Then the island became uninhabited as before. Bamboo and ditch reed, which is thicker than bamboo and ginseng are found there. Besides, the island is said to be fit for fishing....

The items of study instructed by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, having been sanctioned by the Council of State (Dajokan), included the question of Ullngdo-Tokdo and the report by the study mission are evidence that the Japanese government recognized Tokdo as a dependency of Ullngdo. This record is included in the Japanese Diplomatic Documents (Nihon gaiko bunsho).

This document reveals:

(1) In the early days of the Meiji period, the Japanese Foreign Ministry knew that Ullngdo and Tokdo were Korean territory, but instructed the study mission to examine them.

(2) Japan recognizes Tokdo's proximity to Ullngdo and regards the former as a dependency of the latter.

(3) There exist no documents that describe how Tokdo became Korean territory.

(4) Records are extant which show how Ullngdo became Korean territory and that the island was uninhabited at that time.

(5) The resources on Ullngdo were surveyed and reported.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Council of State as the highest government organ in Japan at that time clearly knew in the early Meiji period that ? Ullngdo and Tokdo were Korean territory; ? they were not islands whose ownership could be disputed; ? Tokdo was adjacent to Ullngdo and was its dependency; ? Both Tokdo and Ullngdo were not Japanese territory.

These facts are documented in the Japanese Diplomatic Documents.

2. Reconfirmation by the Japanese Home Ministry

Another decisive material shows that the Japanese Home Ministry and the Council of State made it clear in 1877 (10th year of the Meiji period) that Tokdo was Korean territory and Japan had nothing to do with the island.

In the process of conducting a land survey throughout Japan and making maps in 1876, the Japanese Home Ministry received an inquiry dated October 16, 1876 from Shimane prefecture about whether or not Ullngdo and Tokdo were to be included in the project.

Then the ministry thoroughly examined for five months not only the attached documents submitted by the prefecture, but also the official letters exchanged between Korea and Japan at the end of the 17th century (the period of King Sukchong in Korea and the Genroku era in Japan) and drew the conclusion that Ullngdo and Tokdo were Korean territory and had nothing to do with Japan.

However, "the acquisition or dereliction of a territory being a matter of great importance" the ministry, on March 17, 1877, referred the matter to the Council of State for deliberation and decision as follows:

Inquiry regarding the compilation of the land register for Takeshima and another island in the Sea of Japan:

Shimane prefecture sent us an inquiry for judgment on the jurisdiction of Takeshima as per attachments and this ministry has examined the matter: Regarding the islands in question, they are known to have nothing to do with our country as per attached documents (in excerpts) prepared in the first month of the 9th year of the Genroku [1896] after the entry of the Koreans [An Yong-bok et al.] into the island, i. e., (No. 1) the significance of the deliberation by the former government, (No. 2) notification to the official interpreter-translator, (No. 3) the official letter from the country involved, (No. 4) our country's reply and note verbale. In other words, by the 12th year of the Genroku, the exchange of instruments had been completed. However, the acquisition or dereliction of a territory being a matter of great importance, we request your instruction with the papers attached hereto.

March 17, 10th year of Meiji.

Acting for the Minister of Home Affairs Okubo Toshimichi, Vice Minister of Home Affairs Maejima Hisoka.
To His Excellency Minister of the Right Iwakura Tonomi In the inquiry, the Japanese Home Ministry mentioned the name of Ullngdo, but referred to Tokdo as "another island,"

but in the papers attached thereto it explains "another island' as follows: "There is another island called Matsushima. Its area is about 30 chongbo [about 74 acres] and is located almost in the same latitude as Ullngdo."

From this, another island clearly refers to Tokdo.

In those days, the Japanese Home Ministry was concerned mostly with Ullngdo. Apparently, they thought Tokdo was not worth mentioning by name as it consists of small rocky islets unfit for human habitation, and listed it simply as "another island."

3. Reconfirmation by the Council of State

Minister of the Right lwakura Tonomi of the Council of State (Dajokan: the highest government organ comparable to the cabinet and consisting of the triumvirate of the Prime Minister [Dajodaijin] and the Ministers of the Right and the Left) had examined the inquiry, and drafted and sanctioned an instruction on the "significance of the inquiry about Takeshima and another island" as follows:

March 20, the 10th year of Meiji (seal of Minister lwakura Tonomi affixed)

Re: the compilation of the land register for Takeshima and another island in the Sea of Japan as per Home Ministry inquiry. Knowing that our country has nothing to do [with the islands] as the result of the exchange of notes between our former government and the country involved after the entry into the island by the Koreans [An Yong-bok et al.] in the fifth year of the Genroku, and having examined the view stated in the inquiry, the following draft instruction has been prepared for your deliberation and sanction.

Draft Instruction

Re: Takeshima and another island, it is to be understood that our country has nothing do do with them. This draft was signed and approved by Minister of the Right lwakura Tonomi, Vice Ministers Okuma Shigenobu, Terajima Munenori and Oki Takato. On March 27, 1877, the Council of State sent the instruction to the Home Ministry, which in turn copied the instruction of the Council of State at the end of the inquiry submitted to the Dajokan: "It is understood that the subject of inquiry on Takeshima and another island has nothing to do with Japan," and setting the date of March 29, the twentieth year of Meiji thereon. Thus the case was closed. The Home Ministry sent this instruction to Shimane prefecture on April 9, 1877 and the matter was settled there too.

To Sum up:

The Japanese Council of State, the highest Japanese government organ, and the Home Ministry reconfirmed in 1877 that Ullngdo and Tokdo were Korea's territory, not Japan's.

Before the decision was made, the reference materials submitted by Shimane prefecture, the diplomatic notes exchanged between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Korean government at the close of the 17th century, and the other information and documents the Ministry had collected on its own were all examined closely for five months.

The decision of the Council of State of 1877 and the Report on the Confidential Inquiry into the Particulars of Korea's Foreign Relations, a Japanese diplomatic document, ascertain that Ullngdo and Tokdo are Korean territory, not Japan's.

4. Reconfirmation by the Ministries of the Army and the Navy

The Japanese military naturally knew that Ullngdo and Tokdo were owned by Korea. The Ministry of the Army reconfirmed this fact in 1875, on the Map of Korea it compiled and published by the General Staff Office of the Ministry in 1875 (8th year of the Meiji). It shows Ullngdo and Tokdo in the enlarged box at the right end. Had the Ministry considered Tokdo to be its territory, it would not have purposely shown the island in the enlarged box.

The Japanese Ministry of the Navy, too, reconfirmed Tokdo as Korea's territory in 1876. Its Hydrographic Burean made the Map of the Eastern Coast of Korea in 1876 based on the surveys conducted by Russian and British warships. This map not only placed Tokdo within the territory of Korea, but carried at the mid-right side one drawing of Tokdo done 3.5 nautical miles north of the island by a Russian warship, a second one done 5 nautical miles off in the direction of 10 degrees northwest, and a third one from 14 nautical miles away in the direction of 61 degrees north. They have a photographic accuracy and clearness.

If the Ministry of the Navy had regarded Tokdo as Japanese territory, not Korea's, the island might have not been shown in the middle of the East Sea (Sea of Japan) or its drawings would not have been inserted in the mid-East Sea. It was most probable in that case that Tokdo would have been shown in the sea northwest of Honshu, Japan. It was reprinted in 1887 and many times thereafter, showing Tokdo as Korean territory, until 1905.

All things considered, it is clear that at the beginning of the Meiji government, the Japanese Council of State, the Foreign Ministry, the Home Ministry, the Ministries of the Army and the Navy reconfirmed Tokdo as Korean territory as shown in the documentary records and maps cited so far.

In this connection, we should pay attention to the change of the name of Tokdo from Matsushima to Liancourt Island in Japan.

In 1876, a Japanese named Muto Hirataka caused excitement when he said he had discovered a large island, not Ullngdo, with rich marine resources. He filed an application to the Foreign Ministry for development of Matsushima. The ministry asked the Ministry of the Navy to carry out an exploration of the island. The Navy sent the warship Amagi to survey the island in September 1880, but it turned out to be Ullngdo, and Muto's application was turned down, while the result of the survey was published in the Sketch of the Eastern Coast of Korea (Chosen tokaigan ryakki).

Since then, the Ministry of the Navy became somewhat particular about the designation of "Matsushima", as they had first surveyed it and suddenly began to call Ullngdo "Matsushima," and Tokdo, which they had called "Matsushima", "Liancourt Island". This began to spread among the fishermen and Ullngdo became "Matsushima" and Tokdo "Liankuruto" Japanizing the French name.

Yet, the Japanese Ministry of the Navy and the Japanese fishermen all knew Tokdo was Korean territory.

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Chapter VII Abolition of the Vacant Island Policy and Redevelopment of Ullngdo and Tokdo

1. Encroachment by Japanese Immediately after the Opening of Ports by Korea

Even after the 19th century began, the government continued its basic policy of the vacant islands and sending research parties. But the people on the eastern and southern coasts of the peninsula kept on going to Ullngdo for fishing.

During the Tokugawa period, the Japanese ban on voyages to the island was rather strictly enforced, but as the Meiji government was established, Japan began clamoring for the "conquest of Korea" (seikanron) and for "rich country and strong army" (fukotu kyohei), and did not control Japanese fishing activities off Ullngdo. Under the cirumstances, some Japanese not only engaged in fishing on the sea, but landed on Ullngdo for felling and selling lumber in Japan. This was found out by a Korea search team sent to the island and was reported to the central government through the magistrate of Kangwndo.

To defend the island, the Korean government appointed Puhogun (a field officer) Yi Kyu-wn inspector of Ullngdo, ordering him to study the situation in Ullngdo to see whether the vacant island policy should be continued. At the same time, the government sent a protest to the Japanese government, urging it to prohibit Japanese voyages to Ullngdo.

The Japanese government delayed sending the reply, and asked Kitazawa Shosei to conduct research on the ownership of Ullngdo (Takeshima). He made an exhaustive study of documentary records and drew the conclusion that the island was not Japan's territory, but belonged to Korea. He summarized the findings of his study (A Study of Takeshima: Takeshima Kosho) and submitted a report entitled A Research on the Ownership of Takeshima (Takeshima hanto shozoku ko) to the Foreign Ministry on July 26, 1881 (by the lunar calendar).

The Japanese Foreign Ministry sent its reply to the Korean government only on October 24, 1881, admitted to the Japanese voyages to Ullngdo and lumbering on the island, and notified the Korean side that Japanese were being withdrawn from the island. In actuality, however, the Japanese government did not take any action while a large number of Japanese kept coming to Ullngdo for fishing and lumbering.

2. Abolition of the Vacant Island Policy

When Yi Kyu-wn was appointed inspector of Ullngdo, on May 23, 1881, the lumbering season would have been over even if he had departed for the island immediately, so it was on April 10, 1882 that he left for Ullngdo. He was received in audience by the king before his departure and was ordered to inspect Ullngdo as well as Tokdo.

The ships carrying the inspection team consisting of 102 headed by Inspector Yi Kyu-wn ran into a storm, but managed to arrive at the island on April 30, 1882. They walked around the island and explored for 7 days. It took two days to go around the island for the survey. As for Tokdo, however, they did not venture to the island, fearing a storm, but confirmed its existence from residents of Ullngdo. Some importants facts from Yi are summarized as follows:

(1) The Korean dwellers totalled 140 : 115 from Chlla province (82%), 14 from Kangwn province (10%), 10 from Kyngsang province (7%), and one from Kyonggi province.

(2) By occupation, 129 (92.2%) were there for boat building, 9 (6.4%) for gathering of medicinal herbs, and 2 (1.4%) for bamboo tree felling. People from Chlla and Kangwn provinces lived in tents in groups of 13-14 and lumbered and felled trees to build boats. Occasionally, they gathered legumes and fished; once the boats had been built, they carried the resources gathered aboard the boats and returned home. Those from Kyongsang and Kyonggi provinces, gathered ginseng and herbs. Two from Kyongsang province felled bamboo trees.

(3) The Japanese who had trespassed on Ullngdo numbered 78 and all were engaged in lumbering. Inspector Yi Kyu-wn talked with them in writing in Chinese character, which both Koreans and Japanese used in common. The Japanese replied they did not know about the Japanese government's ban on voyage to Ullngdo. Neither did they know Ullngdo was Korean territory. Some of them thought it was owned by Japan. They were arrogant. Along the coast leading to T'onggumi in Changjakchip'o on the island, the inspector found a pole, 18m tall and 30cm wide, on which was inscribed: Keyaki no Tani, (Valley of Zelkova Trees) Matsushima, Great Japan, erected by Iwazaki Tadateru, February 13, 2nd Year of Meiji [1869].

