Newsletter

With South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit in August this year, Dokdo has been drawing increasing attention from across the country and across the world. Covered in blossoming violet Aster spathulifolius said to grow on the beach, Dokdo is receiving more visitors than ever before. On October 4, Thursday, 2012, the Northeast Asian History Foundation's Dokdo Research Institute, jointly with the Korean Culture and Information Service under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Korea, organized an event introducing our precious island Dokdo at the eastern tip of our beautiful land to journalists from the influential foreign TV media and press, including CNN, BBC, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, and Le Figaro. Specifically, a total of 11 journalists at the major media (a total of seven) from four countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, participated in this event for coverage of Dokdo organized at their strong request. Before heading to Dokdo, the participating journalists attended a preliminary lecture on Dokdo given by the NAHF Ambassador for Geographic Naming Chang Dong-hee.

Covering Various Aspects of Dokdo

A BBC journalist reporting on Dokdo

A journalist filming a ferry carrying visitors to Dokdo

The foreign journalists went on to cover those officials of a number of government departments, including the Dokdo Coast Guard in Dongdo, the Ulleung-gun Office in Seodo, and the Republic of Korea Coast Guard, who were residing in Dokdo and committed to defend the islets. And they also interviewed hundreds of visitors arriving at Dokdo every one hour or so, casually talking to them in a relaxing atmosphere.

A foreign journalist interviewing Kim Seong-do,
a resident of Dokdo

The journalists showed particular interest in the life story of Kim Seong-do. a resident of Dokdo who said he wanted to continue to live in Dokdo for the rest of his life, the story of a young coast guard who had volunteered to work in Dokdo, and the mailbox and other evidence that there are actually Korean people living in Dokdo. They spent quite a long time for coverage, talking with those people involved. Most importantly, the dynamic interviews with Korean visitors who would return to Ulleungdo after a 20-minute visit to Dokdo provided the journalists with what they said were nice opportunities to hear what Dokdo meant to Koreans and why Dokdo was Korean territory from more varied and fresh views. This may explain why the journalists seemed to feel satisfied and rewarded as they wrapped up their busy schedule of the day that lasted from early morning to late evening while sharing with one another their special experiences and impressions on the coverage of Dokdo.

On-the-spot Coverage Featured in Major Foreign Media

From the day the journalists visited Dokdo for coverage, the major foreign media started presenting it as headline news. In particular, CNN and BBC aired the local report live and then recorded several times. And other media companies also ran their Dokdo coverage and its results under various titles as headline news. The headlines of the major press overseas are listed in the table below. Hopefully, this event has served as an opportunity to advertise the truths about Dokdo to the world. The NAHF will continue to organize a variety of events aimed at promoting to the world as well as to the nation that Dokdo is, without doubt, the precious territory of the Republic of Korea.