Nowadays, Korea and Japan dispute the territorial sovereignty of Dokdo. Both Korea and Japan assert their territorial rights over the island. In August, the Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, visited Dokdo. He wanted to show that Dokdo belongs to Korea, but after that, Japan asserted that Dokdo belongs to Japan. In Japan, some extreme right organizations trampled and burnt Korean flags, and the Japanese Foreign Ministry put an advertisement saying “Takeshima is a Japanese island” in the Sankei newspaper. Dokdo is called Takeshima in Japan and they designate February 22 as Takeshima Day. They also want to get a decision about whose island Dokdo is officially, but Korea doesn’t want it. However, before we argue that Dokdo is a Korean island, we need to know the basis of it. The Gazette will give information about Dokdo and the problem with Japan.

What is Dokdo?
Dokdo became a Korean possession in A.D. 512 when Usan-guk became a vassal state of Silla. It is recorded in a book, Samguk Sagi, which contains the history of the three kingdoms of Korea. Usan-guk was a little kingdom in ancient times which occupied Ulleung-do and Dokdo. Presently, Korea possesses Dokdo, an island in the East Sea. It is 89km from Ulleung-do. Dokdo is designated a natural monument and it consists of East Island, Western Island, and 36 rocky islands. Dokdo provides shelter for migrating birds, so it is an important place for island research. There are only two people resident there, but 2,211 people had their family register in Dokdo in 2010.

Japanese Opinions of on Dokdo
In Japanese text books, there are three bases which prove that Dokdo is a Japanese island. First, in 1618 in the early Edo period (feudal period), Japan issued a voyage license to someone who went to Dokdo. Japan argues that they issued the license because they sent people to their territory. However, a voyage license was issued when Japanese went to foreign countries. For this reason, the voyage license is evidence that Dokdo is a Korean island.
Second, Japan suggests that their right to Dokdo is based on an article in a local paper in Simane, Japan. The article included content that Dokdo was incorporated into Japan. In the article published on January 28, 1905, the Japanese government called Dokdo Takeshima, which was Ulleung-do’s Japanese name, and they incorporated it into Japan. At that time, Korea was deprived of diplomacy by Japan, so it couldn’t take any action when the Japanese took Dokdo. However, Japan gave up all its colonial territories when they were forced to surrender in World War II. For this reason, Dokdo cannot be a Japanese territory.Third, Japan asserts that in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Dokdo was left out, so it is evidence that the Allied Forces recognized Dokdo as Japanese territory. Furthermore, they present the August 10, 1951, US Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk’s letter to the South Korean ambassador. In the letter, he wrote that Dokdo was not a Korean island. However, a map which was drawn while preparing the San Francisco Peace Treaty was found in the National Archives and Records Administration in the U.S.A. in 2005, and Dokdo was not drawn as a Japanese island. It was found in a file of John Foster Dulles, who was an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the U.S in 1951.
International Court of Justice (ICJ)Since 1962, Japan has wanted to settle the dispute with Korea about Dokdo at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), bur Korea hasn’t accepted it. The ICJ is one of the organizations in the UN for solving problems between countries peacefully. However, for the dispute to go to the court, it needs the agreement of both countries. For this reason, Japan and Korea haven’t had a hearing yet. The reason why Korea doesn’t accept the suit is Korea possesses Dokdo, so they don’t need a trial. However, at the ICJ since 1945, in territorial disputes in Asia, the winner is the country which steadily claims territorial sovereignty. The evidence of past record or possession is not the most important thing. For this reason, if Korea and Japan went to court, we are not sure that Korea would win. The reason is that although Korea possesses Dokdo and Korea has an exact basis of Dokdo being a Korean island, Japan also has a basis supporting their opinion, and the Japanese government steadily claims its right over the island to the world.

Each view on Dokdo is different. Japan wants a decision on the matter of whose island Dokdo is, but Korea ignores the Japanese claim. However, to stop the dispute about Dokdo with Japan, we should show the world that Korea possesses Dokdo, and the Korean government must respond to the Japanese claim more actively. Furthermore, Korea must try to let the world know that Dokdo is a Korean island.