(4) For possible settlement, he found a land in Naridong, 10 ri x 9 ri, for construction of about 1,000 houses. In addition, 6-7 village building sites were found for 100 to 200 dwellings.

14 places were found fit for building ports, and the island was rich in marine and land resources totalling some 43 kinds.

On receiving this report on June 5, 1882, King Kojong instructed the government ? to protest to the Japanese side against the erection of a pole claiming Ullngdo as Japanese territory and ? to abolish the vacant island policy and begin redevelopment of the island immediately.

Prime Minister Hong Sun-mok, soon after the Military Mutiny of 1882 (Imo kullan) had been put down, decided on the following guidelines for redevelopment of Ullngdo:

(1) Those who are willing to migrate to Ullngdo will be recruited, encouraged to develop and be exempted from taxes for five years;

(2) People of Kyngsang and Chlla provinces will be allowed to go there to build transports;

(3) Administrator of the island will be appointed on the nomination of the magistrate;

(4) Settlement will be given a higher priority than the construction of military facilities.

These guidelines were sobmitted to and approved by the king.

This marked an end to the vacant island policy; Chn Sk-kyu was appointed administrator of Ullngdo and the redevelopment began in earnest. In June 1882 the Minister of Rites of the Korean government demanded the Japanese Foreign Minister to enact a law strictly prohibiting Japanese from trespassing on Ullngdo for lumbering and other illegal acts.

When an Korean embassy headed by Pak Yng-hyo was sent to Japan for the conclusion of the Treaty of Chemulp'o (signed on September 22, 1882) for the settlement of the indemnities for the damage caused to the Japanese during the Military Mutiny, Pak Yng-hyo protested strongly to the Japanese Foreign Minister against Japanese illegal entry into and lumbering on Ullngdo and demanded immediate evacuation of the Japanese from the island.

At last in December 1882, Japan sent a reply to the Korean Minister of Rites informing him of the ban on voyages to Ullngdo by Japanese. On January 22 in the following year the Japanese Prime Minister (Dajodaijin) sent a formal note notifying the Korean government of the enactment of an injunction on Japanese voyages to Ullngdo. But Japan, despite this notification, did not evacuate the Japanese already on Ullngdo.

3. Redevelopment Begins.

On March 16, 1883, the government appointed Kim Ok-kyun, a leader of the progressive group, Commissioner for Development for Southeast Islands and Whaling. This action was taken because the progressives actively supported the redevelopment project. From the commissioner's title, it is clear that his jurisdiction covered the southeast islands, i.e., not only Ullngdo, but Tokdo as well.

Under the leadership of Kim Ok-kyun, the redevelopment project was actively carried forth. First, seven to eight families from Kangwn province and ten families from Kyngsang province were settled on Ullngdo. This was followed by 16 families of 54 people from Chlla province and others on two occasions in April 1883.

The government provided grain seeds, livestock, carpenters and blacksmiths for house building and also rifles and swords for self-defense. The new arrivals soon set themselves to work and cultivated 310 turak of land in July 1883, three months after their settlement. This provided a new opportunity for the residents of the coastal areas and the number of settlers increased.

Second, all the Japanese on Ullngdo were evacuated to Japan as a result of the repeated protests and negotiations by the government and the commissioner. The Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs sent a group of government officials including 31 policemen aboard a transport Echigomaru and withdrew the total of 254 Japanese from Ullngdo. This was one of the successful results of the redevelopment policy.

Third, after all the Japanese had been withdrawn, the government and the commissioner dismissed and punished the administrator of the island, Chon Sk-kyu, who was found to have been bribed by some Japanese and to have allowed them to fell trees and smuggle lumber out to Japan. This indicated the strong resolution of the government to defend Ullngdo from the Japanese and corrupt Korean officials as well.

The resettlement proved successful to a certain extent and people on the island began going over to Tokdo for fishing, making the island a place of activities once again.

In the meantime, the coup d'etat (Kapsin chngbyn) by the Progressive Party failed in December 1884, and its leaders, including Kim Ok-kyun, fled to Japan, and the conservative government did not appoint the resident administrator of Ullngdo, but made the naval commander of Samch'okp'o in P'yonghae county concurrently take the post.

But when the Reform of 1894 (Kabo kyngjang) was put into action, the progressive government reinstated the resident administrator of Ullngdo, and in the following year, the administrator was upgraded to a superintendent, and Pae Kye-ju was appointed to the post This means the administrative status of Ullngdo was promoted.

In February 1896 when the king took refuge in the Russian legation in Seoul, after the assassination of Queen Min by Japanese, which provoked widespread armed uprisings against the Japanese troops in Korea in October 1895, the faction which led the Reform of 1894 fell from power and while the king remained under the protection of Russians, Russia obtained timber rights from the Korea government in the Yalu and Tumen river basins and on Ullngdo in September 1896. Under these circumstances, the migration to

Ullngdo increased further and its population totalled 1,134 (662 males and 472 females) in 397 houses in 12 tong (tong: block of a town or city) and ri (villages) as of March 1897. The land under cultivation totalled 4,775 turak.

In the wake of the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japan war (1904-5), the Japanese began openly lumbering on Ullngdo. Earlier the Russian minister in Seoul sent a note to the Korean Foreign Minitry in 1899 and protested against the Japanese lumbering on Ullngdo while Russia obtained the timber rights from the Korean emperor for the island. The matter had developed into a diplomatic issue, and forced the Korean government urgently to take a measures against this.

At this time, Korea was exercising its sovereignty not only over Ullngdo but also Tokdo. The maps issued by the Korean Ministry of Education in 1898 and 1899 (Taehan yjido and Taehanjndo) show Tokdo accurately east of Ullngdo as "Usando."

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Chapter VIII Reorganization of Administrative District for Tokdo

After the designation of the dynasty of Chosn was changed to the Empire of Korea (Taehan Cheguk: also translated as Great Han Empire) in October 1897, the Japanese trespassing on Ullngdo became even more serious, and the government appointed U Yong-jng, an official of the Home Ministry, superintendent of Ullngdo in October 1899 and agreed with the Japanese side to conduct a joint investigation, the Korean side headed by U with an eye to taking measures against the Japanese trespassers. E. Laporte, an English tax accountant in the service of the Pusan Customshouse, was included in the Korean team for impartial conduct of the investigation.

U Yong-jng and company arrived at Ullngdo on May 31, 1900, conducted the investigation for five days from June 1, and submitted a report to the government. According to the report, the Japanese on the island during the investigation totalled 144 and a vast amount of timber was felled.

While the investigation was on, four merchant ships entered Ullngdo, and the investigation team boarded them for inspection. About 40 lumberjacks and other laborers with axes and saws, totalling 70, were found to have already landed at the island.

According to the report U Yong-jng was unable to cope with this deplorable situation. Pointing out that the invasion of Japanese was a breach of the Korean-Japanese treaty, U Yong-jng appealed to the government to demand strongly that the Japanese minister in Seoul withdraw the Japanese from the island. Otherwise, the Korean residents and the forests there could not be protected, he cautioned. In the report he suggested that urgent countermeasures be taken.

Upon U's return, the situation on Ullngdo became worse: on the very next day after U's departure, five merchant ships arrived at the island and began lumbering on a large scale. To the Korean government protest, the Japanese minister in Seou1 turned a deaf ear and quibbled that the Korean island chief had acquiesced to the lumbering operation.

2. Imperial Ordinance No. 41 in 1900 and the Establishment of New County of Ullngdo

As part of the strong countermeasure to cope with the situation, the government drafted a bill to upgrade the status of Ullngdo and Tokdo to an independent county (kun) under the control of a county magistrate, not island superintendent, to the State Council (ijngbu) for deliberation.

The bill was approved unanimously on October 24, 1900 and promulgated the next day. This is lmperial Ordinance No. 41 "on the redesignation of Ullngdo as Ullng and the change of the title of the island superintendent to county magistrate." The ordinance consists of 6 articles and was printed in the official gazette, too.

Imperial Ordinance No. 41

On the redesignation of Ullng county, as Ullng and the Change of the Title of Island Superintendent to County Magistrate

Article One

Ullngdo shall be redesigrated Ullng county, placed under Kangwn province; the title of Island Superintendent shall be changed to County Magistrate; it shall be incorporated into the administrative system and the county shall be of grade five.

Article 2

The county office shall be located at Taehadong; the county shall have under its jurisdiction the whole island of Ullngdo, Chukto and Sokto.

Article 3

The 19 letters beginning with Ullngdo in the items concerning the government offices in the Gazette dated August 16 in the 504th year [1895] after the National Foundation [creation of the dynasty of Chosn] shall be deleted; in Article 5 in Imperial Ordinance No. 36 of the year of 505th after the National Foundation, 26 counties of Kangwn province shall be changed to 27; underneath the heading of Anhyp county, three letters of Ullngdo shall be inserted.

Article 4

The expenditures shall conform to those for a county of grade 5 ; the current budget having not been compiled and the administrative business having not been commenced, the expenditures shall be met by the taxes collected on the island.

Article 5

Supplementary articles shall be stipulated in accordance with the progress of the development of the island.
October 25, 4th year of Kwangmu [1900] (Royal Seal affixed) Head of the State Council ad. int. Minister of Home Affairs Yi Kn-ha

By this ordinance, Ullngdo was upgraded to an independent county in Kangwn province and superintendent Pae Kye-ju was appointed the first magistrate of grade 6.

What should deserve our attention here is Article 2, which provides for the jurisdiction of the new county to cover the whole of Ullngdo and Chukto, and Skto. Here, Chukto is Chuksdo on the adjoining side of Ullngdo as confirmed in Yi Kyu-wn's report. Skto is Tokdo.

In those days, a majority of the residents of Ullngdo came from Chlla province. It is well-known that, in the dialect of the region, tol (µ¹: stone or rock) is pronounced tok (Ô¼), and tolsm (stone island) became toksm.

As the learned people used the Chinese writing system as the educated Britons used Latin under Roman rule and French after the Norman Conquest, tol in the vulgate was replaced by the corresponding Chinese character sk (à´), thus becoming Skto (rocky island). The corrupted form of Skto in that regional dialect became Tokdo and again the Chinese character corresponding in sound to tok (Ô¼) was used to become Tokdo (Ô¼Óö).

The Empire of Korea reorganized Ullngdo-Tokdo and announced to the world in 1900 that Tokdo was under its dominion. This is a significant fact worthy of most careful consideration in examining the Japanese annexation of Tokdo on February 22, 1905 on the grounds that the island was a terra nullius or was Japan's inherent territory.

3. Apellations for Tokdo: Tokdo and Skto

In the memoranda exchanged between Korea and Japan and in the studies conducted by scholars on the origin of the name "Tokdo," it has become established, as examined already at the end of the preceding chapter, that the name of the two Skto (rocky islands) comprising Usando became corrupted to be called Tokdo by the migrants from Chlla province. Then it was transcribed by the literati educated in Chinese classics as Ô¼Óö (Tokdo) using the Chinese character Ô¼ (tok) corresponing in sound to tok (tol: stone, rock).

As this is considered important, some more examples will be cited.

Ex. 1 Toksm - Sksm

Toksm - Skhosm (ho: lake)

In Komanni, Nowhamyn, Wando county, South Chlla province, there is rocky island and the people there call it Toksm, but transcribe it as sksom (à´Óö).

A rocky island in Ch'ungdori is called Toksm, but its official name is transcribed as Skto (à´Óö). Still another example is an island called Toksm, which is officially designated as Skhodo (à´ûÉÓö) in Sanhori, Hwawnni, Haenam county.

Ex. 2 Toksm - Tokdo

Tolsm - Tokdo

On the other hand, there are examples wherein Toksm or Tolsm become Tokdo in the written form in Chinese characters.

Toksom, a rocky island in Och'nni, Namyangmyn, Kohng county, also in South Chlla province, is called Toksm, but is transcribed in the corresponding Chinese character in sound as Tokdo from ancient times.

On the sea off Such'iri, Pigmmyn, Muan county in the same province, there stand two rocky islands and they are transcribed as upper and lower Tokdo.

Such examples abound not only in the transcription of names for islands, but also valleys and villages "full of stones," particulartly along the coastal areas in South Chlla province Two examples will suffice here:

One is Tokkol (kol: village) in Wlsnni, Ch'nggyemyn, in Muangun, which becomes Skkok (kok ÍÛ standing for the vulgate: kol).

The other is Tokkol in Tokcheni, Changhngp, in Changhng county, which is also transcribed officially as "Tokkok."

In other words, if the meaning is taken into consideration, it becomes sk (à´: stone or rock), and tok (Ô¼) when the sound is stressed. Thus a rocky island is called Skto, but easily transcribed as Tokdo.

