뉴스레터

Source: Academy of Korean Studies

"Dokdo is the first victim of Japan's aggression of Korea. Upon the liberation of Korea, Dokdo came back to us. Dokdo is a symbol of Korea's independence. Whoever touches this island should be prepared to face strong resistance from all the Korean people! Dokdo is more than a few rocks. It is the anchor in the territorial waters of our people. If we lost it, how could we possibly defend our independence? Japan's attempt to take Dokdo means that Japan is trying to invade Korea again."

- From "The Promise of Dawn" by Kim Yong-sik -

Ilseok (逸石) Byun Young-tae was the third Foreign Minister (Apr. 16, 1951 - Jul. 28, 1955) and the fifth Prime Minister (1954) of the Republic of Korea. During his time in office, which coincided with a period immediately after liberation from Japanese colonial rule when the Republic of Korea was struggling to take its first step as an new independent state, he achieved a number of important accomplishments. He was the one who lay a foundation of diplomacy for the Republic of Korea when the country was in a very difficult diplomatic situation.

Byun was quite proficient in foreign languages, especially English and Chinese, and this is why he could become a diplomat. He first learned English in 1909 when he entered Boseong Middle School in Seoul. He also learned Chinese by himself and while in China for his studies. In 1925, with the help of a Presbyterian missionary, he studied at Harmony College for one year. He worked hard in this school and graduated first in his class. But instead of continuing his studies, he taught English at Shinheung Military Academy and Chungang Middle School until 1943. In 1945, he was a professor of English literature at Korea University. And in 1946 he started a career as a diplomat as he was chosen by President Syngman Rhee.

The first diplomatic accomplishment he achieved was the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Philippines. Once the government of the Philippines signed the document endorsing Korea on March 3, 1949, President Syngman Rhee began to recognize him. The Philippines was the first foreign county with which President Rhee attempted to negotiate to establish diplomatic relations. And in 1949, the Philippines was more advanced than Korea in every way. At that time, few Koreans had even heard of the word diplomacy. Since the concepts of luncheon and dinner were also new to them, the Korean diplomats had to teach themselves with books borrowed from the American Embassy. They also had to shop around downtown Manila for clothes appropriate for the occasion because they didn't have any.

Byun made a lot of effort for education as well as diplomacy. Not only did he seek capable young people and help them find opportunities to put their ability to use, he also visited many schools and gave speeches. One of those who were inspired by his speech is none other than Ban Ki-moon, the current Secretary-General of the United Nations. Byun always placed emphasis on the importance of physical strength. It is said that he loved lifting dumbbells and always brought them with him on business trips overseas. By the time to return to Korea after attending international conferences, he would have had accumulated so many documents and materials that his belongings required extra payment to be shipped. To save costs, as the story goes, he would ask a Korean resident a favor to keep his dumbbells.

There are a number of accomplishments Byun achieved, but some of them, notably the 1954 Geneva Conference, played a crucial role in laying a foundation of Korea's diplomacy today. Byun was behind the adoption of Korean as an official language for the political conference that took place in Geneva in 1954.

At that time, Korea didn't even have its own communication network and had to rely on the one of the American Embassy for business meetings with the staff back home. It is said that despite this poor condition he was never swayed. In particular, the 15 unification ideas he proposed at the Geneva Conference remain to this day as the foundation of Korea's unification policy.

Byun was a good diplomat in the international community because he was hard-working and never ceased to make efforts. It is said that he was always diligent and paying attention to detail in everything. It is also said that even though there was hardly anyone in Korea who was more proficient in English, he prepared statements himself and went through rereading and revision several times. Former Foreign Minister Kim Yong-sik, as he recalls, was impressed by how Byun did his best even in the smallest matter.

The year 2014 began with Japan's provocations over Dokdo. Japan had revised the Course of Study for middle and high school such that their textbooks would include such expressions as "(Dokdo is) an inherent territory of Japan" or "(Dokdo is) illegally occupied by Korea." For the so-called "Takeshima Day" ceremony to be hosted by Shimane Prefecture on February 22 this year, the Japanese government will reportedly send a senior official with the Cabinet Office (vice-minister level), as it did last year, at the request of Shimane Prefecture. This will be the second time, after the last year, that a government official attends this ceremony. As Japan continues to provoke Korea over Dokdo, the two things that Byun did while in office regarding this matter are coming into the spotlight again. First of all, he spearheaded the establishment of the Peace Line. Secondly, he sent a verbal note to Japan.

