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In modern times, Russia accumulated factual resources on Korea that would give an overview of the situations of Korea as a whole. Based on these resources, a number of books were published, notably 『An Overview of Korea』 by diplomat Porgio, 『A Chronicle of Korea』 by the Ministry of Finance of Russia, and 『An Overview of Korea』 by Orientalist N.V.Kyuner.
『An Overview of Korea』 by Kyuner, despite his reputation as an established Orientalist in Russia, was not thoroughly examined in Russia or Korea. Even though it provided systematic information on the geographical and economical situations of Korea, 『An Overview of Korea』 failed to draw attention because it described how Japan had colonized Korea. Since Korea disappeared from the Far East in 1910, An Overview of Korea by Kyuner was also forgotten for a long time.

Encyclopedia of the Korea of the Early 20th Century

Kyuner (Н.В. Кюнер) was born in Tbilish (Тбилиси) in Russia in 1877. He graduated from the School of Oriental Studies at the Saint Petersburg State University in 1900. From 1902 to 1920, he was a professor of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Vladivostok. He was appointed professor of the Leningrad State University in 1925, and senior researcher of the Institute of Folklore Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1932. He died in 1955 in Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg). He was an expert in the history and the folklore of Korea, China, and Japan who studied 11 languages including Chinese, Mongol, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, and Tibetan. His involvement in the publication of 'A Chronicle of Korea' by the Ministry of Finance of Russia gave him extensive knowledge about Korean history. Based on this knowledge, he archived changes in the Korea of the early 20th century in what was a sequel to 'A Chronicle of Korea.' In other words, he described in detail the geographical and economical situations of Korea in the days following Japan's forced annexation of Korea.
『An Overview of Korea』 was officially published in 1912 in the 'Institute of Oriental Studies News (Известия восточного института),' the bulletin of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Vladivostok, Russia. In other words, the Institute of Oriental Studies of Russia guaranteed the objectivity of 『An Overview of Korea』. This implies that 『An Overview of Korea』 is not just an accomplishment of Orientalist Kyuner as an individual but the official position of the Institute of Oriental Studies.

"Dokdo is an Inherent Territory of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 Onward"

In 『An Overview of Korea』 , Kyuner provided overall information on the geographical, demographical, and economical situations of the Korea of the early 20th century. It contained the description of the harbors, the shores, and the islands of the Korean peninsular, including information on Ulleungdo and Dokdo. In other words, he confirmed that Dokdo was still an inherent territory of the Korean peninsular even after the Japanese forced annexation of Korea in 1910.
Kyuner described the geographic significance of Ulleungdo and Dokdo, the trends of demographic changes in Ulleungdo around 1900, and the Korean government's effort to maintain its sovereignty over Ulleungdo. What's especially noteworthy is that he saw Dokdo as an island instead of a rock, included Dokdo in the affiliated islands of Ulleungdo, and highly appreciated the fishery value of Dokdo.
Kyuner described Dokdo (Liancourt) as an island around Ulleundo, as follows.

A Sobering Reminder to the Korean

"Liancourt, (known as Yanko <Янко> in Japan), an islet (островок) closest to Ulleungdo, is located 30 Japanese li (about 70 knots) southeast of Ulleungdo, halfway between Ulleungdo and Oki (隱岐) Island. Yanko Island (Янко остров) is 10 units of distance in length. Drinking water and fuel is scarce in Dokdo, which makes the island uninhabitable. The extremely curved shores of Dokdo have many spots convenient for fishing boats to dock. The waters around Dokdo are rich in sea horses (海馬, kaiba) and a variety of other marine products. On the eastern side near the coast of Ulleungdo, there is an islet called Busol (Бусоль: the name to celebrate one of the ships of the La Perouse Expedition). In 'New Geography of Korea,' it is called Jukseodo (竹嶼島: chikusho in Japanese)."(Кюнер Н.В. Очеркъ Кореи. Ч.1. Владивосток. 1912. С.50)
Kyuner concluded that Korea had rich natural resources compared with other colonies of Japan, including Taiwan, Hokkaido, and Sakhalin. He also concluded that Japan attached more political, economical, and cultural importance to Korea compared with its other colonies.
Kyuner noted the meticulous process by which Japan colonized Korea. He was the Orientalist who, through 『An Overview of Korea』 , warned Japan against 'stereotyping' Korea based on their national interests. Kyuner was the one who disclosed that the truth known from the viewpoint of Japan was a disguised ideology.
『An Overview of Korea』 , published in Russia in 1912, was finally translated into Korean exactly 100 years later in 2012. The title under which it was published 100 years earlier was 『An Overview of Korea Currently under Control of the Japanese Government-General of Joseon』 . This eerie title serves us Koreans as a chilling reminder that something like this could happen again in Korean history.