When the Empire of Korea promulgated Imperial Ordinance No. 41 in October 1900, Ullngdo and its appendant islands were placed under an independent county (kun) of Ullng and Sokto was transcribed as Tokdo.

The French whaler Liancourt naming Tokdo "Liancourt Rocks" bears analogy to this. In 1849, the ship gave the name of "Liancourt Rocks," not "Liancourt Islets," to Usando/Tokdo, stressing the rocks. Among the fishermen and functionaries of the Empire of Korea, Tokdo became Sokto and then Liancourt Rocks.

Also the Hydrographic Bureau of the Japanese Navy published in 1882 the Map of the Distance of the Japanese, Chinese, Korean Sealanes (Nisshikan senro ritei ichiranzu), which shows Tokdo as "Liancourt Rocks (sk)."

When Ullngdo was reorganized as an independent county in 1900, the Korean Ministry of Home Affairs examined the report by U Yong-jng as well as that submitted by E. Laporte, the English tax accountant working for the Pusan customshouse. Being an English he may have been well acquainted with the maps of the day published in Europe, and known that Europeans called Liancourt Rocks Usando/Tokdo. It is also assumed that he knew why the government of the Empire of Korea transcribed Usando/Tokdo as Skto in 1900.

Although the government adopted "Skto" in Chinese characters, the islanders of the time wrote the name as "Tokdo"; Skto and Tokdo were interchangeably used. It is generally agreed that "Tokdo" was first used in the report of Sim Hng-t'aek, magistrate of Ullngdo county in March 1906, informing the central government of the illegal incorporation of Tokdo into Japan's territory in 1905. However, people of Ullngdo had used "Tokdo" for Skto in their writing. This is evident in the Japanese report in September 1904 after an on-the-spot survey of Ullngdo had been completed: Koreans transcribe Liancourt Island as Tokdo while Japanese call it "riankuruto":

On Matsushima [Ullngdo], we heard from an eye-witness that Liancourt Rocks are written as Tokdo by Koreans whereas it is called riankuruto by our fishermen.

Thus, this can be summarized by an equation:

Toksm (Tolsm) - Tokdo - Skto - Liancourt Rocks.

And Imperial ordinance No. 41 proclaimed to the world on October 25, 1900 that Tokdo is Skto and is an administrative dependency of Ullngdo county, and an inherent part of Korean territory.

However, Japan defined Tokdo as a terra nullius and claimed that the island was "incorporated into its territory" in February 1905. The facts cited above are evidence enough that Japan's claim is totally groundless.

4. Development of Ullngdo

Even while Korea was exercising its sovereign rights over Tokdo under the jurisdiction of the magistrate of the newly upgraded independent county of Ullngdo in 1900, Japanese trespassing on Tokdo still continued; they opened a school on Ullngdo in February 1901 and revealed no intention of withdrawing in disregard of the Korean-Japanese agreement. This aroused antagonism on the part of the Korean islanders, who protested against and collided with the Japanese.

At the end of 1901, the Japanese act of invasion became even more glaring when they dispatched their policemen and posted them there on the pretext of protecting Japanese.

In January 1902, as the Anglo-Japanese alliance was signed, Japan adopted a policy of setting up a Japanese settlement on Ullngdo, and went on to station in Ullngdo one police inspector and three policemen from the Japanese consulate in Pusan in March of that year.

In April 1903, the government appointed Sim Hung- t'aek magistrate of Ullngdo county; upon arrival there, he issued an order strictly banning any lumbering by Japanese, but this gave rise to disturbances by the discontented Japanese. Sim asked the government for the dispatch of two police officers to deal with them, for a strongly-worded protest to be lodged with the Japanese minister in Seoul and for evacuation of the Japanese.

Magistrate Sim demanded time and again that the Japanese police control illegal lumbering by Japanese but they turned down his protests on the grounds that Japanese lumbering had been carried out for ten-odd years. They overbearingly countered the magistrate by telling him to contact the Japanese legation in Seoul if Korea really meant to end lumbering.

On receiving the report, the Korean government summoned the Japanese minister in Seoul and handed him a strong protest against the Japanese police for their abusive language and demanded their outright withdrawal from Ullngdo, which was not a port opened to Japan under the Korea-Japan Treaty of Friendship (also called Treaty of Kanghwado) signed in 1876. Under the treaty, the three ports of Pusan, Wnsan and Inch'n were opened.

The Japanese minister ignored all the protests by the Korean government and forcibly implemented the building of a Japanese fishing village on Ullngdo. When the year of 1904 dawned, Japan was still intent on its encroachment on Ullngdo, but it showed no sign of aggressive design on Tokdo.

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Chapter IX Japanese Navy's Plan for Construction of a Watchtower on Tokdo and Its Occupation of the Island

1. Russo-Japanese War and Japan's Infringement on Korean Sovereignty

On February 8, 1904 Japan started the Russo-Japanese war to get rid of its arch rival for hegemony over Korea and to colonize Korea. Anticipating a war between Japan and Russia, the Korean government officially proclaimed its neutrality in January 1904, but no sooner had Japan declared war on Russia than it sent its troops en masse to Korea and occupied Seoul. By threat of force, it compelled Korea to sign the first protocol agreement with six articles. One of them recognized Japan's use of strategic points throughout Korea during the war. Japan reserved one division from its troops landed in Korea as a garrison force in Korea, without committing it to the war against Russia. Soon it was increased to two divisions buttressed by thousands of additional gendarmes. It was clearly designed to bring Korea under its control.

Then on May 18, 1904 Japan coerced Korea into scrapping all the treaties it had concluded with Russia, including the one granting timber rights to Russia on the Yalu and Tumen river basins and on Ullngdo. For the execution of the war, Japan also utilized the island.

Further, on June 4, 1904, Japan took by force the fishing rights not only in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), but also in the West Sea (Yellow Sea) off Ch'ungch'ng, Hwanghae and P'yngan provinces. On June 6 in the same year, Japan demanded that the Korean government through Minister Hayashi Gonsuke in Seoul entrust it with full powers to develop uncultivated lands throughout the country. Evident in this move was that Japan's scheme to grab the land of Korea had become even more undisguised. This naturally met with resistance from the people and government of Korea, and Japan, on July 20 in the year, reinforced its gendarmeries in Seoul and the outlying areas, placed the northern province of Hamgyng under military government, and notified the Korean government that the Japanese troops would be responsible for the maintenance of public peace and order.

In this way, the Japanese troops enforced a military government, and began to censor the newspapers, magazines and other publications from around the end of July 1904 and to try and punish Korean people by the Japanese courts-martial in Korea. Korea was under Japanese military government from this time to September 1905 when the Portsmouth Treaty was concluded to end the Russia-Japan war.

Then Japan forced upon Korea a Treaty of Protectorate on November 17, 1905. Therefore, all the Korea-Japan treaties, the concessions and lands Japanese obtained between February 8, 1904 and August 29, 1910 when Korea was annexed by Japan were concluded or grabbed by "violence" and "greed."

2. Japanese Plan for Construction of a Watchtower on Tokdo

On February 8, 1908 the Japanese navy launched surprise attacks on the Russian warships at anchor at lnchn and Port Arthur and sank two warships at each port. Japan commanded the West Sea, but on the East Sea, the Russian Vladvostok Fleet had naval supremacy and on June 15 of the year it sank two Japanese army transports in the Tsushima straits.

All the Japanese warships were equipped with wireless communication apparatus and kept watch on the movement of the Russian fleet, and an order was given to build observation posts with radio communication facilities at Chukpyn in Uljin county along the eastern coast of Korea and at other strategic sites on June 21, 1904.

Under the circumstances, Japan, which had not recognized Tokdo as an appendant of Ullngdo, came to notice its strategic importance. On June 21, 1904, the Japanese navy began constructing an observation post at Chukpyn in Uljin county. On July 5 of the year, it built observation points, two each, at the northwest and southeast ends of Ullngdo, and connected Chukpyn and Ullngdo by undersea cable (not radio communication installments).

The construction at Chukpyn began on June 27, 1904 and was completed on July 22 and began operation from August 10 of the year.

The construction of the two posts on Ullngdo was commenced on August 3 and completed on September 1 of the year, beginning its operation on the following day. The laying of the undersea cables began on September 8 and was completed by the end of the month.

In addition, the Japanese navy erected a total of 20 watchtowers on Wnsan, Cheju, Ulsan, Chlyngdo, Kmundo, Hongdo, Udo, all along the Korean coasts.

After Ullngdo came Tokdo and the Japanese navy ordered the warship Niitaka to conduct a survey of the island. In the report dated September 25, 1904 the captain of the Niitaka reports:

(1) Tokdo is suitable for construction of a watchtower;

(2) On June 17, three Russian warships appeared near Tokdo, came to anchor there for a while and departed in the direction of northwest.

The Japanese navy took notice of this fact and issued an order in 1904 to the warship Tsushima to survey Liancourt Island for possible construction of a communication post (not a radio communication station).

The Tsushima arrived at Tokdo at 07:20 on November 20, 1904 and the commander and surgeon of the ship surveyed the island for three hours. The report points out the following:

(1) The eastern base of the West lslet and the gentle slope at the tip of the East Islet are best suited for a watchtower;

(2) Lack of potable water presents a problem, so drinking water will have to be supplied from elsewhere.

At that time the outbreak of a war with Russia was imminent and the need to build a watchtower on the island was great, and the supply of drinking water was considered not so great a problem. Thus, the construction began in the mid-winter of the year and continued into the following year.

3. A Japanese Fisherman's Application for Fishing Rights at Tokdo and Japanese Government Machinations

While the Japanese navy was busy with the construction of the watchtower on Tokdo, a fisherman named Nakai Yozaburo of Shimane prefecture in Japan applied to the Japanese government for monopoly of fishing rights on and off Liancourt Island (Tokdo). Tokdo was a Korean territory, but was uninhabited, and this application was taken advantage of by the Japanese government, and its scheme for seizure of the island and for construction of a watchtower there were speedily put into action.

Nakai Yozaburo made earlier use of diving gear, a new concept of the time, and went to foreign seas for fishing operations. From 1891 to the following year, he gathered sea cucumbers off Vladivostok and in 1893 he hunted sea lions on and off the coasts of Kyongsang and Chlla provinces in Korea.

In 1903 he switched his sea lion hunting ground to Tokdo and found it lucrative. He went to Tokyo in 1904, met high-ranking officials and told them of his plan to apply to the government of the Empire of Korea for monopoly of fishing rights at Tokdo.

The personal history and the summary of the business operation plan that Nakai himself wrote to submit to Shimane prefecture in support of his application show that he was aware of Korea's ownership of Tokdo. The following statement also reveals that, at the encouragement of the high-ranking Japanese officials he met, he played a role in the annexation of Tokdo into Japan's territory. As the statement was written five years after Tokdo was seized by Japan, the name of Takeshima, not Liancourt Island, is used for Tokdo:

Fishermen in the vicinity of Ullngdo knew that sea lions abounded on Tokdo.

As I thought that the island was Korean territory attached to Ullngdo, I went to the capital trying to submit a request to the Residency-General. But, as suggested by Fishery Bureau Director Maki Bokushin, I came to question Korea's ownership of Takeshima. And at the end of my investigation into the matter, I became convinced that this island was absolutely ownerless through the conclusion by the then Hydrographic Director Admiral Kimotsuki. Accordingly, I submitted an application through the Home Ministry to the three Ministers of the Home Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Agriculture-Commerce Ministry for incorporation of this island into Japanese territory and for its lease to me.

The Home Ministry authorities had the opinion that the gains would be extremely small while the situation would become grave if the acquisition of a barren islet suspected of being Korean territory at this point of time [during the Russo-Japanese War] should amplify the suspicions of various foreign countries that Japan has an ambition to annex Korea. Thus, my petition was rejected.

Thinking that I cannot turn back now, I rushed to the Foreign Ministry to discuss the matter in detail with the then Political Affairs Bureau Director Yamaza Enjiro. He said the incorporation was urgent particularly under the present situation, and it is absolutely necessary and advisable to construct observation posts and install wireless or submarine cable and keep watch on the hostile warships. Particularly in terms of diplomacy, he told me not to worry about the Home Ministry view. He asked me in high spirits to urge the Home Ministry to refer his application speedily to the Foreign Ministry; in this way Takeshima came under our country's dominion.

On March 25, 1906, after Tokdo was annexed by Japan, Nakai told Okuhara Fukuichi how he came to lease the island, and Okuhara recorded his statement.

