Dokdo (Korea Coast Guard)
In A.D. 512, Gen. Kim Isabu was on a mission to conquer an island country off the east coast of the peninsula. To defeat the tribesmen, who were notoriously ferocious and aggressive, the shrewd commander used a trick. He erected wooden figures of fire-breathing lions on his vessels and threatened to let the prides loose unless they surrendered. The frightened islanders finally succumbed and became subjects of Kim’s Silla Kingdom.
The episode, featured in the “Samguksagi” (“The History of the Three Kingdoms”), a book from A.D. 1145 on ancient Korean history, is the first written record of Dokdo. It is also one of a slew of historical references the nation uses in its ownership rows with Japan over the easternmost islets.
Located roughly both countries’ mainland and deeply interwoven in their bitter shared history, Dokdo has been a diplomatic flashpoint between the two neighbors for decades.
Japan has ratcheted up its sovereignty claim through official documents, school textbooks and most recently a 90-second video in 11 languages released on YouTube.
Tokyo claims Korea illegally occupies the volcanic islets that Japan effectively governed by the mid-17th century.
Korea counters that the islets are an integral part of its territory historically, geographically and under international law. It does not acknowledge the existence of any territorial dispute subject to diplomatic negotiations and judicial settlement.
Seoul points to historical records showing that the islets were annexed in A.D. 930 by Silla’s successor, Goryeo, and that a succession of Japanese governments recognized Korea’s control of the set of tiny outcroppings, which are called Takeshima by the archipelago country.
Throughout history, the islets were frequently violated by Japanese fishermen and invaded by Japanese pirates. These incursions often resulted in major armed conflicts in the medieval period.
In 1905, Japan covertly incorporated Dokdo as a military post during its war against Russia before it colonized the entire Korean Peninsula in 1910. The islets were returned to Seoul upon its liberation following Japan’s defeat in World War II.
Thus for Koreans, Dokdo was the first part of their territory to fall victim to Japanese colonial rule. Tokyo’s continued claim to them epitomizes that it has yet to repent for its wartime wrongdoings.
“To the people of Korea, Dokdo is not simply a matter of a small outcrop of rocks off its coast, but a symbol of being deprived of their independence and sovereignty for 35 long and painful years,” Shin Yong-ha, president of the Dokdo Institute, an independent research group, wrote in his book, “Korea’s Territorial Rights to Dokdo.”
For many Ulleungdo residents, Dokdo is their bread and butter, as it was for some Japanese fishermen.
A 1998 bilateral fisheries agreement put Dokdo in the overlapping section of the two countries’ exclusive economic zones.
The surrounding waters, where cool and warm currents meet, form a habitat for migratory fish such as salmon, trout, codfish, Alaskan pollock, pacific saury and sharks. In the winter squid season, the lights of fishing boats dot the ocean every night. The volume of catch in this area typically determines the price of seafood in the local market.
“When we were out to sea in the past, we often bumped into Japanese fishing boats,” said Kim Seong-do, who has been living on and around Dokdo for the past four decades.
“But it’s outrageous for them to say that Dokdo is their land. … It unnerves me to hear them making the argument so easily.”
The 74-old-fisherman and his wife Kim Sin-yeol are the two sole civilian residents. Sharing the residence with them is a small group of coast guards.
“Since we rotate on a 50-day cycle, we only do training for 50 days on Ulleungdo before being evaluated and dispatched to Dokdo,” Chang Il-young, chief of the Ulleungdo Dokdo Coast Guard, told The Korea Herald.
“Assuming there is a contingency on Dokdo, we basically practice martial arts, rappelling and swimming, and run other drills involving training guns and boats.”
