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An academic review of sovereignty over the island Dokdo has been published under the title "Territorial Sovereignty Over Dokdo and Maritime Territories." Published on the tenth anniversary of the NAHF Dokdo Research Institute, the book offers the summation of findings by eight research fellows on the sovereignty of Dokdo since the institute's establishment in 2008. As the first volume in the research publication series "Sovereignty Over Dokdo," the book is expected to serve as a meaningful start to the newly launched series.

First Academic Publication to Focus on Sovereignty Over Dokdo

Under the overall theme "territorial sovereignty over Dokdo and maritime territories," the book is comprised of two parts: the first focusing on the territorial sovereignty over Dokdo and the second focusing on Dokdo and maritime territories. According to Judge Max Huber's ruling on the Island of Palmas case (1928), territorial sovereignty has been defined in international law as "the right to exercise therein, to the exclusion of any other State, the functions of a State." Hence, territorial sovereignty over Dokdo in the featured book refers to the exclusive sovereignty over Dokdo as an inherent territory of Korea and embodies a fundamental, active approach that encompasses dominium. This makes the book the first academic publication to directly pitch territorial sovereignty over Dokdo in its title.

Japan's Intensifying Claims on Territorial Sovereignty Over Dokdo

Although Dokdo has been an obvious part of Korean territory in terms of history, geography, and international law, Japan's Shimane Prefecture established "Takeshima Day" in 2005 to commemorate the centennial of Japan's illegal incorporation of Dokdo into its territory. Since then, Japan has continued to build up its claims against Korea's territorial sovereignty through its Defense White Paper, Diplomatic Blue Book, and history textbooks. Such Japanese efforts can also be witnessed through the distorted system it has been setting up for territorial education since 2008 by revising the curriculum guidelines, commentary to the guidelines, and the textbook screening criteria for elementary, middle, and high school students. By revising the curriculum guidelines for elementary and middle school students in 2017 and for high school students in 2018, Japan has made it mandatory for social studies textbooks to stipulate that Dokdo has inherently been Japanese territory, thereby demonstrating the seriousness of forcing distorted education upon Japan's future generation.

Furthermore, on January 25, 2018, Japan launched a permanent exhibition about territorial sovereignty at Hibiya Park located in central Tokyo. The old documents, maps, and video clips on display support the following arguments for Japan's territorial sovereignty over Dokdo. First, the Japanese have been aware of the island since the seventeenth century. Second, Japan confirmed its awareness of territorial sovereignty over the island by incorporating it into Shimane Prefecture in 1905. Third, Dokdo has been confirmed as Japanese territory in the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Japan has become increasingly vocal in its territorial sovereignty claims toward Dokdo through the official website of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Office of Policy Planning and Coordination on Territory and Sovereignty under the Cabinet Secretariat, thereby launching outright provocations against Korea's territorial sovereignty over Dokdo.

The Symbol of Korea's Territorial Sovereignty

Part 1 of the featured book includes four papers arguing for Korea's territorial sovereignty over Dokdo. Research fellow Doh See-hwan's paper titled "An International Legal Review of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and Sovereignty Over Dokdo" investigates how Japan's contradictory arguments based on terra nullius and inherent territory poses international legal issues for Japan from citing the San Francisco Peace Treaty as the key legal basis to claim its territorial sovereignty over Dokdo. Research fellow Yi Saang-kyun's paper "Dokdo in Siebold's Complete Map of Korea and Implications for Sovereignty Claims Over the Island" demonstrates that it used to be common practice for the island called Dokdo to be labelled as "Seokdo" (石島) in maps and documents around the time when the German scholar Philipp Franz von Siebold acquired and translated a map of Korea during his visit to Japan in the nineteenth century.

Through her paper "A Review of SCAPIN 677 in the Context of GHQ's Occupation of Japan and Territorial Sovereignty Over Dokdo," Research fellow Chung Young-mi points out the falsities in Japan's territorial claim over Dokdo after examining the policies the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers adopted to rule postwar Japan as well as relevant laws established in Japan at the time. Research fellow Chang Se-yun examines the history of Dokdo in relation to struggles against Japanese aggressions in his paper "Japan's Invasion of Sovereignty Over Ulleungdo and Dokdo and Korea's Response."

Part 2 of the book includes four papers discussing Dokdo and maritime territories. Research fellow Kim Young-soo's paper "Accomplishments by and Limitations to Research on Modern Dokdo and Maritime History" considers Japan and Russia's maritime policies around 1900 and what implications they may have in studying the Dokdo issue. Through his paper "Japan's Protectorate Policy and the Background to Dokdo's Incorporation," Research fellow Kim Gwan-won reviewed Yamaza Enjiro's 1905 plan to incorporate Dokdo from a military-strategic perspective. Research fellow Kwak Jino analyzes Takeshima Day celebrations since 2005 to look at the shift in Japanese polices toward promoting anti-Korean sentiments through his paper "An Analysis of Japan's Current Policies to Promote the Dokdo Issue." Research fellow Lee Myong-chan's paper "East Asian Territorial Issues and International Politics in Northeast Asia" suggests that the reason the "Northern Territories" issue is yet to be resolved is because the Japanese government has continued to frequently shift between demanding for the instant return of all four islands and the return of two out of four islands in advance.

In short, the Japanese claim of its territorial sovereignty over Dokdo goes against the most fundamental practice of postwar settlements, which is to give up territories taken by violence and greed under colonial imperialism. And because Japan's claim also glorifies its imperialist past and denies certain historical truths, the book's authors are in agreement that it counts as a grave violation of Korea's territorial sovereignty. Nevertheless, it is the authors' hope that the first volume in NAHF's research publication series on sovereignty over Dokdo may contribute to overcoming fundamental issues in historical disputes between Korea and Japan so that the two countries can achieve true historical reconciliation and forge an era of peace and prosperity. The book has also been dedicated to the NAHF Dokdo Research Institute celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2018 and the institute's mission to study issues involving Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo.