Award Winning Works of 4th Int’l Essay Contest on Dokdo Bronze Prize

Stop disinformation drive!

Bronze Prize Choi Seung-ho The writer is a retired teacher who taught English to high-school students for almost 30 years from 1982 to 2010 in Gyeonggi Province and Seoul.

It is often said that Japan and Korea are so close, yet so far, in thatpeople in both countries don’t understand each other. It’s too true especially when it comes to the matter of sovereignty over Dokdo. What is the problem? You can see a problem and plan a solution. Unfortunately, most of the Japanese people don’t understand the problem. Using such circumstances, Japanese nationalists have misled world opinion to their own advantage by distorting truths. As a result, Japanese students are being taught that Dokdo has been illegally occupied by Koreans. So it is very important to let the innocent Japanese people get correct information about Dokdo. There are 10 truths about Dokdo not known well in Japan.

First, Dokdo is much nearer to Korea than to Japan. It is 87.4 kilometers away from Korea’s Ulleung Island while it is 157.5 kilometers, nearly double the distance, from Japan’s Oki Island. The people on Ulleung Island can see Dokdo clearly with their naked eyes, but it’s invisible, howevernice the weather is, to the residents on Oki Island.

Second, the name of Dokdo means rocky islets, not a lonely island. It was also called Usando, Sambongdo and Gazido. Usando meant it had belonged to Usan Kingdom annexed by ancient Korea, Sambongdo signified three peaks, and Gazido implied a habitat for seals. They are all wellmatched names. On the contrary, its Japanese name, Takeshima (bamboo islets), is irrelevant to the rocky islets.

Third, Dokdo is a sister to Ulleung Island. You cannot think of one as distinct from the other. Both of them were formed from huge volcanic eruptions. Korean official documents, such as Sejong Sillok Jiriji (1454) and Manki Yoram (1808), showed that the two islands had been Usan Kingdom’s territory and the two had been regarded as sisters since ancient times.

Fourth, several Japanese official documents, such as OnshuShicho Goki(1667), Dajokan Order (1877), testified that Dokdo had been under Korean control. Even in 1904, the Japanese government hesitated to annex Dokdo for fear that its ambition to invade the Asian continent may be revealed by taking the small rocky islets.

Fifth, on Oct. 25, 1900, the Korean Empire Government issued its Imperial Decree No. 41, which made it clear that Dokdo was under Korean jurisdiction by ordering the governor of Ulleung County to take care of Dokdo as well as Ulleung Island. In 1905, however, the Imperial Japanese Governmentdecided to annex Dokdo illegally to use it as an observation post to go to war on Russia.

Sixth, after World War II, the Allied Powers stated clearly in 1946 that the Imperial Japanese Government should cease exercising administrative authority over Ulleung Island and Dokdo (SCAPIN 677). But afterwards Japan lobbied the United States persistently through William J., Sebald, an American political advisor, to exclude Dokdo from Korean territory and the U.S. Air Force decided to use Dokdo as a bombing range. That was how, in the Treaty of San Francisco (1951), Dokdo was not clearly mentioned as Korean territory.

Seventh, as the U.S. government decided not to express their position on the matter in 1954, Japan began to repeat its claim to the islets by following Sebald’s covert advice. What they have been doing is to distort history repeating false facts endlessly. Accordingly, Japanese students are educatedto believe in that kind of fabricated truths.

Eighth, the Japanese government declared last year that they were ready to take the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It was just noise marketing to draw international attention, for they knew very well they couldn’t do so without the consent of its Korean counterpart. Besides, theydid not try to seek settlement at the ICJ on the issue of Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and Kuril Islands.

Ninth, quite a few scrupulous Japanese intellectuals, such as Hori Kazuo, Wakayama Yoshibumi, Naito Seichu and Ryuichi Doi, had the courage to express that Dokdo had been under Korean sovereignty from the beginning. And on May 21 this year, a group of conscientious Japanese figuresheaded by Kuboi Norio made clear their opposition to so-called Takeshima Day named by a prefecture in western Japan in 2005, and its members visited Dokdo to assert their stand against Japanese claim on Dokdo.

Tenth, feeling nostalgia for the good old days caused by the Meiji Restoration, Japan has made claims to a part of its neighboring country. Such anachronistic nationalism may help make its own people turn away from the unpleasant truths, which will be harmful to its future generations. It’s like making yourself the prisoner of your own deed.

Now, we are entering the era of international cooperation throughout the world. Far Eastern countries are now emerging as front runners for the prosperity of the world. Why not go with the times with your closest neighbor? As they say, sow good services; sweet remembrances will growthem.