뉴스레터

I was in Chicago from April 20 to 26, 2015 to conduct promotional activities during the 2015 AAG (Association for American Geographers) Annual Meeting that are designed to promote Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo and the wide use of the name East Sea.

Established in 1904, the AAG is one of the largest organizations of geographers in the world, with over 10,000 members from sixty countries. The AAG Annual Meetings are held in American cities. For example, Tampa, Florida played host to the last year's AAG Annual meeting. At this year's meeting held in Chicago, Illinois, there were over 5,000 papers presented, about 70 exhibition booths installed. There were also well over 7,000 participants ranging from university professors and researchers of geography, social sciences, and economy to the representatives of relevant institutions.

Scholars Show Keen Interest in Dokdo and the Name East Sea

The conference room had a space full of exhibition booths that attracted a constant crowd of visitors. These booths were set up by geography publishers and companies within the U.S for promotional purposes. Institutions or organizations participating from overseas also set up booths to provide the accurate information about the geography and culture of their countries (e.g. geography, climate change, environment). Their effort to provide the United States and the rest of the international community with the correct geographic information of their countries represented their determination to remove any understanding that might exist and help the international community better perceive and understand their countries.

As one of such participants from overseas, the NAHF also had a booth to introduce its activities to visitors, including researchers and other participants in the conference. As part of our endeavor to keep the visitors engaged for future exchange and possibly build a network with them, we provided related materials while explaining Korea's argument about Dokdo and the East Sea and the logic behind it,

The visitors to the NAHF's booth asked questions that were similar to what had been asked the year before, and can be largely divided into the following tree categories. First of all, they wondered if Dokdo was an inhabited island. They were also very interested to know if the waters surrounding Dokdo had abundant fish and natural resources. To these questions asked with curiosity, we answered that there are Korean people living in Dokdo. and explained that in addition to the local residents, there are also police stationed in the island for guard duty, and civil servants dispatched there to maintain the lighthouses and the marine environment. Interestingly, the response from most of the foreigners who had asked these questions was that they could see that Dokdo is indeed Korean territory. The visitors to the NAHF's booth also asked questions about why Japan had laid claims to Dokdo and how Korea had coped with these claims. As for the issue concerning the name of the East Sea, the logic behind Korea's position was explained to them. And most of the visitors said that Japan should be in talks with Korea to discuss Korea's proposal for the concurrent use of the names East Sea and Sea of Japan.

To set up booths at the AAG Annual Meetings and use them as tools to promote issues concerning Dokdo and the East Sea correctly is a very meaningful activity with far-reaching consequences, not least because many experts in geography education and the writing of geography textbooks attend these meetings. To correctly explain the issues regarding Dokdo and the East Sea to them in terms of geography, geographic name, and history is an extremely important task that requires the NAHF's continued attention from a long-term perspective.

Consistent Efforts Needed to Run Exhibition Booth and Prepare Various Materials

The world has been watching with interest the ongoing controversies over history in Northeast Asia. Therefore, the NAHF's booth that exposed international participants directly to Korea's argument and logic was timely and meaningful. Furthermore, the handout explaining the logic behind our argument about the East Sea and Dokdo was provided for the participants, making it clear that Dokdo is Korean territory and it is right to use the name East Sea.

In my opinion, the NAHF's promotional activities using booths need to expand into NCGE (National Council for Geographic Education) and NCSS (National Council for the Social Studies) events as well. School teachers, authors or professors of geography are, by the nature of their profession, active collectors of materials. Therefore, the NAHF needs to make elaborate plans to prepare various materials for them in advance. The Korean Atlas and the booklet The History of Imperial Japan's Invasion of Dokdo were the particular promotional materials that caught the eyes of professors and authors and proved to be highly effective, because most of Americans and international participants remember the fact that war and imperialism inflicted suffering on mankind.