Newsletter

"Territoriality is the fundamental geographic representation of influence and power…It is the essential connection among society, space, and time. Territoriality is the background of geographic contexts. It is the device with which men form and maintain spatial organizations…This is neither instinct nor impulse, but a complex strategy that influences and controls the approach to men, objects, and relationships."
Territory is a social order created by state power in modern society, and a geographical and historical representation of territoriality. Territory education is about developing abilities to perceive the space of our land as territory, and it can be combined with identity education that establishes relationship between the people as actors of social behaviors and place. Identity may be referred to as 'Place-Identity,' i.e. identity based on relationship established between the actors of social behaviors and place.

The Three Elements of Desirable Territory Education

Desirable territory education should be a combination of the following three elements: education about territory (knowledge and understanding); education from territory (perception and experience); and education for territory (action and practice). Territorial education is a purpose-driven activity designed to inspire future generations with geopolitical vision. With the growing interest in Dokdo, the 2010 revised curriculum placed emphasis on strengthening Dokdo education as it included contents related to Dokdo in middle school History and high school Korean History. Accordingly, it called for reorganization of the existing structure of Dokdo education for elementary, middle, and high schools in order to provide systematic Dokdo education.
Dokdo education should teach students not to react emotionally to Japan's claims to Dokdo but to refute them with logic based on a systematic understanding of what Japan's claims are about and why they are invalid. Systematic Dokdo education is essential to inspiring elementary, middle, and high school students with love for the land of their nation and the strong will to protect it.
The purpose of Dokdo education is to help students gain an accurate and systematic understanding of the proof that Dokdo is Korean territory in terms of history, geography, and international law so that they will be committed to protecting their land and cultivating democratic consciousness befitting future-oriented Korea-Japan relations. However, the timing, content, and direction of Dokdo education still need further consideration for improvement. Considering the importance of Dokdo education, it is necessary to separate modern periods from pre-modern periods in the discipline, and to present details about the perception, name, and administrative jurisdiction of Dokdo by period from the perspectives of Korea. It is also necessary to explain in detail, from the perspectives of Japan, the perception and name of Dokdo, the declaration of the renunciation of Ulleungdo and Dokdo, and the process of the illegal incorporation of Dokdo.
In terms of content, "Make it clear that Dokdo, being inherent Korean territory, is not a disputed area. And make it understood that the origin of the Dokdo controversy is Japan's distortion of history." There seems to be no apparent difference in Dokdo-related content between middle school History and high school Korean History. Both editions need to be revised so that the middle school edition focuses on understanding the literature related to Dokdo and the high school edition on exploring it, In other words, more exploratory resources on Dokdo need to be provided for high school. Most importantly, it is necessary to highlight the historical continuity of the Korean government with regards to sovereignty over Dokdo in such factors as perception, name, and regulation.
Also needed is learning about the historical origin of the current territories and territorial waters of Korea, particularly about the four geographical extremities of Korea. At least, the curriculum handbook needs to include instructions on the historical origin of the major islands of Korea (Ulleungdo and Dokdo, Marado and Ieodo, Baekryeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo).
The periods and contents of Dokdo featured in the high school history textbooks currently in use are overlapped in many parts and need to be revised accordingly. For pre-modern periods, historical and geographical documentation needs to be explained, including Samguk Saki (The History of the Three Kingdoms, Goryeosa (History of Goryeo), Annals of King Sejong, and Newly Expanded Gazetteer of Korea. For modern periods, a comparison needs to be made between such resources as Imperial Decree No. 41 and Shimane Prefecture Public Notice No. 40. For the comtemporary period, SCAPIN (Supreme Command Allied Powers Instruction) No. 677, President Syngman Rhee's declaration of the Peace Line, etc. need to be explained. Most importantly, it is necessary to provide resources that support logical argument against Japan's sovereignty claims over Dokdo. Accordingly, the existing high school history textbooks need to be reinforced with historical facts by using the supplementary textbooks on Dokdo for elementary, middle, and high schools as references.

The NAHF's Efforts for Systematic Dokdo Education

Based on the content framework for systematic Dokdo education, the NAHF released the supplementary textbook for elementary school in August 2011 and the supplementary textbook for middle/high schools in December 2011. Additionally, the NAHF distributed Get to Know Dokdo Right: Elementary School Edition to six graders of elementary schools across the nation in September 2011, and Our Everlasting Land Dokdo: Middle School Edition to third-year middle school students across the nation in February 2012, and Get to Know Dokdo Right: High School Edition to high school freshmen across the nation in the same month.
The purpose of Dokdo education in elementary school is: "To understand the importance of Dokdo and have interest in and love for Dokdo by learning about the natural environment and geographical characteristics of the islets." Get to Know Dokdo Right: Elementary School Edition is aimed at empowering students to resolve a number of issues based on a correct understanding of Dokdo. It provides a variety of resources from which students can gain geographical and historical knowledge about Dokdo and take a holistic approach to Dokdo-related issues based on the knowledge so gained. The key words of this book are 'territorial identity' and 'sustainable relationship.' Territorial identity is about identifying our sovereignty and its extent and reinforcing our understanding of territory as a Korean citizen. Sustainable relationship is about proceeding to resolve the Dokdo issue wisely through dialogue and discussion based on our claims about Dokdo. The purpose of Dokdo education in middle school is: "To gain an accurate and systematic understanding of the proof that Dokdo is Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international law, and explain it in an objective and logical manner." Our Everlasting Land Dokdo: Middle School Edition is organized in such a way that enables students to explore geographical and historical facts about Dokdo, refute Japan's claims to Dokdo, and present the valid evidence and explain to others that Dokdo is Korean territory. This book is replete with historical contents, such as the old literature and maps of Dokdo in the pre-modern and modern periods of Korea and Japan. The purpose of Dokdo education in high school is: "To have the will to protect Dokdo and establish a territorial and historical view befitting future-oriented Korea-Japan relations." This is also established as the purpose of education in Get to Know Dokdo Right: High School Edition.
Specifically "1) Understand the historical/geographical, political/military, and economic significance of Dokdo to Korea; 2) Understand the current status of Dokdo protection activities and seek to get actively involved in them; and 3) seek ways that will allow Korean and Japanese NGOs to collaborate with each another for forging future-oriented partnership between Korea and Japan." Accordingly, the purpose of Get to Know Dokdo Right: High School Edition was made more specific: "Allow students to give broader thoughts to sovereignty and territory, state, civil society, and human society by learning about Dokdo."