This record describes that Nakai Yozaburo believed that Tokdo was Korean territory, decided to applied to the Korean government for the lease through the good offices of the Japanese government, and went up to Tokyo soon after the end of the fishing season in 1904.

In Tokyo he met the Director of Hydrographic Bureau of the Ministry of the Navy, the Director of Political Affairs Bureau of the Foreign Ministry and the Director of Fishery Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.

Okuhara records these conversations relatively in detail. According to A Chronicle of Shimane Prefecture (Shimane kenshi) edited by the Education Board of the prefecture in 1923, the trouble arose as many Japanese competed and overhunted sea lions on and off Tokdo. Just then Nakai thought Tokdo to be Korean territory and petitioned the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce to contact the Korean government on his behalf and help him obtain a lease.

4. Japan's Annexation of Tokdo and Its Announcement by Shimane Prefecture

As Japanese documentary records, we have examined Nakai Yozaburo's personal history, his summary of his business operation plan, his statement to Okuhara Fukuichi, and the Chronicle of Shimane Prefecture. To recapitulate, the seizure of Tokdo by Japanese was carried out in the following way:

(1) A Japanese fisherman Nakai Yozaburo thought of applying to the Korean government for an exclusive right to hunt sea lions at Tokdo which was Korean territory. As the fishing season of 1904 was over, he went to Tokyo and contacted director-level officials of the Japanese government. At that time, Nakai believed Tokdo was Korean territory.

(2) Maki Bokushin, Director of Fishery Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, and Adm. Kimotsuki Kenko, Director of Hydrographic Bureau of the Ministry of the Navy began to discuss the matter as national policy. Maki told Nakai it was not certain whether Tokdo was a Korean territory, causing him to change his thinking and sent him over to Adm. Kimotsuki to be lectured on the ownership of Tokdo.

(3) Adm. Kimotsuki told him decisively that Tokdo was "an ownerless island" and maintained that it was essential to incorporate the island into Japan's territory if he were going to manage the island. Then he advised Nakai to apply to the Japanese government, not to the Korean government, for incorporation of the island into Japan's territory and for its lease to him. Now, Nakai began to think Tokdo might not be Korea's.

(4) Nakai was determined to do as suggested by Adm. Kimotsuki and filed an application entitled "An Application for Incorporation of Liancourt Island into Japan's Territory and Its Lease" to the Ministers of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture and Commerce. Nakai's application completely reflected the view of Adm. Kimotsuki. Therefore, the prime mover behind the scene was Adm. Kimotsuki.

(5) However, the Japanese Home Ministry clearly opposed the application at first. The reasons for the objection was that the annexation of the small rocks whose ownership was uncertain would arouse the suspicion of foreign countries that Japan had an aggressive scheme for Korea while the Russo-Japanese war was being fought. The Home Ministry also pointed out that it was not such a simple matter if possible repercussions from the Korean side were also to be taken into account. Thus the application was rejected.

(6) On the other hand, the Director of Political Affairs of the Foreign Ministry was diametrically opposed to this view, and backed up the application positively. He thought it imperative to incorporate Tokdo into Japan's territory to watch the movement of the hostile ships by means of a naval watchtower on the island and installing wireless and submarine communication systems. The Foreign Ministry authorities avowed confidently that no diplomatic protest would be forthcoming as feared by the Home Ministry, and urged Nakai to process the application speedily.

(7) On January 28, 1905, after deliberation, the Japanese cabinet decided, in the form of approving an application filed by an individual fisherman, to incorporate an uninhabited island that had "no traces of ownership by any country," located in lat. 37。9'30" N. and long. 131°55' E, 85 nautical miles from Okinoshima, into Japan's territory, to name it Takeshima, and to place it under the jurisdiction of the head of Okinoshima in Shinane prefecture.

This decision was communicated by the Home Ministry to Shimane prefecture, which in turn, published it by Public Notice No. 40 on February 22, 1905.

Thus Tokdo passed into the hands of Japan.

5. Annexation of Tokdo, a Violation of International Law

Once again, it should be stressed here that Nakai knew that Tokdo was Korean territory and went up to Tokyo to file an application to the Korean government for its lease. But he changed his plan after conferring with high-ranking government officials and submitted an application to the Japanese government for its incorporation into Japan's territory and its lease to him.

The three directors of the ministries involved knew that Tokdo was Korean territory but pushed forth the incorporation plan largely because Japan was at war with Russia and recognized the advantage of keeping the Russian fleet under surveillance by building a watchtower on Tokdo and by installing wireless and undersea communication systems. This, combined with the intrinsic nature of imperialism to expand territory, led to this decison.

But Japan tried to justify its action by claiming that Tokdo had "no traces of ownership by any country" and that the island was not inhabitated.

Therefore, when and if it is proven that Tokdo was not a terra nullius and had been a Korean territory before January 28, 1905, the Japanese cabinet decision of that date becomes meaningless, and its act of incorporation becomes null and void. Another point of issue is its mode of notification.

In the Genroku era (during the reign of Sukchong in Korea), the Tokugawa shogunate sent an official memorandum to Korea, reconfirming Ullngdo and Tokdo as Korean territory.

In the Meiji period, the Japanese Council of State, the Foreign Ministry, the Home Ministry, the Ministries of the Navy and the Army reconfirmed that Tokdo was Korean territory, too. Also, in the process of Nakai Yozaburo's application, the Home Ministry regarded Tokdo possibly as Korean territory. Under these circumstances, the Japanese government should have inquired of the Korean government about Tokdo before incorporating it and notified Korea of its action afterwards. It stands to reason that the acquisition of a territory should be announced to all the countries involved. It is common practice and a matter of common sense in international law. But Japan ignored all these: no inquiry, nor notification.

This contrasts with Japan's acquisition of the Bonin (Ogasaware) Islands in the Pacific in 1876. Then Japan negotiated with Great Britain and the U.S. several times before making its final decision and notified 12 European countries and the U.S. of its action taken.

Why did Japan, going against this precedent, ignore its responsibility to make pre-consultation or post-notification? This is because Japan knew Tokdo was Korean territory, so it may have decided it wise to take the taken on the sly.

In those days there were many resident foreign missions posted in Seoul and if the fact had been known to Korea, the people and the government would have reacted immediately and strongly. This might have led the Great Powers to criticize Japan's seizure of a Korean territory and excited their suspicion that the country would eventually take Korea by force after the end of the Russo-Japanese war.

Another fact should be worthy of our close attention here. The acquisition of a territory was a very important matter to be decided on by the cabinet, but the annexation of Tokdo was not announced in the official gazette. Any country publishes the decisions of the cabinet in the official gazette unless it is a confidential matter. It had so far been the practice of the Japanese government, but the incorporation of Tokdo was an exception.

What were the reasons for this? Why did Japan try to make the case of Tokdo confidential? At that time, there were Korean and other foreign legations in Tokyo. It is easily presumed that the Japanese government did not want it known to them, and did not announced this action through the nationally distributed newspapers. Naturally, the people of Japan as well as peoples of the world were kept in complete ignorance of this action. Had the fact been published in the newspapers, the Korean residents in Tokyo would have read the news and reported it to the Korean government.

Now, let us consider the mode of public announcement.

It took the form of a public notice by a local government, Shimane prefecture. The prefecture government put a notice on its bulletin board that would be taken off in several days. A local newspaper gave it a small coverage just once. Unless a casual Korea visitor chanced upon the public notice in the premises of this out-of-the-way local government, how could any Korean know that a piece of the Korean territory had been seized?

This should be termed an act of deception, and a breach of the international law of the day. It is null and void.

6. Construction and Removal of a Watchtower on Tokdo

In the spring of the year following the seizure of Tokdo, the Japanese navy found it impossible to construct a watchtower on Tokdo because of storm and high seas. Then came the Russian Baltic fleet to the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Now the battle ensued on the Sea on May 27, 1905 and Japan emerged the victor. But Russia still had a strong naval force and permitted no prediction when another battle would take place. So the strategic positions of Ullngdo and Tokdo became even more important.

The Japanese Naval General Staff drafted a plan to set up another observation post at the north of Ullngdo with a radio communications system. Also on Tokdo a similar post was to be erected, linking Ullngdo, Tokdo, Okinoshima and Mt. Koki in Japan. In particular, a plan was made to construct the watchtower on Tokdo hidden from the outside and was forwarded to the Minister of the Navy for approval. The ministry sent the warship Hashidate to Todko on June 12, 1905 to locate a suitable site for the watchtower.

The top of the East Islet was found suitable if some work were done and fuel and drinking water supplied once or twice a month. Based on the proposal of the Naval General Staff and the report by the Hashidate, the Minister of the Navy issued an order to build a northern observation post on Ullngdo and another at Tongoego with radio communication facilities, to set up an ordinary watchtower on Tokdo, and to link Ullngdo and Tokdo by undersea cable.

The work on the northern post on Ullngdo began on July 14, 1905, was completed in two days and was put into action from August 16 of the year; the construction of the post on Tokdo began on July 25, 1905, was completed on August 19, and began operating from that day; and the Ullngdo-Tokdo undersea cable network was completed on October 8, 1905.

But the plan to link Tokdo with Okinoshima and Mt. Koki was found unnecessary and was cancelled. Instead, Tokdo was linked with Matsuyama in Shimane prefecture by undersea cable on October 9 of the year.

Thus, on the East Sea (Sea of Japan) observation posts were set up in Chukpyng, Ullngdo, Tokdo, Matsuyama, linking them by undersea cable.

The watchtower on Tokdo was the last of the 20 posts erected during the Russo-Japanese war. As the Portsmouth Treaty was signed on September 5, 1905 and the Russo-Japanese war ended on October 15 of the year, the watchtowers were no longer needed, and those on Ullngdo were ordered removed on October 19, and that on Tokdo withdrawn on October 24.

As seen above, in order to build the observation posts, Japan illegally occupied Tokdo, and did not return it to Korea after the war. On November 17, 1905, Japan forced Korea to sign a protectorate treaty, divested Korea of part of its sovereign rights, set up its Residency-General in Korea, and revealed its naked aggressive design to seize the whole of the Korean peninsula even more clearly.

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Chapter X Korea's Reaction to Japan's Annexation of Tokdo

1. Notification of Japan's Annexation of Tokdo

After the Korea-Japan controversy on Tokdo surfaced, the Japanese side sent a note verbale dated July 13, 1953 to the Korean government. It stated: "That the Japanese government in February 1905 incorporated Takeshima into Japanese territory was in fact just and no protest or inquiry was received from any foreign country."

However, this is contrary to the fact and the reverse is the case. It was on March 28, 1906, one year after the seizure of Tokdo, that the Korean government came to know of the fact, when Azuma Fumisuke, head of Okinoshima, Shimane prefecture, Zinsai Yutaro, an administrative officer of the prefecture, and others, having made an inspection trip to Tokdo, visited Ullngdo and met Sim Hng-t'aek, magistrate of the county and informed him of Japan's annexation of Tokdo into its territory.

Here, the situation unfolding in Korea around this time should be noted. After the Portsmouth Treaty was signed on September 5, 1905 to end the Russo-Japanese war and Japan emerged the victor, a large number of Japanese troops encircled the royal court of the Empire of Korea, and Japan forced a Protectorate Treaty (lsa joyak in Korea) on Korea under threat of force on November 17 and 18. Without obtaining the sanction of Emperor Kojong and without the Imperial signature and official seal, but with the signature and seal of the Foreign Minister, the treaty was forced on Korea. The major points of the treaty follow:

(1) Korea's diplomatic rights were deprived of by Japan; and

(2) A Japanese Residency-General was to be established in Seoul to supervise the Korean government.

This means the virtual takeover of the Empire of Korea by Japan.

The Korean Foreign Ministry was abolished completely on January 17, 1906; the Residency-General was established and began operation on February 1 of the year. Now, Korea was stripped of its rights to make representation internationally and to conduct diplomacy through its foreign missions; the internal administration was supervised and directed by Japanese. Then Japan notified a local magistrate of its annexation of Tokdo into its territory.

Another point that should be added here is the method of notification. The Empire of Korea did exist at the end of March 1906, but the head of Okinoshima in Shimane prefecture and an official of the island announced this matter of such great significance, wherein two sovereign states were involved, to the magistrate of Ullngdo during their inspection trip. Apparent in this was the Japanese government's intention to minimize its significance, to treat it as a trivial matter even when the Japanese Residency-General in Seoul received protests against it by the Korean magistrate, and not to make it an agenda item for deliberation by the Korean government and a cabinet meeting.

A series of these measures were taken, as the Japanese government knew Tokdo was a Korean territory and expected certain repercussions and protest, if it were made known to the government and people of Korea. Japan played it safe craftily to forestall Korea's countermoves.

2. Protest by Magistrate Sim Hng-t'aek of Ullngdo

Even when the destiny of the state was at stake, the Empire of Korea immediately filed a strong protest. The Magistrate of Ullngdo county Sim Hng-t'aek was shocked at the notification that Tokdo had been annexed by Japan one year before and hastened to send the following on the next morning, March 29 (March 5 by the lunar calendar):

Tokdo, which belongs to this county, is located on the ocean about 100 ri [about 80 km] off this county. This month [March 4 ] by the lunar calendar at about eight in the morning, a steamer came to Todongp'o and anchored there on the island. A party of Japanese officials called at my office and unilaterally asserted that as Tokdo had been incorporated into Japan's territory, they had inspected the island and had stopped here on their way back. ...They asked me about the total population, the number of personnel and administrative expenditures and took note of them. This fact is hereby reported for your deliberation on countermeasures.

Lunar March 5, the 10th year of Kwangmu [1906]

In the report, Magistrate Sim used the words, "Tokdo of this county" and "on the ocean....off this county" and stated that Tokdo belonged to the county of Ullngdo under his jurisdiction. He did not recognize the Japan's incorporation of Tokdo as he used the term "unilaterally asserted" in the Chinese characters: í»éö (chaun).

3. Protest by the Korean Home Minister

Sim's report was sent to the Home Minister through the channel of the governor of Kangwn province. The minister said that during a sightseeing trip it might be possible for a tourist to survey the geography or population of a foreign land, but that it was quite unreasonable to say that Tokdo had become a Japanese territory. He refuted the Japanese statement terming it extremely inscrutable and found it totally groundless.

4. Protest by the Korean Head of Government

At the report of the magistrate of Ullngdo county and the governor of Kangwn province on April 29, 1906.

Third State Councillor (Ch'amjong taeshin) of the State Council (Uijngbu), the acting head of government then, was indignant and issued directive No. 3 to check everything stated in the report, to investigate the current situation of the island and the activities of the Japanese on the island again although Tokdo had nothing to do with Japan.

The report, by the magistrate of Ullngdo county with Tokdo under its jurisdiction, and the report or instruction by the Home Minister and the acting head of government all denied that Tokdo belonged to Japan and protested against its seizure of the island. The Korean government notes did not reach the Japanese government, which controlled Korean foreign affairs under the Treaty of Protectorate signed on November 17 and 18, 1905, and the Korean Foreign Ministry had already been dismantled by then. After February 1, 1906 the Japanese Resident-General in Seoul was conducting diplomacy on behalf of the Korean government.

Therefore, no Korean government agency existed to make representation against Japan. Ludicrously enough, the only diplomatic channel through which such protests could be made was the Japanese Residency-General in Seoul.

5. Protest by Korean Newspapers

Korean people who had come to notice this all reacted strongly against it. The Korean Daily News (Taehan maeil sinbo) reported the incident under the headline "A Strange Thing Is Happening" on May 1, 1906.

It described the Japanese annexation of Tokdo as "totally groundless" adding that "the people are dumbfounded." The article quoted the Home Ministry instruction and censured Japan.

The Capital Gazette (Hwangsng sinmun), which was subject to advance censorship of the Japanese military authority, published the larger headline on the incident as an expression of protest: It was about four times bigger than ordinary articles and quoted the report by Magistrate Sim Hung-t'aek and protested against the illegal Japanese seizure of Tokdo under the headline, "Ullngdo Magistrate's Report to the Home Ministry."

6. Protest by Korean Intellectuals

As a record by an individual citizen, there is a book entitled Miscellany (Ohakimun) by Hwang Hyn, a noted scholar of the day, known by the pen name of Maech'n, written in April (by the lunar calendar) in 1906. The following passage is found in the book:

"An appendant island about 100 ri [about 80 km] from Ullngdo is called Tokdo. The Japanese claim it has become their island, have surveyed it and returned.

In the Personal Accounts of Maech'n (Maech'n yarok) by the same author it is stated: "100 ri east of the sea off Ullngdo, there is an island called Tokdo. The Japanese have stretched their argument to claim it as theirs, surveyed the island and returned home."

As we have seen so far, the government and people of the Empire of Korea were enraged at the Japanese seizure of Tokdo and protested against it. Being subjected to the censorship by the Japanese military authority, this did not reach the Japanese government. On the eve of Japan's colonization of the whole land of Korea, Tokdo, the easternmost and uninhabited island of Korea, fell victim to expansionist Japan.

During these turbulent days, Koreans rose to action and fought the aggressors under the banner of "The Righteous Army."

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Chapter XI Tokdo under Japanese Occupation and Cairo and Potsdam Declarations

1. Tokdo under Japanese Occupation

After Japan colonized Korea in August 1910, Tokdo was treated as an island within the boundary of Korea; it was called Takeshima and nominally placed under the administrative district of Okinoshima; but actually it was regarded as part of Korea, considered to have belonged to Korea historically. Some documentary records treating Tokdo as Korean territory will be enumerated here:

(1) The Japanese Sealanes (Nihon suiro shi) by Hydrographic Bureau, Japanese Ministry of the Navy, Vol. 6, 1911.

(2) Ibid., Vol. 10, Part I (out of two), 1920.

(3) Okehada Setsuko, "On Korean-Japan Relations over Takeshima in the Sea of Japan" (Nihonkai ni okeru takeshima no missen kankei ni tsuite), History and Geography (Rekishi to chiri), Vol. 55, No. 6, 1930.

(4) Records on the Coastal Sealanes in Korea (Chosen engan suiroshi), HBJMN, Vol. 1, 1933.

(5) Shibakatsu Sakae, New Japanese Historical Maps (Shin nippon rekishi chizu), 1933.

(6) Tokio Shunjo, A Guide to Korea and Manchuria (Chosen to manshu annai), 1935.

(7) Land Survey Department, Japanese Army General Staff Office, Maps by Regions (Chizu kuiki ichiran zu), Part I, 1936.

Among these, No. 7 is most important. The map published in April 1936 shows the whole territory of the Japanese colonial empire as of March 1936, grouping it into Japan proper, Korea, Kwangtung Leased Territory (Kwangtung province), Taiwan, Sakhalin, the Kuriles, the Southwest Islands, the Bonin Islands (Ogasaware shoto) etc.

On the map, the Japanese Army General Staff Office includes Ullngdo and Tokdo (Takeshima) in the region of Korea (although there is enough space for Japan proper). On the right side of Tokdo "the Korean region" and "the region of Japan proper" are separated by a line drawn in Indian ink.

The Map was made in 1936 when Japanese believed their empire would last forever and is considered an important material. To place Tokdo/Takeshima in the region of Korea or in that of Japan proper was a matter of great significance in determining the ownership of the island in case the Japanese colonial empire should collapse under external pressure. But the Japanese Army General Staff Office placed it in the Korean region as it knew Tokdo was an island appendant to Ullngdo and belonged to Korea.

When Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, the Allied Powers attached great importance to this map in dismantling the Japanese colonial empire. In the Supreme Command for Allied Powers Instruction (SCAPIN) No. 677 entitled "Governmental and Administrative Separation of Certain Outlying Areas from Japan," the certain outlying areas defined concur completely with the classification of regions on this map. For these areas the Imperial Japanese government was directed to "cease exercising or attempting to exercise governmental and administrative authority."

To sum up, Tokdo was included in the jurisdiction of Shimane prefecture under the Japanese occupation of Korea, but in actuality, the island was perceived to be an integral part of Korea both in form and substance. To the Korean people Tokdo has been conceived of as their territory before, during and after the Japanese occupation.

Under Japanese occupation, Tokdo was an important fishing ground for residents of Ullngdo, except for nine years, from 1905 to 1914, when Nakai Yozaburo monopolized the island. Around the end of World War II, like the Bay of Chinhae in Kyongsang Province, Tokdo was placed under the control of the Japanese navy.

2. Stipulations of Cairo Declaration

When the end of World War II was near, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek met in Cairo in Egypt on November 20, 1943 and discussed postwar problems. They were unanimous on the territorial question of Japan and Korea. The relevant clause is quoted here:

It is their purpose that Japan will be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the First World War in 1914, and that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China. Japan will also be expelled from all other territories which she has taken by violence and greed. The aforesaid three great powers, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, are determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent.

The Cairo Declaration defined the three areas from which Japan was to be expelled: ? All the islands in the Pacific Japan had seized or occupied since the beginning of the first World War, reflecting the positions of the United States and Great Britain; ? Manchuria, Formosa, the Pescadores etc. which Japan had grabbed from China since the end of the Sino-Japanese war; ? all other territories Japan had taken by violence and greed.

Then the declaration promised Korea's independence.

Here, the Korean territory is included in "all other territories Japan has taken by violence and greed," and Japan should be expelled from the Korean territories which it had taken not only since 1910 but before that time, just as Japan was to be driven out of the territories it had seized from China during the period from 1894 to 1895.

Therefore, it is evident that Tokdo comes under category 3 mentioned above.

3. Provisions of Potsdam Declaration

When the Cairo Declaration was made by the U.S., Great Britain and China on July 26, 1945, it was not binding upon Japan.

But on August 15, 1945 Japan accepted the declaration unconditionally and signed the instrument of surrender on September 2 of that year. Article 8 of the declaration stipulates; "The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out and Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the Islands of Honshu, Hokkaido Kyushu, Shikoku and such minor islands as we shall determine." Thus, the declaration became an international document for defining Japanese territory.

Therefore, Japan was bound by and became responsible for the provisions of the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations. By the Potsdam Declaration, the territory of Japan was limited to Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and the islands to be determined by the Allied Powers.

In the instrument of surrender, Japan accepted the stipulations of the Potsdam Declaration and pledged: "We...hereby accept the provisions set forth in the declaration...We hereby undertake for the Emperor, the Japanese Government and their successors to carry out the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration in good faith." In this way, Japan made a solemn promise to relinquish the Korean peninsula and its appendant islands including Tokdo that Japan had seized "by violence and greed."

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Chapter XII SCAPIN No. 677 and retrocession of Tokdo to Korea

1. Definition of "Japanese Territory" in SCAPIN No. 677

After Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 and the instrument of surrender was signed on September 2, the Supreme Command for Allied Powers (SCAP) GHQ was set up in Tokyo to begin implementing immediately the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations.

On January 29, 1946 GHQ issued a memorandum, SCAPIN No. 677 entitled "Governmental and Administrative Separation of Certain Outlying Areas from Japan" and sent it to the Imperial Japanese Government. GHQ used the expression "definition of Japan" and clearly defined the limits of the Japanese territory and the scope of Japanese exercise of its political and administrative sovereignty.

In the memorandum, Tokdo (Takeshima/Liancourt Rocks) is separated and removed from Japan. Article 3 of the directive reads:

For the purpose of this directive, Japan is defined to include the four main islands of Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku) and the approximately 1,000 smaller adjacent islands, including the Tsushima Islands and the Ryukyu (Nansel Islands north of 30¡ÆNorth Latitude (excluding Kuchinoshima Island); and excluding (a) Utsuryo (Ullng) Island, Liancourt Rocks (Take Island) and Quelpart (Saishu or Cheju Island), (b) the Ryukyu (Nansel) Islands south of 30¡ÆNorth Latitude (excluding Kuchinoshima Island), the Izu, Nanpo, Bonin (Ogasawara) and Volcano (Kazan or lwo) Island Groups, and all other outlying Pacific Islands (including the Daito (Ohigashi or Oagari Islands), and (c) the Kurile (Chishima) Islands, the Habomai (Hapomazc) Island group (including Suisho, Yuri, Akiyuri, Shibotsu and Taraku Islands) and Shikotan Island."

2. SCAP GHQ Restores Tokdo to Korea.

In the directive, we should note the grouping of territories. SCAPIN No. 677 classified the areas to be excluded from the government and administrative jurisdiction of Japan into (a), (b) and (c). Ullngdo, Tokdo and Chejudo were included in (a) as the areas to be restored to Korea when it had become independent in the future.

By SCAPIN No. 677, Tokdo was completely and permanently excluded from the Japanese territory and the exercise of its sovereignty, and reverted to the caretaker U.S. Military Government in Korea on January 29, 1946, and finally to the Republic of Korea proclaimed on August 15, 1948.

3. Conditions for Revision of a SCAP GHQ Directive

Soon after the controversy arose over the ownership of Tokdo, the Japanese government invoked Article 6 of the SCAPIN No. 677:

"Nothing in this directive shall be construed as an indication of Allied policy relating to the ultimate determination of the minor islands referred to in article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration." And Japan argued that this directive did not define the Japan's territory.

