Newsletter

Tsushima Island is the Japanese territory that is closest to Korea. The shortest distance between the two countries, 49.5 kilometers, is between Busan and Kamitsushima, the northernmost area of Tsushima. If the weather is clear, it is possible to see Busan from Kamitsushima and Kamitsushima from Busan. Due to the geographical proximity, many historical Korean events took place in Tsushima. For example, Balhae dispatched envoys to Japan [34 times], the Goryeo-Mongol allied forces invaded Japan, Japanese pirates attacked during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties, Joseon took missions to Japan and the Korean Princess Deokhye was married in Japan. All of these important political and diplomatic events involving the Korean Peninsula took place in or around Tsushima. Even to this day, remnants from these events remain in Tsushima.

Detention of Koreans that Led to the “Ulleungdo Negotiations”

In 1693, 326 years ago, an extremely important incident took place that involved the detention of two Koreans in Tsushima. In March of the same year, these two Koreans went to Ulleungdo, met a few Japanese people, and from Ulleungdo they all went to the Oki Islands together. The two Koreans then traveled to the city of Yonago (in the Tottori Prefecture, today) and after about a month in Yonago and Tottori, they were sent to Nagasaki. In September, the two Koreans were sent to Tsushima where they were held captive for two months before being repatriated to Oegwan, Korea in early November.

This incident involving the detention of An Yong-bok and Park Eo-dun, the two Dongnae fishermen, sparked a dispute between the Joseon Dynasty and Japan's Tokugawa shogunate over Ulleungdo. This dispute would later be called the "Ulleungdo Negotiations." The incident began with the delivery of a letter from So Yoshijane (by Tachibana Masashige) calling for a ban on the entry of Korean fishermen into Takeshima (Ulleungdo). In January 1696, the negotiations paused temporarily as the Tokugawa shogunate issued a ban on the entry of Japanese fishermen to Ulleungdo that lasted for three years and ended in 1699. Tsushima was the scene for the Japanese detention of these two Koreans.

Ulleungdo Reaffirmed as Joseon’s Land after the Detention of An Yong-bok

On June 4 of the lunar calendar in 1693, An Yong-bok and Park Eo-dun left Tottori in a palanquin with an escort of 90 people, including warriors, doctors and cooks. They arrived in Nagasaki on June 30 of the lunar calendar and were questioned before being delivered to Ichinomiya Skejaemon of Tsushima who later arrived in Nagasaki on August 17. On September 3 of the lunar calendar An Yong-bok and Park Eo-dun finally left Nagasaki to go to Fuchu, Tsushima. Fuchu, which is located in the southeastern region of Tsushima, was where the Fuchu Domain of the So clan was established, and it is where the Izuhara Port in the Izuhara district is situated today.

They would have been detained at Ichinomiya Skejaemon’s home, which would have been located somewhere on Jokamachi, a street just outside of the Izuhara Castle. According to the "Jukdogisa" records, the two Koreans' quarters were appointed the "House of the Emissaries" and were guarded by a four-member samurai group to prevent the two Koreans from leaving the house. Specific details about Ichinomiya Skejaemon were not recorded and thus, are not available. However, given that he served as a dispatched officer with the task of informing Joseon of the death of Yoshimichi, the fifth daimyo, he would have probably been a mid-level samurai engaged in Joseon affairs.

According to the "Annals of King Sukjong," An Yong-bok and Park Eo-dun went through difficult experiences in their quarters at Ichinomiya Skejaemon’s home. The two men were robbed of silver coins and documents they had received in Tottori, and they also received a threat that the Joseon government should pay a ransom if they wanted the two men to be returned to their home country. The robbery was explained after they returned to Joseon in 1693. The threat happened when An Yong-bok was questioned at the Office of Border Defense in 1696. The documents that were stolen were the "Gwanbaek's Seogye," which defined Ulleungdo and Jasando (Usando) as Joseon’s land.

On October 22 of the lunar calendar of the same year, they began their voyage back to Joseon. The ship departed from Izuhara Port and sailed north before turning westward to sail north of Tsushima. Eventually the ship arrived at the Sasuna Port, just past the Waniura Port. From there, the vessel set off in the northern direction headed for Busan. The two men arrived in Jeol Yeongdo on November 1 of the lunar calendar and traveled to Oegwan the following day. On December 10 of the lunar calendar, the two men were handed over to the Dongnae magistrate and others who came to greet the Japanese ambassadors and imprisoned.

This incident had a very significant connection to the Japan-Korea border issue. As a result of the Ulleungdo Negotiations, Tokugawa shogunate announced a ban that prohibited Japanese fishermen from traveling to Takeshima in January 1696. Meanwhile, the royal court in Joseon sent Jang Han-sang to Ulleungdo in 1694 to investigate and monitor the situation in Ulleungdo. At this time, the Joseon royal court created a new system that involved sending officers to Ulleungdo, which had been deserted, once every two years. This entire event served as an incident that reaffirmed Ulleungdo as Joseon’s land and also helped strengthen Joseon's defense.

An Yong-bok, the Man who Etched Dokdo’s Geographical Reality into Korea and Japan’s History

Dokdo did not surface strongly in the measures taken by Joseon and the Tokugawa shogunate, but one can figure it has much to do with this incident. An Yong-bok claimed that Songdo (Matsushima) was Joseon's land, called "Usando." He recorded that he had entered Oki Island and determined that Ulleungdo and Usando were in Joseon's boundaries. He also said that he had even received the "Gwanbaek’s Seogye." The Tokugawa shogunate also investigated both Matsushima (Dokdo) and Takeshima (Ulleungdo) and the daimyo of Tottori stated that the two islands did not belong to them ("The Daimyo of Tottori's Responses to the Tokugawa Shogunate's Questions" (1695)). As a result, Usando, which had been an abstract entity, emerged geographically as Dokdo, clearly affiliated with Joseon.

The incident of two Dongnae fishermen in Tsushima, 300 years ago, reaffirmed the confederation of the two islands in the East Sea. This was certainly an extremely significant historical event related to the territory and borders of Korea. But this is the interpretation of posterity; what kind of incident was it to those involved directly? This incident unfolded during a time when traveling by sea was prohibited and merchants were not allowed to travel abroad freely. Against this backdrop, two humble people from Joseon embarked on a type of overseas excursion that encompassed 1,000 kilometers of both land and sea routes. Judging from the only records that exist from that time, this was a very unfortunate journey for them. However, there is no way of knowing that they would have felt this way, as there is no existing record.

Tsushima, the Japanese territory closest to Korea, is overflowing with Koreans today. Every day, three to four high-speed passenger ships leave the Busan International Passenger Terminal taking hundreds of Koreans to the Hitakastu Port in the north or to Izuhara Port in the south. Many of these Koreans walk around these areas hoping to see traces of, and learn about, the historical Korean events that unfolded in Tsushima. It could be interesting to look for these traces, imagining what those two fishermen from Dongnae saw and felt in those times.