The official name of the Peace Line is "Presidential Proclamation on the Republic of Korea's Sovereignty Over Adjacent Seas (State Council Notification No. 14, January 18, 1952)." The original purpose of the Peace Line was to proclaim the 'Fishery Protection Zone.' However, during the review process, it was expanded to proclaim "Sovereignty Over Adjacent Seas." According to Mr. Ji Cheol-geun, the then director of the Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry who attended the first of the Korea-Japan Fishery Committee meetings, there were more Japanese boats fishing off the coast of Korea than there were Korean ones. To prevent these Japanese boats from fishing excessively off the coast of Korea, he came up with the idea of 'Fishery Protection Zone,' a Korean version of the Continental Shelf Declaration designed to preserve marine resources that was popular in Latin America.

When it first established this line, the Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry intended it to only protect fishery operations. As they tried to get practical benefits from the "Fishery Protection Zone" while avoiding resistance from Japan as much as possible, they used the Trawling Prohibition Zone established during the days of Japanese imperialism as the base line, and placed Dokdo out of it. However, this move was opposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the time, which maintained that Dokdo should be placed within the line because otherwise it might give foreign countries the false impression that Dokdo was not Korean territory, and eventually succeeded in placing Dokdo within the 'Fishery Protection Zone.' Korea's such idea of 'Fishery Protection Zone' is also known as 'Byun Young-tae's idea.' This zone paved the way for promoting to the world that Dokdo was Korean territory, and it was later reestablished as the 'Peace Line.'

It can be said that it is also Byun who set forth the diplomatic logic regarding Dokdo. Korea's stance on Dokdo was determined in 1954. On September 25, 1954, Japan suggested that the Dokdo issue should be brought to the ICJ for resolution. A month later, on October 28, 1954, the Foreign Ministry of Korea prepared a verbal note to refuse the suggestion. It is in this note that the logic of Korea's diplomacy regarding Dokdo was established: "The Japanese government's suggestion that the dispute should be brought to the International Court of Justice is a judicial disguise, nothing but another attempt to make false claims. Korea is the original holder of territorial rights over Dokdo, and therefore does not acknowledge the grounds for asking the ICJ to confirm such rights. It is Japan that is trying to initiate a territorial dispute when there is nothing to be disputed."

Byun established the logic that Dokdo was a historical, rather than territorial, issue. Korea maintained in its verbal note issued on September 24, 1954 that "Korea hereby reminds Japan that Korea's rights were stolen for as many as forty years due to imperialist Japan's invasion. As the Japanese government is clearly aware, the invasion had progressed slowly until it reached a peak in 1910 with the annexation of Korea by Japan. … It is one year after such annexation that Shimane Prefecture claimed and placed Dokdo under its jurisdiction. That makes Dokdo the first Korean territory lost to Japan's invasion." In 1954, Korea also issued a statement that said "Japan's attempt to reoccupy Dokdo, the first Korean territory lost to imperialist Japan's invasion in the past, is an attempt to abrogate the Treaty of Peace with Japan and invade Korea again, and such attempt will not go unwatched." (Foreign Ministry's statement of refusal, as reported in the Dong-A Ilbo article dated September 30, 1954).

The verbal note and statement sent to Japan in 1954 were, as they still are today, the guiding principles of Korea's diplomatic policy of Dokdo during the Korea-Japan talks that took place for 14 years. Korea's stance on Dokdo at that time couldn't have been clearer. In 1954, the Korean government built a lighthouse and left such marks as the image of "Taegukku (Korean national flag)" and the phrase "Korean Territory" on Dokdo. The patrole boats of Japan Coast Guard that were reconnoitering the waters around Dokdo couldn't approach the island anymore. It was during this period that our principles about Dokdo were established.

Byun devoted himself to establishing diplomatic policies and laying a foundation for the Republic of Korea as a new nation, and fought for national interests by waging 'diplomatic wars' with Japan during a turbulent period. One couldn't read his note sent to Japan without recognizing in every line his meticulous nature, determination and conviction, and unwavering love for his country.