However, this paragraph should be construed as "...a qualifying clause, reserving the right for the Allied Powers to modify or revise its policy in the future, regarding the definition of Japan without deflecting from the terms of the Potsdam Declaration" embodied in SCAPIN No. 677.

This is clear in Article 5 of the directive that reads: "The definition of Japan contained in this directive shall also apply to all future directives, memoranda and orders from this Headquarters unless otherwise specified therein."

This means that any revision of this "definition of Japan" is possible only by the issuance of another "specific directive." Otherwise, the definition of Japan is final.

For emphasis, this can be put in the following way: SCAPIN No. 677 excluded Tokdo, Ullngdo and Chejudo from Japanese territory. If it wanted to revise the directive and return Tokdo to Japan, for example, it should issue another specific directive to that effect.

SCAPIN 677 was twice revised before April 28, 1952 when Japan's Peace Treaties became operative: SCAPIN 841 issued on March 22, 1946 returned Izu and Nanpo Islands to Japan; the revised SCAPIN 677 dated December 5, 1951 returned the islands between 30¡Æto 29¡Ælat. and Kagoshima Ten Village Islands to Japanese sovereignty.

These were "specific" revisions to SCAPIN 677 in accordance with paragraph 5 of the directive. However, no such directives, memoranda and/or orders were ever issued to affect the territorial status of Tokdo.

4. SCAPIN No. 1033 and Reconfirmation of Korea's Title to Tokdo

Further, on June 22, 1946, SCAPIN No. 1033 was announced. In Para. 3, a zone permitting fishing and whaling by Japanese, popularly known as the McArthur Line, was established and in its Para. 3 (b) Japanese access to Tokdo was prohibited as follows:

Japanese vessels and crews shall not come within the area nearer than 12 nautical miles of Takeshima situated at 37¡Æ15' N., and 131¡Æ53' E., nor shall they have any access to the islands.

This also confirms that Tokdo was excluded from the territory of Japan and returned to Korea.

After Tokdo reverted to Korea under the U.S. military government, an academic survey team headed by the president of the Korean History Compilation Committee of the U.S. military government in Korea was sent to Tokdo for ten days from August 16 to 25, 1947.

Immediately before the establishment of the Republic of Korea, on June 30, 1948, 30 Korean fishermen engaged in a fishing operation off Tokdo were killed by bombing by mistake during a U.S. air force exercise. On April 25, 1950, after the Republic of Korea came into being, the Fifth U.S. Air Force investigated the incident and admitted on May 4 that fishing at Tokdo and in the adjacent waters was not banned and the area was not covered for the bombing exercise.

During the Korean war (1950-53), it was rumored that Tokdo had been selected as a base for U.S. air force exercises by a Joint US-Japan Committee. The Korean government protested and the U.S. Air Force sent an official letter dated February 27, 1953 to the Korean government, stating that Tokdo would be excluded from the bombing exercise.

This is forther evidence that the U.S. recognized Tokdo as Korean territory.

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Chapter XIII Conclusion: the Resumption of the Controversy on Tokdo and Japan's Challenge

1. Controversy over Tokdo Flares up.

It was in 1952 that the controversy flared up seven years after Korea's liberation from Japan. The Korean government proclaimed the Presidential Declaration on Sovereignty over the Adjacent Seas (Peace Line) on January 18, 1952, naturally covering Tokdo as an integral part of Korean territory and its adjoining waters since 512 A.D.

But the Japanese government protested ten days thereafter, and stated in its note verbale to the Korean government that it would not recognize Tokdo as Korean territory, and claimed that it was its territory "without question."

To this, the Korean government sent a counter-memorandum on February 12, 1952 which was countered by another from the Japanese on April 25, 1952. The Korean side refuted this and a full-scale controversy arose and has continued to date. In keeping with its build-up of military power and its rearmament policy, Japan's voice has become increasingly louder since February 1996.

2. Japan's Tenuous Grounds for Its Claim

Major points of Japan's claim may be summarized in the following way:

(1) Tokdo is an inherent territory of Japan, not of Korea.

(2) Tokdo was a terra nullius and Japan acquired it by means of prior occupation.

(3) The Empire of Korea made no protest against Japan's annexation of Tokdo.

(4) The areas the Japanese approved and returned to Korea were those of the Empire of Korea when the Treaty of Annexation was signed in August 1910 and did not include Tokdo, which Japan annexed before that time, i.e., 1905.

(5) The Meiji government of Japan never recognized Tokdo as Korean territory

(6) SCAPIN No. 677 does not define Japanese territory, but is an administrative measure.

The Korean government has in the past has lacked systematic studies conducted or exploration of the documentary records on the question of Tokdo to counter the Japanese claim effectively. On the other hand, the Japanese government, well- equipped with the findings of systematic studies, has sent the lengthy "view of the Japanese government" to the Korean government on four different occasions. On the fourth "view of the Japanese government," the Korean side did not publish its view. However, the main points of the "view of the Korean government" sent to Japan on three occasions are just and reasonable.

Since then some systematic studies have been conducted in Korea, using newly discovered documentary records, and their findings show that the Japanese claim is erroneously and flimsily based and that the title to Tokdo belongs to Korea.

Below the six points in the Japanese claims are refuted as the conclusion of this book.

(1) Tokdo has been a part of Korean territory since 512 A.D., and the first Japanese written record on Tokdo, the Records on Observations in Onshu published in 1667, admits this fact.

(2) The Japanese imperialists knew that Tokdo was not a terra nullius when they seized it by force and sub rosa in February 1905 for military purposes: to set up a watchtower on the island during the Russo-Japanese war.

(3) The Japanese government claims that the Korean side did not protest against the annexation of Tokdo into Japanese territory, but Korean documented records show that both the government and people resolutely denounced and rejected it.

(4) The Japanese government maintains that the Meiji government was not aware that Tokdo was Korean territory. This is contradicted by the documents on the decisions of the Japanese Council of State, the Foreign Ministry, the Home Ministry, the Ministries of the Army and the Navy of the Meiji government, and the maps published by them.

(5) The Allied Powers' definition that Japan should be "expelled from all other territories which she has taken by violence and greed" does not apply from the time of Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910, but from 1895 when Japan won the Sino-Japanese war and seized the Liaotung peninsula, Taiwan and the Pescadores, which were restored to China after the end of World War II. Thus, the definition applies to Tokdo, which Japan grabbed from Korea "by violence and greed" in 1905.

(6) SCAPIN No. 677 defines "Japan" in terms of its territory and of the areas to be separated from Japan and restored to the original owners. This definition applies to Tokdo as we have already discussed.

We find it heartening that there are some Japanese scholars who share our view on this question. One of them is quoted here:

For the Japanese, the question of Takeshima/Tokdo is above all the question of liquidation of past expansionism and colonialism. Over 30 years have passed since the end of the war, but, there has been no solution and these ideologies are allowed to reassert themselves. Such self-righteous and selfish outbursts of emotions are bound to get us nowhere.

Contrary to the judgment of the Japanese government, I think that the Korean side has considerably reasonable grounds on the Takeshima/Tokdo issue.

This passage comes from the late Prof. Kajima Hideki of Kanakawa University, one of the foremost authorities on Korean History in Japan.

3. The Korean People and Tokdo

Apparently, the Japanese government is aware that Tokdo is a Korean territory, as evidenced by the official notes and diplomatic records of the Meiji government, but it is claiming Tokdo as its territory. This shows that the Japanese government leadership is still under the influence of the expansionist Imperial Government of the past.

Particularly from January 1996, when the new U.N. Law of the Sea came into force and a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone was to be proclaimed, Japan has drawn the attention of the world to "the dispute over Tokdo," and is trying to set up "a jointly controlled Korea-Japan zone," or bring the "dispute over Tokdo" before the International Court of Justice.

But Japan should not make a second attempt to seize Tokdo on the shaky grounds we have examined so far, but should desist from a continuation of the expansionist policy of the past at this important time in human history when the third millenium is unfolding before us, calling for closer friendship and partnership between neighboring countries and peoples.

Japan should also be aware that to the people of Korea, Tokdo is not simply a matter of a small outcrop of rocks off its coast, but a symbol of their independence and sovereignty which it deprived of them for 35 long and painful years.

( END)

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Select Bibliography

Books - Korea

National Institute of Geography ÏÐ÷Ïò¢×âêÂ (Kukt'o chiriwn), Report on the Survry of Tokdo and Map Making Project (Tokdo Ch'kyang. chido chejak chakp pogos), 1981.

Kim Myng-gi, ÑÑÙ¥Ðñ Tokdo and International Law (Toktowa kukchebp) (Seoul: Hwahaksa, 1987).

Kim Wn-sik, ÑÑêªã× Collection of Articles in Disproof of Japan's Claim on Tokdo (Ilbon i chujang l panjunghan tokto nonmunjip) (Seoul: Namhyang Munhaksa, 1975)

Korea Public Information Co. ÓÞùÛÍëÖåÞä (Taehan Kongnonsa), Tokdo (Seoul: 1765)

Tokdo Research Association Ô¼ÓöùÊüå (Tokdo hakhoe), The Ownership of and Policy toward Tokdo (Tokdo yngyu wa tokto chngch'aek), Collection of Papers Presented at the Symposium Marking Inauguration of the Society of Tokdo (Tokdo hakhoe ch'angnip kiym simp'ojim nonmunjip), 1996.

Pak Kyng-nae, ÚÓÌÒÕÎ Historical and Legal Study of Tokdo (Tokdo i

sabpchk yn'gu) (Seoul: Illysinmunsa, 1965).

Shin Yong-ha, ãåéËù¿ Study on the History of Tokdo as Nation's Territory (Tokdo i minjok yngt'osa) (Seoul: Chisik sanpsa, 1996).

Yang Chin-t'ae, åÄ÷Áòå Study on the History of Korea's Borders (Han'guk pyn'gyngsa yn'gu) (Seoul: Popkyngsa, 1989).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs Bureau, èâÙâÝ»ïÙÙâÏÑ An Introduction to the Question of Tokdo (Tokdo munje kaeron) (Seoul: MFA, 1955).

ROK Army GHQ, ëÁÏÚÜâÝ» The Question of Tokdo and Korea-Japan Relations (Tokdo munjewa hanil kwan'gye) (Seoul: 1977).

Yi Han-gi, ì°ùÓÐñ Han'guk i yngt'o (Korea's Territory) (Seoul: Seoul National Univ. Press, 1969).

Central Council for Nature Preservation í»æÔÜÁûÞñéäçúðì¡üå (Chayn poho chungang hyp ihoe), General Report on Fact-Finding Survey of the Natural Conditions of Ullngdo and Tokdo (Ullngdo mit tokto i chayn sirt'ae chonghap pogos) (Seoul: 1996).

Research Council for Materials on Korean Modern History ùÛÏÐÐÎÓÛÞÈíÀÖùæÚÏ¼úðüå (Han'guk kndaesa charyo yn'gu hypihoe), Study of Tokdo (Tokto yn'gu) (Seoul: 1985).

Korean History Society ùÛÏÐÞÈùÊüå (Han'guk sahakhoe) Academic Research of Ullngdo and Tokdo (Ullngdo tokto haksul chosa yn'gu) (Seoul: 1978).

Academy of Korean Studies ùÛÏÐï×ãêÙþûùæÚÏ¼êÂ (Han'guk chngsin munhwa yn'guwn), Collection of Papers Presented to the Academic Conference on the Question of Tokdo (Tokdo munje haksulhoei nonmunjip) (Seoul: 1996).

Han Sang-ha, ùÛßÓù¾ Collection of Material for Study on Tokdo in Ullngdo County on the East Sea (Tonghae i ullnggun tokto yn'gu charyojip) (Seoul: 1996).

Society of Korea-Japan History ùÛìíÎ¼ÌõÞÈæÚÏ¼üå (Hanil kwangyesa

yn'guhoe), Tokdo and Tsushima (Toktowa taemado) (Seoul: Chisng i ch'n, 1996).

Hwang Sang-gi, È²»óÐñ An Expounder for the Territorial Rights to Tokdo (Tokto yngugwn) (Seoul: Kullo haksaengsa, 1954).

Books - Japan

Okuma Ryoichi, ÓÞê¨åÐìé A History of Takeshima (Takeshima ko), (Tokyo: Harashobo, 1968)

Public Information-Documents Section, Shimane Prefecture, ÓöÐÆúãÍëÜÃÙþûþÎ¤(Shimaneken kohobunshika) References on Takeshima (Takeshima kankei shiryo), 1963.

Education Board, Shimane Prefecture, ÓöÐÆúãÎçëÀüå A Chronicle of Shimane Prefecture (Shimane kenshi), 1923.

Oki Branch Office, Shimane Prefecture, ÓöÐÆúãëßÐøò¨ôæ A Chronicle of Okinoshima (Okinoshimashi), 1932.

Kitazawa Shosei, ÝÁ÷Êïáá¤ A Study of Takeshima (Takeshima kosho), 1881.

Terao Goro & Sato Toki, ÞÑÚçéÕÍ Japanese Fisheries and Japan-Korea Treaty (Nihon no gyogyo to nikkan kankei) (Tokyo: Nihon-chosen kenkyusho, 1965).

Uechi Ryuten, ß¾ò¢éÌîð Senkaku Retto and Takeshima (Senkaku retto to takeshima) (Tokyo: Kyoikusha, 1978).

Yasuoka Teruo, äÌËªðÎÑû Meiji Restoration and Territorial Question (Meiji ishin to ryodo mondai), 1980.

Okuhara Henkiun, çóê«Ü¡ê£ Takeshima and Ullngdo (Takeshima oyobi utsuryoto) (Tokyo: Hokosha, 1907).

Japan Foreign Ministry Treaty Bureau, ìíÜâèâÙâàýðÉå³ÏÐ The Ownership of Takeshima (Takeshima no ryoyu), 1953.

Tanaka Hoji, ï£ñéù¥ö½ A Historical and Geographical Study of Okinoshima (Okinoshima no rekishi chirigakuteki kenkyu) (Tokyo: Kokin shoin, 1979)

Tamura Seisaburo, ï£õ½ôèß²ÕÍ New Research on Takeshima of Shimane Prefecture (Shimaneken takeshima no shin kenkyu) (Matsue: Shimaneken, 1965).

Kawakami Kenzo, ô¹ß¾Ëíß² Historical and Geographical Study of Takeshima (Takeshima no rekishi chirigaku teki kenkyu) (Tokyo: Kokin shoin, 1966).

Articles - Korea

Kang yng-hun, Ë©ç¶ý³ Legal Status of Tokdo" (Tokdo i popchk chiwi), Collection of Articles of the Naval Academy, No. 21, 1977.

Kim Tae-myng, ÑÑÓÞÙ¥ "The Status of Tokdo in International Law" (Kukchae ppsang i tokto i chiwi), M.A. Thesis, Taegu University, 1992

Kim Myng-gi, ÑÑÙ¥Ðñ "The Legal Title to Tokdo and Invalidity of the Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty" (Tokdo yngyugwn kwa hamil choyak i muhyo), Oegyo (Diplomacy), No. 38, 1996.

, "Study on the Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice on the Question of Tokdo" (Tokto munje e taehan kukche sabopchaep'ans i

kwanhalgwn e taehan yn'gu), Korea Journal of International Law (Kukchaebophak nonch'ong: KJIL hereafter), 27-2, 1982.

. "The Territorial Rights to Tokdo and the End of World War II (Tokto ynyugwngwa ich'adaejn i chongryo), KJIL, 30-1, 1985.

Kim Pyong-yl, ÑÑÜ¹æï "Dispute over Tokdo and Exclusive Economic Zone" (Tokto yngyugwn nonjaenggwa paet'ajk kyngje suyk), Diplomacy, No. 38, 1796.

Kim Sng-su, ÑÑá¡âª "Theory of Prior Occupation and the Title to Tokdo"

(Snjm iron'gwa tokto kwisok), Fides (Seoul National Univ., Law College), 10-2, 1963.

Kim Sng-hwan, ÑÑá¡üº "A Study of Tokdo" (Tokdo non'go), Collected Articles of the Institute of South Kyongsang Province, (Kyongsang namdo yn'guso nonmunjip), 2-1, 1962.

Kim Wn-sik, ÑÑêªã× "Critical Examination of Japanese Foreign Ministry's Report on Tokdo: Another Blotch in Japan's Diplomacy toward Korea" (Ilbon

oemusng i tokto pogosrl pip'anhanda-ilbon oegyo i ttohana i

ojm), (Sasanggye, 1964).

Kim Yu-ha, ÑÑêóùÁ "On the Question of Tokdo Again with Reference to the Background of Its Annexation into Shimane Prefecture" (Tasigum tokto munje e taehay-shimanehyn p'ynip i sajk paegyng l chungsimro), Hanyang, 5-5, 1966.

Kim Chng-kyn, ÑÑïáÐ³ "A Study of Tokdo from the Perspective of International Law" (Tokto munje e taehan kukchebopchk koch'al) KJIL, 25-1,2, 1980.

, "A Study on Nakai Yozaburo's So-called Application for Incorporation of Tokdo into Japanese Territory and Its Lease" (Nakai yozaburo i sowi tokto p'yonip mit taey ch'ngwn e kwanhan yn'gu),

KJIL 27-2, 1982.

Pak Kwan-suk, ÚÓÎºâ× "The Question on the Title to Tokdo" (Tokto

yngyugwn munje), Journal of Korean Society of Social Sciences, 1965.

Pak Tae-yn, ÚÓÓÞæè "Tokdo Is Korea's Territory." (Tokto nn han'guk i

yn'gt'o), Hanyang, September 1964.

Pak Chong-sng, ÚÓñ¤á¢ "A Study of Tokdo as Baseline of an Exclusive Economic Zone" (Kynje suyk kisn rosi tokto e kwanhan yn'gu), KJIP, 23-1,2, 1978

Pae Ch'ung-hyn, ÛÜõ÷úè Song pyng-gi, Shin Yong-ha, "Reexamination of the Question of Tokto" (Tokdo munje chaego), Journal of Korean Studies (Han'guk hakpo), 1981.

Son Sang-yun, áÝßÓëÈ "A Study on the Title to Tokdo" (Tokdo yngyu munje e taehan koch'al), M.A. Thesis, Chnnam National Univ., 1975.

Song Pyng-gi, áäÜ¹Ðñ "Japan's Annexation of Tokdo and Report of Magistrate Sim Hng-t'aek of ullngdo" (Ilbon i tokto yngt'o p'yonnipkwa ullngdo kunsu Sim hng t'aek pogos), Journal of Korean History (Han'guk sahak nonch'ong), 1990.

, "Pacification and Development of Ullngdo During the Reign of King Kojong of the Later Chosn Dynasty" (Chosnhugi kojongjo i

ullngdo sut'owa kaech'k), Journal of Korean History, 1990.

Sin Tong-uk, ãéÔÔéï "A Research on the Ownership of Tokdo" (Tokdo yngyu nongo), KJIL, 1966

, Tokdo and International Tribunal (Toktowa kukche chaep'an), Collection of Academic Articles (Haksul nonmunjip), 1968.

Shin Sk-ho, ãéà«ûà "On the Ownership of Tokdo" (Tokdo i sosk e taehay), Sahae, No. 1, Jan. 1948.

Shin Yong-ha, ãåéËù¿ "The Question of Tokdo and the Title to Tokdo" (Tokto munjewa tokto yngyugwn kisok), Japan Review (Ilbon p'yongnon) 7, 1993.

, "Sovereignty over Tokdo: Matter of Life or Death for the Korean Nation" (Tokto chgwn: sahwaljk minjok numje), Shindonga, 1996.

, "Research on Tokdo under Japanese Occupation and the Process of Its Retrocession Soon After Korea's Liberation" (Iljaeha i toktowa haebangjikfu pannwan'gwajng yn'gu), Collected Articles of the Korean Society of Social History (Han'guk sahoesa yngu hoe nomunjip), No. 34; The Question of Korean Nation and Japanese Imperialism (Han'guk i minjok nunjewa ilbon chegukchui) (Seoul: Munhakkwa chisngsa, 1992).

, "A Historical Study of the Title to Tokdo as Korea's Inherent Territory" (Han'guk koyuyngngt'o ros tokto yngyu e taehan yksajk

yn'gu), Collected Articles of the Korean Society of Social History, No. 27; Korean Traditional Society and Social stratification (Han'guk chnt'ong sahoewa simbun'gujo) (Seoul: Munhakkwa chisngsa, 1991).

, "The Ownership of Tokdo during the Chosn Dynasty and Aggression against Tokdo by Imperialist Japan" (Chosn wanjo i tokto

yngyuwa ilbonjegukchi i tokto ch'imyak) Study of the History of Korean Independence (Han'guk tongnip undongsa yn'gu), 1998.

Shin Chi-hyn, ãéò¹úè "A Study of the Ownership of Tokdo from Silla to the Early Chosn Dynasty" (Tokto yngyu e taehan yn'gu-sillabut' chosn wangjo ch'ogi kkajirl chungsimro), Journal of Inch'on Teachers College, No. 22, 1988.

Shin Hi-sk. ãéý÷à¸ "Moot Court Trial for Tokdo" (Chisang tokto p'an'gyl), Politics. Economy. Culture (Chnggygng munhwa), 1981.

O Chun-yng, çïñçç¶ "Korean Maps in the Later Chosn Dynsty: Japanese Invasion of Korea as Seen in Maps" (Yijo malyp i han'gukchido: chido e nat'anan ilbon i han'guk ch'myak), Sajo, 1958.

Yu Won-dong, êåêªÔÔ "A Historical Study of the Ownership of Tokdo and

Ullngdo" (Tokto mit ullngdo yngyu e kwanhan sajk koch'al). Journal of History of Sukmyng University (suktae sallon), No. 3, 1968.

Yu Ch'l-jong, êåôÉñ¤ "Study of the Ownership of Tokdo" (Tokdo yngyunon), M.A. Thesis, Chnbuk University, 1967.

Yu Hong-yl, ê÷ûóæï "Tokdo is an Appendant to Ullngdo" (Tokdo nn ?ullngdo i sokto), Sasanggye, 1960.

Yun Pyng-ik, ëÅÜ¼ìÌ "A Legal Study of the Title to Tokdo" (Tokdo i

yngyugwn e kwanhan popchk yn'gu), M.A. Thesis, Kynghi

University, 1984.

Yi Pyng-do, ì°Ü°Ô§ "A Historical Study of the Names of Tokdo" (Tokdo

myngch'ing e tachan sajk koch'al), Collection of Articles on Buddhist History in Honor of 61st Anniversary of Dr. Cho Myng-gi, 1963.

Yi Sang-un, ì°ßÓê¡ "Legal Status of Tokdo" (Tokto i popchk chiwi), Heaven (Chn), No. 3, Air Academy, 1966.

Yi Sn-gn, ì°à¾ÐÆ "The Question of Ullngdo in Modern Times and the Results of Inspector Yi Kyu-wn's Exploration" (Knse i ullngdo munjewa kmch'alsa yi kyuwn i t'amhm snggwa), Study of Korean Culture (Taedong munhwa yn'gu), 1963

Yi Sng-nyng, ì°âýÒ» "Tokdo as I saw it: A Report on the on-the-Spot Exploration" (Naegabon tokto: hynji tapsagi), Hope (Himang), May 1953.

Yi Sin-sng, ì°ãáà÷ "A Legal Study on the Title to Tokdo" (Tokdo i

yngyugwn e kwanhan popchk yn'gul, M.A. Thesis, Kyngnam University, 1982.

Yi Chung-bom, ì°ñêÛô "Problems Related to Public Notice No. 40 on Tokdo by Shimane Prefecture" (Tokto e taehan shimanehyn kosi chae 40 ho i munjejm), KLIL, No. 1, 1986.

Yi Ch'an, ì°ó¾ "Tokdo as Seen in Old Korean Maps" (Han'guk kojido

esbon tokto), Academic Survey and Research on Ullngdo and Tokdo

(Ullngdo. tokto haksl chosa yn'gu), 1978.

Yi Ch'l-u, ì°ôÊéë "A Study of the Ownership of Tokdo from the Perspective of Political History," (Tokto yngyugwn e kwanhan chngch'i sajk koch'al), M.A. Thesis, Tonga University, 1971.

Yi Han-gi, ì°ùÓÐñ "A Study of Critical Date" (kritikal deit i yn'gu), KJIL, 11-1, 1966.

, "International Judicial Precedents on the Sovereignty over Minquiers and Ecrehos Islands and the Question of Tokdo" (Minquiers mit ecrehos chedo i chugwn e kwanhan kukche p'allyewa tokto munje), Asian Journal (Asea hakpo), 1965.

, "International Dispute and Trial: Entrusting the Tokdo Question with International Court" (Kukchebunjaeng gwa chaep'an: toktomunje i chaep'an: tokto munje i chaep'an put'aksng e kwallyn hay), Study of Law (Hophak), 10-1, 1968.

, "Reconfirmation of the Question of Tokdo" (Tokdo munje i

chaehwakin), Sindonga, 1978.

