뉴스레터

The Significance of Exploring Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island

  Until September 17th, I participated in a three-night, four-day ‘exploration of Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island with the aim of raising awareness about Japan’s invasion and its distortion of history. The purpose of the exploration was to visit Dokdo Island, the site of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and the beginning of Japan’s invasion of Korean territory, in order to establish an effective strategy for recognizing and responding to Japan’s distortion of history. Nineteen participants, including Foundation Chairman Lee Youngho, seven former and current advisory committee members, five members of the team that compiled records of Japanese invasion history, and six foundation staff members, joined this exploration. It was a valuable and meaningful time to have serious discussions and dialogues on how to interpret the Japanese invasion through the keyword of our land Dokdo Island, and how to effectively convey it to the next generation, with each of them being one of Korea’s leading experts in their respective fields.

  Thanks to the presence of a circular road, we had no difficulty journeying to Ulleungdo Island, where Lee Kyuwon, the prosecutor of Ulleungdo Island, marveled at the picturesque scenery about 140 years ago. Especially, the historical commentary on Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island provided by Hong Sung-geun, the Director of the Foundation’s exchange and promotion department, who accompanied us, was so exceptional that we wanted to document it, allowing us to fully understand the historical significance. Everyone was deeply impressed. I even recorded some of Director Hong Sung-geun’s exceptional knowledge and interpretations of Dokdo Island in video format. I later used these recordings to present to my students during a seminar titled ‘Japanology.’

The Value of Dokdo Island is the Republic of Korea Itself

  The Chairman’s comment, stating that we can see Dokdo Island with the naked eye on clear days from Ulleungdo Island, led all of us to greet each other for all three days, asking, ‘Have you seen Dokdo Island?’ Some of them claimed they had ‘truly seen it,’ which stirred envy among us. Whether it was a mirage or the real Dokdo Island, we just felt sorry for not having seen it with our own eyes. However, we overcame our disappointment with the expectation that we would soon set foot on Dokdo Island. Just an hour and a half after leaving Ulleungdo Island, the passenger ship docked at the eastern island’s dock of Dokdo. As the ship’s gate opened, some tourists had tears in their eyes, touched as they set foot on our land, Dokdo Island. Most of the tourists tightly held the Korean flag they had purchased at the Ulleungdo Island passenger terminal and walked along the blue Korean road sign of ‘Dokdo Island Isabu Path,’ as if confirming that this land unquestionably belongs to us.

  Can we quantify the value of Dokdo Island in currency? Any person in the Republic of Korea would consider Dokdo Island to be synonymous with the Republic of Korea. It’s no exaggeration to say that almost all visitors who visit Ulleungdo Island also visit Dokdo Island. Of course, the crucial factor is the weather conditions that allow docking at Dokdo Island. Although the duration of the stay is just over 20 minutes, the significance of visiting Dokdo Island lies in providing a real-life educational experience about the importance of territorial sovereignty and serving as a venue for national unity.

Remaining Challenges

  The most memorable yet regrettable aspect of the visit was the discovery of the undersea cable landing site in Sadong 1-ri, Ulleungdo Island, and the fact that the cable had been neglected due to the poor accessibility of the place. Until now, there was limited material evidence of the Japanese undersea cable in the East Sea in Korea, making it difficult to comment on its existence. Fortunately, Korea Telecom(now KT) discovered this site in November 1992 and marked the site with a marking stone, allowing us to visually confirm this historical fact. This is the spot where a segment of the undersea cable connecting Ulleungdo Island and Dokdo Island, which was built to link Matsue, the location of Shimane Prefecture’s Hall, and Wonsan in Korea in 1904, was found. Therefore, it can be said that this site serves as evidence of its role as a communication hub in the Far East. However, despite its importance as historical evidence and the excavations, it’s regrettable that the site is currently inconvenient for tourists and visitors to access, and there is a lack of information about the site. I hope that the Ulleung County Office will make this site a tourist destination and make it more accessible.

Another Trace of Experience

  While attending an academic conference by chance at the University of Kitakyushu in Japan during this Chuseok holiday, I had the opportunity to visit the Zenrin Museum right next to Kokura Castle. The museum featured a vast collection of antique maps from all ages and countries. Two maps in the museum that I would typically have just ignored caught my attention. The museum displayed a copper map of Korea-China-Japan created in the UK in 1736, which clearly identifies our East Sea as ‘SEA of COREA.’ There is one more map. A ‘map of Japan,’ created by British map publisher, Robert Sayer, around 1790, also clearly marked the East Sea as ‘COREAN SEA’ rather than ‘Sea of Japan.’

  Discovering maps in a Japanese museum that marked our East Sea was a moment that stirred my heart. I made my own interpretation of these exhibits, thinking, ‘Japan does not deny this fact in the world of scholarship and historical records, even if they claim Dokdo Island and the East Sea as their own territories politically or diplomatically.’ I made a journey back to my homeland, thinking that we might need to take the bull by the horns through exchanges with Japanese historians and international academic conferences with this approach, considering this as one of our tasks.