뉴스레터

Dokdo Institute

Dokdo Institute was established on the 1st of March in 1996 as an academic research institute dedicated for Dokdo. The twenty-two promoters of the institute, scholars from various fields of study including sociology, international law, politics, Korean history, geography, etc., had held its first general meeting at Seoul National University on the 29th of February 1996 where Professor SHIN Yong-ha at Seoul National University (currently Chair Professor at Ewha Academy) was elected as the first president of the institute.

Dokdo Institute was meant to perform such activities in relation to Dokdo as research, data collection and arrangement, introducing domestic theses on Dokdo to foreign circles of study, and clarifying our territorial right to the island through unbiased cool academic researches about Dokdo. Dokdo Institute was born by the combined efforts of domestic experts from diverse fields of study such as law, sociology, history, geography, etc. Particularly, at that time, Korea and Japan were in the very middle of a severe diplomatic conflict caused by Japan's absurd remarks based on their distorted view of the past. Also, drawing the EEZ between Korea and Japan according to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was another issue at that time. So, the interest in Dokdo was inevitably very high in historical and real terms. In this context, the foundation of Dokdo Institute was very meaningful.

Dokdo Institute decided to direct all its resources for refuting the Japanese claims that they have the territorial right to Dokdo and disclosing the falsehood of their claims from academic and logical points of view. Its first academic symposium was held on the 18th of April in 1996 at Seoul Press Center. Since then, the Institute has provided opportunities for sharing and developing research results on the territorial right to Dokdo, and organized one or two academic symposiums or grand academic forums every year, 15 academic events in total.

Publication of books for ordinary people such as 'The Story about Dokdo'

In addition to this, Dokdo Institute cooperated with Dokdo Research and Preservation Association to compile research results in relation to the territorial right to Dokdo and decided to publish 'Collection of Researches on Dokdo' in a series. In 1997, the first book in the series titled 'The History and International Relations on the Territorial Right to Dokdo' was published and the series continued until the tenth book titled 'The History of Korean Researches on the Territorial Right to Dokdo' was published in 2003. It was a great achievement by the institute because the series became the first dedicated academic resources carrying authority in this filed of study. Particularly, from the 5th to 8th books, as the subtitle 'Pursuit of Resources in relation to the Territorial Right to Dokdo' may suggest, included core resources in relation to the territorial right to Dokdo and provided a basis for future studies in various fields.

Dokdo Institute did not restrict its activities to academic researches. The Institute felt the need to convey the research results to the public, and in 2005 published a booklet titled 'The Story about Dokdo' in nine languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic) in cooperation with the Federation of Teachers Associations. The Institute also produced a promotional cartoon titled 'I love you, Dokdo.' which was distributed to educational institutions and general public with other books and through the internet in order to raise the interest in the territorial right to Dokdo. Since its foundation, the Institute has maintained its website (www.dokdoinkorea.com) which has made a significant contribution in vitalizing researches on and interest in Dokdo by disclosing the whole range of research results without restriction including '111 Questions and Answers about Dokdo'.

While having had a lot of difficulties since its foundation, Dokdo Institute has its 13th anniversary this year and is going to hold a regular academic symposium on the 21st of October from 1 to 6pm in Seoul History Museum. Everyone who is interested will be welcome.