, "Contradistinction between a Legal Dispute and Political Contention: Can the Question of Tokdo Be Brought before the International Court?" (popyul munjewa chongch'ijk nonjaeng i kubyl: tokto

munjenn chaep'an e put'akhalsu itnnga). Collection of Papers in Honor of Dr. Shin Ki-sk's 61st Birthday, 1968.

Yi Hyn-chong, ì°úèðø "Management of Tokdo in the Later Chosn Dynasty" (Chosnfugi i tokto kwanhal), Academic Study of Ullngdo. Tokdo (Ullngdo. tokto haksl chosa yn'gu), 1978.

Yi Hong-jik, ì°ûðòÂ "Monuments Relative of Search and Pacification in

Ullngdo (2)" (Ullngdo sut'ogwan'gyebi [2]), Study of Ancient Art (Kogomisul), 3-7, 1962.

Im Tk-sun, ìòÓìâè "Political Geographical Study of Tokdo (Tokto i

chngch'i chirihakchk koch'al) Research Report of Pusan Teachers' College (Pusan kyoyuk taehak yn'gu pogos), 8-1, 1972.

Chon Chong-gap, ï£ñ¤Ë£ "A Legal Study on the Territorial Rights to Tokdo" (Tokto yngyugwn e kwanhan yn'gu), M.A. Thesis, National Defense College, 1996.

Cho yng-jin, ðÆçµòÒ Research on the Territorial Rights to Tokdo (Tokdo

yngyugwn munje e kwanhan yn'gu), M.A. Thesis, National Defense College, 1996.

Chu Hyo-min, ñ¹üøÚÂ If Tokdo Became Japan's Territory" (Toktoga illyng i

toel kyngu), Sasanggye, August 1960.

Ch'oe Kyu-jang, õËÐ¤íö "A Hidden History of the Tokdo Garrison Unit" (Tokto subidae pisa), Tokdo, 1965.

Ch'oe Nam-sn, õËÑõà¼ "Ullngdo and Tokdo" (Ullngdowa tokto), Sul sinmun, August 10-September 7, 1953.

Ch'oe Sang-yong, õËßÓéÌ "Tokdo as Viewed in Terms of National Security"

(Anbojk ro bon tokto), Sindonga, July 1978.

Ha Po-hi, ùÁÜÄý÷ "Legal and Historical Study of the Territorial Rights to Tokdo" (Tokto yngyugwn e kwanhan popsajk koch'al), M.A. Thesis, Tonga University, 1977.

Han Kyu-ho, ùÛÐ¥ûÇ "A Tragic Scene in Tokdo: Firsthand Report on Tokdo Incident" (Ch'amguk i tokto: tokto sakn hynjibodo), Sinch'onji, July 1948.

Han Sang-ha, ùÛßÓù¾ "Ullngdo and Tokdo in the History of Ocean Geography" (Haeyong chirisa e nat'a nan ullngdo wa tokto), Ocean Today (Hyngdae taeyang), No. 127, November 1980.

Han Yng-gu, ùÛçÈÏÍ "Tokdo and the unjustifiable Theory of Prior Occupation" (Toktowa smjm non i pudansng), International Affairs (Kukchemunje), No. 79, 1979.

Han Hyng-gn, ùÛúûËí "Invalidity of the Korea-Japan Annexation and Legal Status of Tokdo" (Hanil pynghap i muhyowa tokto i popchk chiwi), KJIL, 30-1, 1985.

Han Ch'an-sk, ùÛóÇà« "A Hidden History of Tokdo: A Short Biography of An Yong-bok" (Tokto pisa: An yongbok sosa), Tonga ilbo, February 1962; Reproduced in Tokdo by Korea Public Information Co., 1965.

Ham Sun-yng, ùàâïéÊ "An Examination of Korea-Japan Disputes from Legal Perspective (Hanil punjaeng munje i popchk koch'al), Law and Politics (Popchng), August 1967.

Hong Yi-sp, ûóì¤àð "Tokdo is Undoubtedly Korea's Territory" (Tokto nn

mynhan han'guk yn'gt'o), Law and Politics, October 1954.

Hwang Sang-gi, üÜßÓÐñ "A Study on the Question of Tokdo" (Tokto munje

yn'gu), M.A. Thesis, Seoul National university, 1954.

Articles - Japan

Minagawa Ko, ËËô¹ÎÈ "The Dispute over Takeshima and the Procedures for Its Settlement" (Takeshima funsot]o sono kaiketsu tetsuzuki), Journal of Law (Horitsu tsuho), Sept., 1965.

, "The Dispute on Takeshima and International Precedents" (Takeshima funso to kokusai hanrei), Various Problems in International Law (Kokusai hogakn no shomondai), Keio University Correspondence Course (Keio tsushin), 1963.

Ko Pyong-un, ÍÔÜ¼ê£ "Tokdo is Korea's Inherent Territory" (Dokutowa chosen kokuno ryodode aru), Unification Review (Toitsu hyoron), 1977.

Takano yuichi, ÍÔå&hibar;ê©ìé "The Peace Treaty and Japan's Territory" (Heiwajoyaku to nihon no ryodo), Journal of International law and Diplomacy (Kokusaiho gaiko zasshi), 49-4, 1951.

Yoshioka Yoshinori, ÑÎËªÑÎîð "What is the Question of Takeshima?" (Takeshima mondaitowa nanika), A Collection of Articles of the Society for Korean History (Chosenshi kenkyukai ronbunshu), No. 24, 1987.

Kim Po-gun, ÑÑÜÅÐÆ "A Study of the Ownership of Tokdo: Scintific settlement of the Question on the Basis of Historical Materials" (Dokdo ryoyuni kansuru kosatsu; shiryoni yoru kagakuteki mondai kaiketsusaku), Asian Review, 7-2, 1978.

Oguchi Satoko, ÓÞÏ¢ìÅí "List of Materals on Takeshima/Dokuto" (Takeshima/Dokuto kanren shiryo mokuroky), Bulletin of Materials on Asia and Africa (Azia afrika shiryo tsuho), 17-2, 1980.

Okuma Ryoichi, ÓÞê¨åÐìé "One Phase of the Discourse on the History of Takeshima" (Takeshima shiron no ichidanmen), Asian Review, 3-12, 1974.

Ohira Zengo, ÓÞøÁà¼çü "Rhee Line and the Problems of Takeshima" (Rirain to takeshima no mondaiten), Japan and the Japanese (Nihon oyobi nihonjin), 1958.

, "On the Question of the Ownership of Takeshima" (Takeshima no kizokumondai), Japan and the Japanese, 1958.

Kashiwahara Shozo, ÛÛê«óãß² "Recollection on Takeshima as a Problem of the Pacific" (Taiheiyo mondaito shiteno takeshima kaiko), History and Geography (Rekishi to chiri), 3-6, 4-1, 1919.

Yamabe Kentaro, ß£Ü«Ëí÷¼ÕÍ "Historical Perspective of the Question of Takeshima" (Takeshima mondaino rekishiteki tenbo). Korean Review, 7-2, 1965.

Morita Yoshio, ßµï£Û»Üý "Historical Views of Japan and Korea on the Dispute over Takeshima" (Takeshima ryoyuo meguru nikkan ryokokuno rekishiteki kenkai), Foreign Ministry Research Monthly (Gaimusho chosa geppo), 2-5, 1961.

Komura Ryojn, á³õ½ÕÕáø "On the Ownership of Takeshima" (Takeshima no kizokuo megutte), History Education (Rekishi kyoyuku), 13-10, 11, 1966.

Mizukami Kimio, â©ß¾ÍëÑû "Key Points of the Dispute over Takeshima" (Takeshima funso yoten), Japan and the Japanese, 1963.

Ueta Katsuo, ãÕï£ôßê© "Japan-Korea Dispute over Takeshima" (Takeshima no shozokuo meguru nikkan funso), Journal of Hitsubashi University (Hitsubashi ronso), 54-1, 1965.

Okuhara Hekiun (Fukuich), çóê«Ü¡ê£ "A Study of History of Takeshima" (Takeshima enkaku ko), History and Geography (Rekishi chiri), 8-6, 1906.

Japan, Foreign Ministry Information-Culture Bureau, èâÙâàýï×ÜÃÙþûùÏÑ "The Proposal to the Korean Government for an Application to the International Court of Justice on the Question of Territorial Rights to Takeshima" (Takeshimano ryoyuken mondai no kokusai shihosaibansho eno seiganni tsuki kankoku eno moshiire), Overseas Research Montly, 1954.

Tabohashi Kiyoshi, ï£ÜÁÎéÌ¾ "The Discovery and Possession of Utsuryoto" (Utsuryoto-sono hakken to ryoyu), Seikyu gakuso, No. 3, 1931.

, "On the Name of Usturyoto: Supplement," Seikyu gakuso, No. 4, 1931.

Tanaka Akamaro, ï£ñéä¹Ê°Ø«åû "Geographical Knowledge of Takeshima of Okinokun," (Okinokuni takeshima ni kansuru chirigakujono chishiki), Journal of Earth Science (Chigaku zasshi), 210, 1905.

, "Old Record on Takeshima of Okinokuni" (Okinokuni takeshima ni kansuru kyuki), Journal of Earth Science, 200-202, 1905.

Tanaka Kozo, ï£ô¹üøß² "A Historical Study of the Ownership of Takeshima" (Takeshima ryoyu ni kansuru rekishiteki kosatsu). Oriental Culture Library News (Toyo bunko shoho), No. 20, 1988.

Oyakawa Takeo, ðÓô¹ÙëÜý "Dispute on Takeshima" (Takeshima funso), Journal of International Law and Diplomacy, 64-4,5, 1966.

Nakamura Eiko, ñéõ½ç´üø "Memorandum on Isonotakeshima (Utsuryoto) with Reference to Japan-Korea Question on Takeshima" (Isonotakeshima

[Ullngdo] ni tsuite no oboegaki-nikkan ryokoku no takeshima mondai to kanrenshite), Japanese History (Nihon rekishi), No. 156, 1961.

, "On the Name of Ullngdo" (Utsuryoto no meishini tsuite), Seikyu gakuso, 12, 1932.

Nakamura Tsubute, ñéõ½ öö "On Takeshima on Maps" (Chizu ni arawareta takeshima ni tsunite), Foreign Ministry Record (Gaimusho chosho), 1953.

Ch'oe S-myn, õËßöØõ "Dokuto as Seen from Old Maps" (Kochizukara mita dokuto), Unification Daily (Toitsu nippo), May 27-29, 1981.

Akioka Takejiro, õÕËªÙëóÕÍ "Matsushima and Takeshima on the Southwest Sea of Japan" (Nihon Seinankai no matsushima to takeshima), Social Geography (Shakai chiri), 27, 1950.

Taita Ishun, ÷¼ï£ì¶âï "On Takeshima" (Takeshima ni tsuite), Geography (Chiri), 6-2, 1961.

Toibata Setsuko, ?ï¥àäûÉ "Japan-Korea Relations over Takeshima in the Sea of Japan" (Nihonkaini okeru takeshima no nissen kankei ni tsuite), History and Geography, 55-6, 1930.

, "On Takeshima" (Takeshima ni tsuite), History and Geography, 56-1, 1930.

Urata Masao, øÝï£ïÙê© "The Question of Takeshima I, II" (Takeshima mondai, I, II), Natural Features of Tsushima (Tsushima fudoki) 2-3, 1966-67.

Ushiroku Okio, ýÏàô¥ÕÍ "A Thought on The Question of the Territorial Rights to Takeshima" (Takeshima ryotoken mondai o kan'gaeru), World Weekly (sekaishuho), 59-38, 1978.

Articles in English

Park Kwan-sook, "Legal Status of Dokdo Island," KLIL, Inaugural issue, 1956.

Lee Byung-joe, "Legal Status of Dokdo," KLIL, 1963.

Lim Ki-yop, "The Issue of Territorial Sovereignty over Tokdo," Korea and World Affairs, 1977.

Shin Yong-Ha, "A Historical Study of Korea's Title to Tokdo," Korea Observer, Autumn 1997.

Kim Myung-ki, "A Study on Legal Aspects of Japan's Claim to Tokdo," Korea Observer, Autumn 1997.

Lee Hoon, Dispute over Territorial Ownership of Tokdo in the Late Chosn Period," Korea Observer, Autumn 1997.

Kajimura Hideki, "The Question of Takeshima/Tokdo," Korea Observer, Autumn 1997.

Hori Kazuo, "Japan's Incorporation of Takeshima into Its Territory in 1905," Korea Observer, Autumn 1997.

Chee Choung Il, "Legal Status of Dok Island in International Law," KJIL, 42-1, 1997.

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